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2024 Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

43 Colleges in California
6,623 Bachelor's Degrees
$48,266 Avg Early-Career Salary
Economics is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #15 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 43 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of economics. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,623 bachelor's degrees in economics during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Economics School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of economics for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality economics program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for economics students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Economics Schools

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.


 

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Economics in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics.

10 Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Economics

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
82 Annual Graduates
$60,475 Median Starting Salary
$12,500 Median Student Debt

Stanford University is a wonderful choice for students interested in a bachelor's degree in economics. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the economics major at Stanford University get $12,209 above the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Stanford University

2
758 Annual Graduates
$71,330 Median Starting Salary
$13,000 Median Student Debt

University of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in economics. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley make $23,064 more than the average economics grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of California - Berkeley

3
796 Annual Graduates
$52,741 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in economics. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.

Economics bachelor's degree recipients from University of California - Los Angeles get an earnings boost of around $4,475 over the average earnings of economics majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of California - Los Angeles

4
116 Annual Graduates
$95,566 Median Starting Salary
$12,000 Median Student Debt

Claremont McKenna College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in economics. Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont.

Bachelor's recipients from the economics degree program at Claremont McKenna College make $47,300 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Claremont McKenna College

5
221 Annual Graduates
$54,837 Median Starting Salary
$14,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the economics degree program at University of Southern California earn $6,571 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Southern California

6
695 Annual Graduates
$59,465 Median Starting Salary
$13,516 Median Student Debt

UCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.

Bachelor's recipients from the economics degree program at University of California - Santa Barbara make $11,199 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of California - Santa Barbara

7
436 Annual Graduates
$42,370 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the economics program make about $42,370 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of California - San Diego

8
615 Annual Graduates
$44,249 Median Starting Salary
$13,000 Median Student Debt

UC Davis is a very large public university located in the suburb of Davis.

After graduation, economics bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $44,249 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of California - Davis

9
472 Annual Graduates
$40,188 Median Starting Salary
$15,499 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the economics program state that they receive average early career earnings of $40,188.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of California - Irvine

10
Pomona crest
Pomona College
Claremont, CA

Pomona is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Pomona College receive $18,772 more than the standard economics student.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Pomona College

Best Economics Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Economics Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 663
Oregon 185 532
Nevada 129 131
Hawaii 112 81
Alaska 75 16

View All Rankings >

Economics is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.

Economics Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 4,361
General Economics 2,126
Development Economics & International Development 118
International Economics 12
Other Economics 5
Applied Economics 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
Sociology 8,861
Political Science & Government 6,117
Anthropology 1,780
International Relations & National Security 816
Geography & Cartography 632
General Social Sciences 568
Other Social Sciences 355
Urban Studies 260
Archeology 10

Notes and References

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