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2024 Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

79 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,721 Bachelor's Degrees
$46,675 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 79 schools in the Great Lakes Region 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 5,721 bachelor's degrees in economics during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Economics School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The economics bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

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

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Economics Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 the Great Lakes Region 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 the Great Lakes Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Economics

1
491 Annual Graduates
$82,564 Median Starting Salary
$13,197 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of Chicago if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in economics. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Chicago make $35,889 more than the average economics graduate.

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

2
351 Annual Graduates
$71,488 Median Starting Salary
$16,227 Median Student Debt

Northwestern University is a good option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Northwestern University earn $24,813 more than the average economics student.

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

3
254 Annual Graduates
$69,070 Median Starting Salary
$19,965 Median Student Debt

University of Notre Dame is a great decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in economics. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the economics degree program at University of Notre Dame make $22,395 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Notre Dame

4
618 Annual Graduates
$62,024 Median Starting Salary
$19,690 Median Student Debt

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in economics has to look into University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. U-M is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor.

Economics bachelor's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor earn a boost of about $15,349 over the typical income of economics graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

5
624 Annual Graduates
$48,053 Median Starting Salary
$20,750 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison 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 income of $48,053.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
443 Annual Graduates
$50,008 Median Starting Salary
$21,228 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign receive $3,333 more than the average economics student.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

7
288 Annual Graduates
$42,908 Median Starting Salary
$23,125 Median Student Debt

Ohio State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Columbus.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the economics program state that they receive average early career wages of $42,908.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Ohio State University - Main Campus

8
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
343 Annual Graduates
$48,199 Median Starting Salary
$24,250 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the economics program report average early career wages of $48,199.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Michigan State University

9
142 Annual Graduates
$51,724 Median Starting Salary
$24,700 Median Student Debt

Purdue is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University - Main Campus receive $5,049 more than the standard economics graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Purdue University - Main Campus

10
58 Annual Graduates
$58,938 Median Starting Salary
$25,949 Median Student Debt

Case Western is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cleveland.

Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Case Western Reserve University make $12,263 more than the average economics grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Case Western Reserve University

11
Denison crest
Denison University
Granville, OH
74 Annual Graduates
$53,668 Median Starting Salary
$24,102 Median Student Debt

Denison is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Granville.

Bachelor's recipients from the economics degree program at Denison University earn $6,993 above the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
12 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
13 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
14 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
15 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
16 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
17 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
18 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
19 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH

Best Economics Colleges by State

Explore the best economics schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,262
Ohio 252 936
Illinois 241 1,771
Indiana 235 792
Wisconsin 213 960

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Economics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Economics Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Economics 3,539
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 2,107
Development Economics & International Development 34
Other Economics 29
Applied Economics 7
International Economics 5

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 5,292
Sociology 2,738
International Relations & National Security 1,086
Anthropology 955
Geography & Cartography 653
General Social Sciences 329
Other Social Sciences 167
Urban Studies 110
Sociology & Anthropology 87
Archeology 43

Notes and References

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