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2024 Best Economics Schools in California

50 Colleges in California
10,520 Economics Degrees Awarded
$48,538 Avg Early-Career Salary
Economics is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #19 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual looked at 50 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Economics Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,520 degrees in economics during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Economics School

Best Economics Schools in California The economics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Economics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for economics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Pick Your Economics Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Economics
Bachelor's Degrees in Economics
Master's Degrees in Economics
Doctor's Degrees in Economics

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Economics Schools in California list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to 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.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Economics in California

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the economics degree levels they offer.

10 Top California Schools in Economics

1
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Economics Degrees Awarded
0.9% Growth in Graduates

Stanford University is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in economics. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were about 116.00000000000001 economics students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics program at Stanford University get $11,937 more than the typical graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in economics from Stanford University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
808 Economics Degrees Awarded
3.2% Growth in Graduates

University of California - Berkeley is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were approximately 808 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics program at University of California - Berkeley make $22,792 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Berkeley

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
116 Economics Degrees Awarded
$95,566 Median Starting Salary

Claremont McKenna College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Claremont McKenna is a great college overall.

There were roughly 116 economics students who graduated with this degree at Claremont McKenna in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Claremont McKenna College receive $47,028 more than the average economics grad.

More information about a degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
884 Economics Degrees Awarded
$52,741 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. UCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were approximately 884 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of California - Los Angeles earn a boost of about $4,203 above the typical income of economics graduates.

More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Los Angeles

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
357 Economics Degrees Awarded
25.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 357 economics students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of approximately $6,299 over the typical earnings of economics graduates.

More information about a degree in economics from University of Southern California

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
723 Economics Degrees Awarded
$59,465 Median Starting Salary

UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.

There were approximately 723 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of California - Santa Barbara earn a boost of about $10,927 above the average earnings of economics graduates.

More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Santa Barbara

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
480 Economics Degrees Awarded
8.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.

There were approximately 479.99999999999994 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, economics degree recipients usually earn an average of $42,370 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in economics from University of California - San Diego

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
661 Economics Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

UC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 661 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program report average early career income of $44,249.

More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Davis

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
490 Economics Degrees Awarded
4.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were about 490 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the economics program make around $40,188 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Irvine

10
Pomona crest
Pomona College
Claremont, CA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
46 Economics Degrees Awarded
$67,038 Median Starting Salary

Pomona is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #57 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Pomona is a great college overall.

There were approximately 46 economics students who graduated with this degree at Pomona in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Pomona College make $18,500 more than the typical economics grad.

More information about a degree 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 300 713
Oregon 266 590
Nevada 192 147
Hawaii 164 92
Alaska 119 17

View All Rankings >

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

Economics Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Economics 5,405
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 4,914
Development Economics & International Development 118
Applied Economics 34
Other Economics 27
International Economics 22

View All Economics Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Sociology 15,499
General Social Sciences 9,318
Political Science & Government 8,530
Anthropology 2,822
International Relations & National Security 1,387
Geography & Cartography 1,251
Other Social Sciences 451
Urban Studies 361
Archeology 48
Demography & Population Studies 34

View All Economics Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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