2024 Best Economics Schools in the Southeast Region
87Colleges in the Southeast Region
6,166Economics Degrees Awarded
$46,738Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #19 in popularity, economics is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 87 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for economics students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,166 degrees in economics during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Your choice of economics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Economics School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
The economics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Economics Schools in the Southeast Region.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Best Schools for Economics in the Southeast Region
The schools below may not offer all types of economics degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Any student who is interested in economics has to check out Vanderbilt University. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Nashville. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.
There were approximately 272 economics students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Vanderbilt University get an earnings boost of around $26,003 above the typical earnings of economics majors.
Any student pursuing a degree in economics needs to look into Duke University. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were approximately 256 economics students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Duke University earn $47,961 more than the standard economics student.
University of Virginia - Main Campus is a good option for students interested in a degree in economics. University of Virginia is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Charlottesville. A Best Colleges rank of #33 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Virginia is a great university overall.
There were approximately 528 economics students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics major at University of Virginia - Main Campus get $15,464 above the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Emory University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Located in the city of Atlanta, Emory is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.
There were roughly 167 economics students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Emory University earn a boost of about $8,320 above the typical earnings of economics majors.
UNC Chapel Hill is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Chapel Hill. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were about 419 economics students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics degree program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $10,573 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #58 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UF is a great university overall.
There were about 330 economics students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the economics program make about $45,380 for their early career.
Tulane is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New Orleans. A Best Colleges rank of #78 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Tulane is a great university overall.
There were about 186 economics students who graduated with this degree at Tulane in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program report average early career earnings of $40,619.
Located in the distant town of Lexington, Washington and Lee is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #83 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Washington and Lee is a great university overall.
There were approximately 63 economics students who graduated with this degree at Washington and Lee in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Washington and Lee University earn $4,905 more than the standard economics grad.
Wake Forest University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem. This university ranks 4th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 117 economics students who graduated with this degree at Wake Forest University in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Wake Forest University get an earnings boost of around $10,362 over the typical income of economics majors.
Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #62 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Virginia Tech is a great school overall.
There were roughly 102 economics students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Tech in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the economics program earn an average of $43,249 for their early career.
Located in the suburb of Williamsburg, William & Mary is a public school with a moderately-sized student population. This school ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were approximately 127 economics students who graduated with this degree at William & Mary in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics degree program at William & Mary earn $8,241 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 77 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were about 295 economics students who graduated with this degree at Florida State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the economics program make an average of $48,301 for their early career.
Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #24 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.
There were about 77 economics students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent year we have data available.
Here are some additional great schools for Economics students in the Southeast Region that almost earned our Best Economics Schools in the Southeast Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
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