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2023 Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools

535 Colleges

Finding the Best Economics Bachelor's Degree School for You

In <nil>, 47,809 economics students received their degrees and certificates, making the major the #6 most popular in the country.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for business students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Business Degree Central has developed this Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 535 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for business students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for economics majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in Economics

#1

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Claremont McKenna College the best school in the United States for economics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Claremont.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at Claremont McKenna take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $12,708.

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#2

Williams College

Williamstown, MA

Out of the 535 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Williams College landed the # 2 spot on the list. Williams is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Williamstown.

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#3

Duke University

Durham, NC

Out of the 535 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Economics at Duke University

#4

Rice University

Houston, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Rice University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Economics majors at Rice take out an average of $13,416 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Economics at Rice University

#5

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Dartmouth College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best economics schools in the United States. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $685.

Full Economics at Dartmouth College Report

#6

Princeton University

Princeton, NJ

Princeton University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Princeton is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Princeton.

Full Economics at Princeton University Report

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

On average, economics graduates from UChicago take out $14,165 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Economics at University of Chicago

#8

Yale University

New Haven, CT

Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize city of New Haven, Yale is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

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#9

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

University of Notre Dame landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

On average, economics graduates from Notre Dame take out $18,335 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $666.

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#10

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at Vanderbilt take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $14,041. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $622.

Read full report on Economics at Vanderbilt University

#11

Pomona College

Claremont, CA

With a ranking of #11, Pomona College did quite well on this year’s best schools for economics students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Claremont, Pomona is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Economics at Pomona College

#12

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, economics graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debtload of $15,952. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $546.

Read full report on Economics at Northwestern University

#13

Amherst College

Amherst, MA

Amherst College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Amherst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Amherst.

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#14

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Harvard University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

Read full report on Economics at Harvard University

#15

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Pittsburgh.

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Colorado School of Mines landed the #16 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Located in the large suburb of Golden, Mines is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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#17

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY

Cornell University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Located in the small city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, economics majors at Cornell accumulate an average of around $13,982 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $654.

Read full report on Economics at Cornell University

#18

Bowdoin College

Brunswick, ME

Bowdoin College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Located in the town of Brunswick, Bowdoin is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Economics at Bowdoin College Report

#19

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

University of Pennsylvania landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Located in the large city of Philadelphia, UPenn is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, economics graduates from UPenn carry an average student debtload of $16,728.

Full Economics at University of Pennsylvania Report

#20

Brown University

Providence, RI

Brown University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Providence.

While working on their Bachelor's Degree, economics majors at Brown accumulate an average of around $14,570 in student debt.

Full Economics at Brown University Report

#21

Colgate University

Hamilton, NY

Colgate University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the distant town of Hamilton, Colgate is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

On average, economics graduates from Colgate take out $16,832 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Economics at Colgate University Report

#22

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Johns Hopkins is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.

On average, economics graduates from Johns Hopkins take out $12,934 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Economics at Johns Hopkins University Report

University of California - Berkeley did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #23 on the list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a very large student population.

After completing their Bachelor's Degree, economics graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $13,558. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $343, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

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#24

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Stanford University landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree economics programs. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Stanford.

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#25

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA

Bucknell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #25 on the list. Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Lewisburg.

Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $826.

Full Economics at Bucknell University Report

Rest of the Top 50 Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools

#26

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA
#27

Lafayette College

Easton, PA
#28

Wellesley College

Wellesley, MA
#29

Wake Forest University

Winston-Salem, NC
#30

DePauw University

Greencastle, IN
#31

Barnard College

New York, NY
#32

Bates College

Lewiston, ME
#35

Haverford College

Haverford, PA
#36

Carleton College

Northfield, MN
#38

Denison University

Granville, OH
#39

College of the Holy Cross

Worcester, MA
#40

Georgetown University

Washington, DC
#41

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA
#42

Grinnell College

Grinnell, IA
#43

Augustana University

Sioux Falls, SD
#44

Villanova University

Villanova, PA
#45

Tufts University

Medford, MA
#46

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, PA
#47

Vassar College

Poughkeepsie, NY
#49

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

Remaining Award Winners

This section represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 535 different United States economics schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 Lycoming College Williamsport, PA
52 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
53 Hamilton College Clinton, NY
54 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
55 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
56 University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA
57 Florida Southern College Lakeland, FL
58 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
59 Emory University Atlanta, GA
60 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
61 Wheaton College Illinois Wheaton, IL
62 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY
63 Trinity College Hartford, CT
64 Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY
65 University of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls, WI
66 University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA
67 Sewanee - The University of the South Sewanee, TN
68 Colby College Waterville, ME
69 Gustavus Adolphus College Saint Peter, MN
70 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
71 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
72 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
73 College of Saint Benedict Saint Joseph, MN
74 Marquette University Milwaukee, WI
75 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
76 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
77 Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH
78 New York University New York, NY
79 Saint Johns University Collegeville, MN
80 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
80 Oberlin College Oberlin, OH

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 award.

Rank College Location
82 Mount St Mary’s University Emmitsburg, MD
83 Furman University Greenville, SC
84 Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL
85 Elon University Elon, NC
86 Kenyon College Gambier, OH
87 Webster University Saint Louis, MO
88 The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ
89 University of Delaware Newark, DE
90 James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA
91 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
92 Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA
93 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA
94 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
95 Dickinson College Carlisle, PA
96 Minnesota State University - Moorhead Moorhead, MN
97 Roanoke College Salem, VA
98 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
99 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
100 Union College New York Schenectady, NY
101 University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
102 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
103 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
104 Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO
105 Trinity University San Antonio, TX
106 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
107 George Washington University Washington, DC

Economics by Region

View the Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

Economics Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Economics 25,066
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 21,078
Applied Economics 550
Development Economics & International Development 535
International Economics 305
Other Economics 275

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to pixabay.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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