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2023 Most Popular Economics Schools

927 Colleges
$48,722 Avg Salary
$21,489 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Economics 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 Most Popular Economics Schools ranking. This report analyzed 927 schools in the United States to see which ones were the most popular programs for business students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Economics program at each school on the list.

Check out the economics programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in the United States.

Our analysis found University of California - Los Angeles to be the most popular school for economics students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at UCLA take out is $15,000. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $376.

Read full report on Economics at University of California - Los Angeles

Out of the 927 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public school with a very large student population.

Economics majors at UW - Madison take out an average of $20,500 in student loans while working on their egree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $345.

Read full report on Economics at University of Wisconsin - Madison

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Economics Schools list. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at UC Berkeley take out is $12,650. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $343, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Economics at University of California - Berkeley Report

The excellent programs at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best economics schools in the United States. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, economics majors at U-M accumulate an average of around $18,750 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 $853.

Full Economics at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Santa Barbara. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Schools list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara, UCSB is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from UCSB carry an average student debt load of $13,440. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $308.

Full Economics at University of California - Santa Barbara Report

University of California - Davis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular economics programs. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

While working on their degree, economics majors at UC Davis accumulate an average of around $12,500 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $297.

Read full report on Economics at University of California - Davis

#7

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for economics students. It came in at #7 on the list. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at UChicago take out is $13,395.

Read full report on Economics at University of Chicago

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular economics programs. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public school with a very large student population.

Economics majors at UIUC take out an average of $19,500 in student loans while working on their egree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $488.

Read full report on Economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#9

New York University

New York, NY

New York University ranked #9 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Schools list. Located in the city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, economics majors at NYU accumulate an average of around $19,767 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $1,175.

Full Economics at New York University Report

#10

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

With a ranking of #10, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. University of Virginia is a very large public school located in the suburb of Charlottesville.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at University of Virginia take out is $18,423.

Read More…

With a ranking of #11, University of Maryland - College Park did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. UMCP is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of College Park.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at UMCP take out is $19,000. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $296, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Economics at University of Maryland - College Park Report

With a ranking of #12, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public college with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from UC Irvine carry an average student debt load of $15,004. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $185.

Read full report on Economics at University of California - Irvine

University of Connecticut came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Economics Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Storrs, UCONN is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from UCONN carry an average student debt load of $21,125. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $550.

Read full report on Economics at University of Connecticut

With a ranking of #14, University of California - San Diego did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. UCSD is a very large public school located in the large city of La Jolla.

On average, economics graduates from UCSD take out $14,667 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $249, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read More…

Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for economics students. It came in at #15 on the list. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New York.

On average, economics graduates from Columbia take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $855.

Full Economics at Columbia University in the City of New York Report

#16

Boston University

Boston, MA

With a ranking of #16, Boston University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from Boston U carry an average student debt load of $24,224. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $888, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Economics at Boston University Report

With a ranking of #17, University of Massachusetts Amherst did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. Located in the large suburb of Amherst, UMass Amherst is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, economics graduates from UMass Amherst take out $22,250 in student loans while working on their degree. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $321.

Read full report on Economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst

#17

Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA

With a ranking of #17, Boston College did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. Boston College is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Chestnut Hill.

Economics majors at Boston College take out an average of $18,000 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $853.

Full Economics at Boston College Report

The University of Texas at Austin ranked #19 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Schools list. Located in the large city of Austin, UT Austin is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Economics majors at UT Austin take out an average of $31,293 in student loans while working on their egree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $235.

Full Economics at The University of Texas at Austin Report

#20

Utah State University

Logan, UT

Utah State University ranked #20 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Schools list. Located in the small city of Logan, USU is a public college with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from USU carry an average student debt load of $13,245.

Read full report on Economics at Utah State University

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked #21 on this year’s Most Popular Economics Schools list. Located in the city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public school with a very large student population.

Economics majors at UNC Chapel Hill take out an average of $14,135 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $245, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Economics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Report

#22

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

With a ranking of #22, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. Johns Hopkins is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Baltimore.

While working on their degree, economics majors at Johns Hopkins accumulate an average of around $23,848 in student debt.

Read More…

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #22 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular economics programs. UMN Twin Cities is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

The average amount in student loans that economics majors at UMN Twin Cities take out is $19,500. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $276.

Full Economics at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Report

Rutgers University - New Brunswick did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for economics students. It came in at #24 on the list. Rutgers New Brunswick is a very large public school located in the small city of New Brunswick.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from Rutgers New Brunswick carry an average student debt load of $22,750. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $357.

Read More…

#25

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With a ranking of #25, Northwestern University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for economics students. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

After completing their degree, economics graduates from Northwestern carry an average student debt load of $15,250. 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 More…

#26

Queens College

Queens, NY
#28

Binghamton University

Vestal, NY
#29

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI
#34

University of Florida

Gainesville, FL
#35

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY
#35

Pasadena City College

Pasadena, CA
#37

Brandeis University

Waltham, MA
#38

University at Albany

Albany, NY
#40

Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL
#41

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA
#42

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN
#43

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA
#44

University of Oregon

Eugene, OR
#44

Georgetown University

Washington, DC
#46

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN
#47

San Diego State University

San Diego, CA
#47

Syracuse University

Syracuse, NY
#49

Duke University

Durham, NC
#50

George Washington University

Washington, DC

Remaining Award Winners

This section represents the rest of the schools awarded a Most Popular Economics Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 927 different United States economics schools we analyzed.

Rank College Location
51 University of Houston Houston, TX
51 Yale University New Haven, CT
53 Cornell University Ithaca, NY
54 Tufts University Medford, MA
54 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
56 Northeastern University Boston, MA
57 University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT
58 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
59 University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
60 Blinn College Brenham, TX
61 California State University - Sacramento Sacramento, CA
61 Brown University Providence, RI
63 University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA
64 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
65 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
66 Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN
67 University of South Florida - Main Campus Tampa, FL
68 Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA
69 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA
70 Brigham Young University - Provo Provo, UT
70 Dartmouth College Hanover, NH
72 University of Delaware Newark, DE
73 Fordham University Bronx, NY
74 Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO
75 Emory University Atlanta, GA
76 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA
76 United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD
78 Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD
79 University of Miami Coral Gables, FL
80 Florida International University Miami, FL
80 University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY
82 Grossmont College El Cajon, CA
83 Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH
84 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO
85 Fort Hays State University Hays, KS
86 Villanova University Villanova, PA
87 Clemson University Clemson, SC
88 The City College of New York New York, NY
89 American University Washington, DC
90 University of Massachusetts - Boston Boston, MA
91 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
91 Indiana University - Bloomington Bloomington, IN
91 College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA
94 West Valley College Saratoga, CA
95 University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
95 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA
97 Rice University Houston, TX
98 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL
99 William & Mary Williamsburg, VA
99 University of Rochester Rochester, NY
101 San Jose State University San Jose, CA
102 Hunter College New York, NY
103 Moorpark College Moorpark, CA
104 University of Maryland - Baltimore County Baltimore, MD
104 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
106 University of Kansas Lawrence, KS
107 Colgate University Hamilton, NY
107 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC
109 Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA
109 Stanford University Stanford, CA
111 University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO
112 Golden West College Huntington Beach, CA
113 Lafayette College Easton, PA
113 California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA
113 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
116 East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA
117 Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX
118 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA
119 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA
120 Los Angeles Valley College Valley Glen, CA
120 East Carolina University Greenville, NC
120 University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Norman, OK
123 Williams College Williamstown, MA
124 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA
125 Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA
125 Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA
127 Baruch College New York, NY
127 Middlebury College Middlebury, VT
127 Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
130 Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
130 University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH
130 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
133 California State University - Northridge Northridge, CA
133 Towson University Towson, MD
133 Temple University Philadelphia, PA
136 Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY
137 Wellesley College Wellesley, MA
138 St Olaf College Northfield, MN
138 DePauw University Greencastle, IN
138 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional popular schools for Economics students that almost earned our Most Popular Economics Schools award.

Rank College Location
141 University of Vermont Burlington, VT
142 Sierra College Rocklin, CA
142 Washington State University Pullman, WA
144 Folsom Lake College Folsom, CA
145 California State University - Long Beach Long Beach, CA
145 Davidson College Davidson, NC
147 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH
148 Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA
149 University of Georgia Athens, GA
149 University of Nevada - Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
149 Pace University - New York New York, NY
152 California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA
152 Portland State University Portland, OR
154 Montclair State University Montclair, NJ
154 The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX
154 St Lawrence University Canton, NY
154 Barnard College New York, NY
158 San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA
159 Trinity College Hartford, CT
159 Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus Atlanta, GA
161 College of San Mateo San Mateo, CA
161 Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA
163 Hamilton College Clinton, NY
164 Western Washington University Bellingham, WA
164 Denison University Granville, OH
164 Colby College Waterville, ME
167 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME
167 University of New Hampshire - Main Campus Durham, NH
167 Ohio University - Athens Campus Athens, OH
170 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL
170 University of Denver Denver, CO
172 Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO
173 University of New Mexico - Main Campus Albuquerque, NM
173 University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI
175 Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA
175 University of Nevada - Reno Reno, NV
175 University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA
175 Clark University Worcester, MA
179 University of Kentucky Lexington, KY
179 Pepperdine University Malibu, CA
181 De Anza College Cupertino, CA
182 Centre College Danville, KY
182 Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA
184 Buffalo State Buffalo, NY
184 Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA
184 Providence College Providence, RI

Economics by Region

View the Most Popular Economics 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.

  • 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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