Best Colleges For Economics Degrees

This is a ranking of the best colleges for economics using our RealRank analysis methodology.

Economics is a social science that focuses on understanding how real-world product and service markets work both on a macroeconomic and microeconomic scale. This includes finance, production, labor and theories of supply and demand. The top schools in the field also can be highly mathematical since these days the practical uses of economics involve complex modelling of economic spheres, like capital markets, monetary policy and money supply, and efficient operation of production, transport, pricing and wages.

The top universities for economics should imbue their students with skills having real world value in national wealth maximization for policy makers, and economic theory and practice of real world value in economic entities, from regulatory agencies, to productive corporations, to participants in finance and capital markets.

Top 100 Best Colleges for Economics

Rank	College	City	State
1	University of Chicago	Chicago	IL
2	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Cambridge	MA
3	Stanford University	Palo Alto	CA
4	Princeton University	Princeton	NJ
5	Harvard University	Cambridge	MA
6	Yale University	New Haven	CT
7	Columbia University	New York	NY
8	University of California - Berkeley	Berkeley	CA
9	Northwestern University	Evanston	IL
10	University of Texas	Austin	TX
11	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	PA
12	University of California - Los Angeles	Los Angeles	CA
13	Duke University	Durham	NC
14	New York University	New York	NY
15	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor	MI
16	The Ohio State University	Columbus	OH
17	Arizona State University	Tempe	AZ
18	Cornell University	Ithaca	NY
19	University of Maryland	College Park	MD
20	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh	PA
21	Penn State	University Park	PA
22	University of Minnesota	Twin Cities	MN
23	University of California - San Diego	San Diego	CA
24	Texas A&M University	College Station	TX
25	Purdue University	West Lafayette	IN
26	Michigan State University	East Lansing	MI
27	University Of Wisconsin	Madison	WI
28	Brown University	Providence	RI
29	University of Illinois	Champaign	IL
30	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena	CA
31	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore	MD
32	Indiana University	Bloomington	IN
33	University of Arizona	Tuscon	AZ
34	University of Virginia	Charlottesville	VA
35	University of California - Davis	Davis	CA
36	University of Florida	Gainesville	FL
37	University of Southern California	Los Angeles	CA
38	Boston University	Boston	MA
39	University of Washington	Seattle	WA
40	University of North Carolina	Chapel Hill	NC
41	Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlanta	GA
42	North Carolina State University	Raleigh	NC
43	Washington University	St. Louis	MO
44	Vanderbilt University	Nashville	TN
45	University of Rochester	Rochester	NY
46	Iowa State University	Ames	IA
47	University of Georgia	Athens	GA
48	Boston College	Chestnut Hill	MA
49	University of Notre Dame	South Bend	IN
50	University of Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	PA
51	Florida State University	Tallahassee	FL
52	Georgetown University	Washington	DC
53	Dartmouth College	Hanover	NH
54	University of Colorado	Boulder	CO
55	Rice University	Houston	TX
56	Southern Methodist University	Dallas	TX
57	University of Kentucky	Lexington	KY
58	Virginia Polytechnic University (Virginia Tech)	Blacksburg	VA
59	University of Iowa	Iowa City	IA
59	University of Tennessee	Knoxville	TN
61-75	University of Utah	Salt Lake City	UT
61-75	University of California - Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara	CA
61-75	Emory University	Atlanta	GA
61-75	University of Oregon	Eugene	OR
61-75	Georgia State University	Atlanta	GA
61-75	Clemson University	Clemson	SC
61-75	Hillsdale College	Hillsdale	MI
61-75	Rutgers University	Piscataway	NJ
61-75	University of Arkansas	Fayetteville	AR
61-75	University of South Carolina	Columbia	SC
61-75	University of Kansas	Lawrence	KS
61-75	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa	AL
61-75	Colorado State University	Ft. Collins	CO
61-75	University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV)	Las Vegas	NV
61-75	University of Wyoming	Laramie	WY
76-100	George Mason University	Fairfax	VA
76-100	University of South Florida	Tampa	FL
76-100	University of California - Irvine	Irvine	CA
76-100	University of Miami	Coral Gables	FL
76-100	Oregon State University	Corvallis	OR
76-100	University of Illinois - Chicago	Chicago	IL
76-100	Syracuse University	Syracuse	NY
76-100	George Washington University	Washington	DC
76-100	Brigham Young University	Salt Lake City	UT
76-100	Tulane University	New Orleans	LA
76-100	University of Oklahoma	Norman	OK
76-100	University of Nebraska	Lincoln	NB
76-100	Mississippi State University	Starkville	MS
76-100	University of Texas at Dallas	Dallas	TX
76-100	Auburn University	Auburn	AL
76-100	College of William and Mary	Williamsburg	VA
76-100	Tufts University	Medford	MA
76-100	Brandeis University	Waltham	MA
76-100	University of Massachusetts	Amherst	MA
76-100	University of Missouri - Columbia	Columbia	MO
76-100	University of Mississippi	Oxford	MS
76-100	University of Nevada - Reno	Reno	NV
76-100	University of Connecticut	Storrs	CT
76-100	Wellesley College	Wellesley	MA
76-100	Stony Brook University - SUNY	Stony Brook	NY
76-100	Drexel University	Philadelphia	PA
76-100	University of Delaware	Newark	DE
76-100	Washington State University	Pullman	WA
76-100	University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati	OH
76-100	University of Houston	Houston	TX
76-100	State University of New York at Binghamton	Binghamton	NY
76-100	Florida International University	Miami	FL
76-100	Baruch College, City University of New York	New York	NY
76-100	American University	Washington	DC
76-100	Wake Forest University	Winston-Salem	NC
76-100	University of California - Riverside	Riverside	CA
76-100	University of California - Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz	CA
76-100	University of Hawaii - Manoa	Honolulu	HI
76-100	Bowling Green State University	Bowling Green	OH

More information on our RealRank^TManalytics used in creating this ranking can be found on the About page.

Have you taken courses in these departments? If so, what has been your experience at these universities?

What is an Economics Major?

An economics major as an undergraduate is essentially an introduction to the field. Graduate School, such as law, business or advanced Economics is pursued by many students who major in economics as an undergraduate, to earn an advanced degree. Among the subjects covered in a typical Economics major are:

Core Economics, including:
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
Students seeking advanced knowledge typically will take advanced mathematics classes, such as Calculus and Statistics.
Economic specialization fields:
- Monetary Theory
- International Economics
- Labor Economics
- Health Economics
- Urban Economics
- Economic Development and Demography
- Industrial Organization

Post-Graduate Paths for Economics Majors

Many students graduating with a degree in economics go on to graduate school, but there are some opportunities for recent undergraduates as well.

Graduate Schools:
- Law School – pursuing JD degrees.
- Business School – pursuing MBA degrees.
- Economics Graduate School – pursuing Masters or Doctorate degrees in Economics.
Direct Employment:
- Management training programs at large companies.
- Banks
- Consulting firms
- Training programs at Accounting firms.

Related College Profiles:

Best Colleges For Economics Degrees

Top 100 Best Colleges for Economics

What is an Economics Major?

Post-Graduate Paths for Economics Majors

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