Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Economics

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 351

Avg grad salary: $69,154

Total graduates: 27,204

Top Colleges for Economics — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	Duke University Durham, NC	$153,139	$98,649	119	$13,437	6.8%
2	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	$127,832	$92,075	124	$13,197	4.8%
3	Amherst College Amherst, MA	$127,636	$90,568	29	$16,662	9.8%
4	Stanford University Stanford, CA	$127,416	$98,104	29	$12,500	3.9%
5	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	$125,816	$89,097	83	$14,000	5.9%
6	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	$125,751	$85,879	55	$19,500	10.4%
7	Yale University New Haven, CT	$125,006	$82,617	88	$13,250	4.5%
8	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	$124,570	$103,993	88	$6,617	3.5%
9	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	$118,120	$94,675	123	$18,400	6.2%
10	Columbia University New York, NY	$117,355	$83,135	157	$25,000	4.2%
11	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	$115,832	$89,505	47	$12,000	11.1%
12	NYU New York, NY	$115,546	$77,828	191	$21,250	9.4%
13	Williams College Williamstown, MA	$115,082	$80,888	79	$12,925	10.0%
14	Trinity College Hartford, CT	$112,699	$71,191	62	$21,500	33.5%
15	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	$110,050	$71,737	24	$23,399	17.4%
16	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	$108,040	$78,181	46	$12,494	7.6%
17	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$107,248	$84,967	127	$15,500	8.2%
18	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$106,624	$80,446	218	$13,000	11.7%
19	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$105,795	$84,932	178	$16,227	7.1%
20	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	$105,566	$76,944	43	$19,500	6.9%
21	Tufts University Medford, MA	$105,444	$75,125	96	$17,850	10.1%
22	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	$104,258	$84,311	112	$12,424	6.3%
23	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	$103,456	$77,274	52	$17,500	11.9%
24	Barnard College New York, NY	$103,309	$85,860	46	$16,750	8.0%
25	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	N/A	$103,041	60	$11,250	4.5%
26	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	$102,794	$76,606	60	$19,500	43.8%
27	University of Richmond University of Richmond, VA	$102,501	$61,027	37	$23,000	23.3%
28	Colby College Waterville, ME	$102,153	$76,401	34	$24,250	6.8%
29	Pomona College Claremont, CA	$100,669	$70,051	24	N/A	6.8%
30	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$100,568	$76,299	137	$19,965	12.4%
31	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	$96,461	$69,288	128	$27,000	21.1%
32	Brown University Providence, RI	$94,824	$72,064	84	$13,000	5.2%
33	Hamilton College Clinton, NY	$94,218	$71,350	60	$18,250	11.8%
34	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	$94,093	$86,284	31	$22,020	11.4%
35	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$93,934	$72,099	243	$18,000	15.7%
36	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$92,475	$84,460	91	$16,500	13.1%
37	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	$91,751	$76,722	55	$20,927	21.6%
38	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	$91,749	$86,367	58	$11,190	13.9%
39	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH	$91,624	$69,807	26	$19,500	96.1%
40	Northeastern University Boston, MA	$91,376	$74,868	122	$24,500	9.9%
41	Bates College Lewiston, ME	$90,762	$71,187	29	$13,000	13.0%
42	Baylor University Waco, TX	$90,608	$74,886	24	$26,500	51.0%
43	Providence College Providence, RI	$90,036	$69,364	43	$26,000	48.7%
44	Indiana University Bloomington, IN	$89,404	$71,100	63	$20,500	80.4%
45	Lafayette College Easton, PA	$88,504	$68,164	60	$19,500	31.5%
46	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	$88,368	$75,867	40	$19,500	8.0%
47	UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$88,311	$66,334	301	$13,516	27.8%
48	Rice University Houston, TX	$88,145	$78,814	32	$11,289	7.9%
49	Villanova University Villanova, PA	$88,087	$67,065	116	$27,000	25.1%
50	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	$87,870	$57,299	49	$25,295	35.3%
51	University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI	$87,800	$68,416	436	$19,690	17.9%
52	DePauw University Greencastle, IN	$87,437	$63,395	50	$26,978	54.1%
53	University of Rochester Rochester, NY	$86,785	$63,475	47	$19,946	35.9%
54	Connecticut College New London, CT	$86,772	$62,732	68	$25,206	38.3%
55	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$86,679	$71,340	66	$21,000	11.1%
56	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA	$86,599	$62,925	81	$27,000	47.5%
57	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	$86,390	$62,286	55	$18,575	76.3%
58	Union College Schenectady, NY	$85,922	$62,846	74	$27,000	43.8%
59	Manhattan University Riverdale, NY	$85,294	$41,062	26	$26,080	78.5%
60	Pace University New York, NY	$84,209	$51,426	54	$25,937	77.1%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Economics Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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