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.

Compare schools side by side

Use the CollegeBound compare tool to see full profiles (admissions, costs, and outcomes) for any two schools at once.

Open Compare Tool

Explore Other Majors

Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingView →Business Administration, Management and OperationsView →Psychology, GeneralView →Criminal Justice and CorrectionsView →Business/Commerce, GeneralView →Biology, GeneralView →

← Back to Rankings