Best Schools for Economics in 2026

351 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Economics, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Economics graduate earns $53,967/yr across 351 schools.

Programs Ranked
351
Avg Earnings
$53,967/yr
Avg DW Score
65/100
AI Risk
Very High
59% task exposure

All Economics Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

# School DW Score Earnings ROI
1 University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA · Public
84
80–85
$80,446/yr 20.2x
2 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC · Public
82
78–83
$65,344/yr 25.9x
3 Brigham Young University
Provo, UT · Private nonprofit
82
78–83
$63,332/yr 37.1x
4 Southern New Hampshire University
Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit
81
77–82
$69,807/yr 16.2x
5 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA · Public
80
77–81
$67,501/yr 19.2x
6 University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA · Public
80
77–81
$66,334/yr 17.0x
7 Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA · Public
80
76–81
$53,825/yr 29.7x
8 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI · Public
80
76–81
$68,416/yr 14.8x
9 The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX · Public
80
75–81
$58,717/yr 19.8x
10 Utah State University
Logan, UT · Public
80
76–81
$60,472/yr 22.9x
11 University of California-Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA · Public
79
75–80
$62,091/yr 17.3x
12 University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT · Public
79
75–80
$64,386/yr 20.6x
13 James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA · Public
79
75–80
$62,286/yr 16.8x
14 Indiana University-Bloomington
Bloomington, IN · Public
78
74–79
$59,142/yr 17.4x
15 University of Maryland-College Park
College Park, MD · Public
78
74–79
$58,650/yr 17.9x
16 Purdue University-Main Campus
West Lafayette, IN · Public
78
74–79
$59,187/yr 19.3x
17 Iowa State University
Ames, IA · Public
77
73–78
$57,619/yr 18.3x
18 Harvard University
Cambridge, MA · Private nonprofit
77
73–78
$103,993/yr 5.8x
19 University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Seattle, WA · Public
77
73–78
$53,934/yr 17.3x
20 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Oshkosh, WI · Public
77
73–78
$57,663/yr 21.1x
21 University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI · Public
77
72–78
$54,495/yr 18.0x
22 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public
76
71–77
$58,921/yr 13.2x
23 Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH · Private nonprofit
76
71–77
$94,675/yr 4.8x
24 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
New York, NY · Public
76
72–77
$51,728/yr 25.0x
25 SUNY College at Geneseo
Geneseo, NY · Public
76
73–78
$48,691/yr 23.8x
26 Duke University
Durham, NC · Private nonprofit
76
72–77
$98,649/yr 5.5x
27 University of Virginia-Main Campus
Charlottesville, VA · Public
76
72–77
$74,958/yr 10.4x
28 Stanford University
Stanford, CA · Private nonprofit
76
72–77
$98,104/yr 4.9x
29 Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA · Private nonprofit
75
71–76
$89,505/yr 4.9x
30 University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
Denver, CO · Public
75
71–76
$56,201/yr 17.3x
31 University of Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit
75
71–77
$92,075/yr 4.9x
32 Amherst College
Amherst, MA · Private nonprofit
75
71–76
$90,568/yr 4.6x
33 Binghamton University
Vestal, NY · Public
75
72–76
$48,120/yr 20.4x
34 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Norman, OK · Public
75
71–76
$52,212/yr 18.8x
35 University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit
75
71–76
$89,097/yr 4.8x
36 University of South Dakota
Vermillion, SD · Public
75
71–76
$52,857/yr 18.9x
37 Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT · Private nonprofit
75
70–76
$85,879/yr 4.7x
38 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Whitewater, WI · Public
75
72–76
$46,404/yr 25.1x
39 San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA · Public
74
71–75
$46,310/yr 24.9x
40 Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL · Public
74
71–75
$48,632/yr 34.0x
41 Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL · Public
74
71–75
$47,304/yr 31.6x
42 University of Georgia
Athens, GA · Public
74
70–75
$49,725/yr 16.9x
43 University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA · Public
74
70–75
$50,223/yr 17.1x
44 University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, IA · Public
74
70–75
$49,314/yr 18.5x
45 Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS · Public
74
70–75
$52,490/yr 16.3x
46 Williams College
Williamstown, MA · Private nonprofit
74
70–75
$80,888/yr 4.8x
47 Barnard College
New York, NY · Private nonprofit
74
70–75
$85,860/yr 4.2x
48 Cornell University
Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit
74
69–75
$84,967/yr 3.9x
49 Miami University-Oxford
Oxford, OH · Public
74
70–75
$57,379/yr 11.9x
50 Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA · Private nonprofit
74
70–75
$86,284/yr 4.2x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Economics?
Based on our DegreeWorth Score, University of California-Berkeley ranks #1 for Economics with a score of 84/100 and graduate earnings of $80,446/yr.
How much do Economics graduates earn?
Across 351 schools, Economics graduates earn an average of $53,967/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $103,993/yr.
Is Economics a good major for AI resistance?
Economics has an average AI task exposure of 59%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.
Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.