Best Schools for Economics in 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.
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.