2024 Best Economics Schools in California
50
Colleges in California
10,639
Economics Degrees Awarded
$48,538
Avg Early-Career Salary
Economics is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #19 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual looked at 50 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Economics Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 10,639 degrees in economics during the 2021-2022 academic year.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Economics School
The economics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Economics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for economics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Pick Your Economics Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Economics Schools in California list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.
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Featured Economics Programs
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
MS in Applied Economics
If you're the kind of person who enjoys working with numbers and solving tough problems, a graduate degree in economics may be for you.
Learn More
Best Schools for Economics in California
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the economics degree levels they offer.
10 Top California Schools in Economics
Stanford University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in economics. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were about 149 economics students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics degree program at Stanford University get $11,937 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in economics from Stanford UniversityUniversity of California - Berkeley is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in economics. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 830 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics program at University of California - Berkeley make $22,792 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
More information about a degree in economics from University of California - BerkeleyClaremont McKenna College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Claremont McKenna is a great college overall.
There were about 129 economics students who graduated with this degree at Claremont McKenna in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Claremont McKenna College earn $47,028 more than the typical economics graduate.
More information about a degree in economics from Claremont McKenna CollegeUniversity of California - Los Angeles is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in economics. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were about 1052 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of California - Los Angeles get an earnings boost of about $4,203 above the typical income of economics majors.
More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Los AngelesLocated in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 377 economics students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from University of Southern California get an earnings boost of about $6,299 above the average income of economics majors.
More information about a degree in economics from University of Southern CaliforniaUCSB is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #45 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were approximately 679 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from University of California - Santa Barbara earn a boost of about $10,927 over the typical earnings of economics majors.
More information about a degree in economics from University of California - Santa BarbaraLocated in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCSD is a great university overall.
There were approximately 455 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCSD in the most recent data year. After graduating, economics degree recipients usually make around $42,370 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in economics from University of California - San DiegoUC Davis is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were about 614 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program report average early career earnings of $44,249.
More information about a degree in economics from University of California - DavisLocated in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were approximately 482 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the economics program earn an average of $40,188 in the first couple years of their career.
More information about a degree in economics from University of California - IrvinePomona is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #57 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Pomona is a great college overall.
There were roughly 47 economics students who graduated with this degree at Pomona in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Pomona College make $18,500 more than the average economics student.
More information about a degree in economics from Pomona College