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2025 Best General Business/Commerce Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

41 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
4,945 Bachelor's Degrees
$48,841 Avg Early-Career Salary
General Business/Commerce is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #21 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 41 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best General Business/Commerce Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,945 bachelor's degrees in general business/commerce during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great General Business/Commerce School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best General Business/Commerce Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The general business bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for general business/commerce students working on their bachelor's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More General Business Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best General Business/Commerce Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study General Business/Commerce in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for general business/commerce students seeking a a bachelor's degree.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in General Business

1
2,457 Annual Graduates
$71,100 Median Starting Salary
$47,742 Median Student Debt

Indiana University - Bloomington is a good option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in general business/commerce. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the general business/commerce major at Indiana University - Bloomington make $22,259 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Indiana University - Bloomington

2

University of Notre Dame is a good decision for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in general business/commerce. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.

General Business/Commerce bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame get an earnings boost of around $24,329 above the typical income of general business/commerce majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from University of Notre Dame

3
267 Annual Graduates
$52,467 Median Starting Salary
$16,136 Median Student Debt

Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in general business/commerce. IUPUI is a fairly large public university located in the city of Indianapolis.

Those general business/commerce students who get their bachelor's degree from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis receive $3,626 more than the standard general business student.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

4
164 Annual Graduates
$46,550 Median Starting Salary
$22,750 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Ball State University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in general business/commerce. Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the general business program make about $46,550 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Ball State University

5
36 Annual Graduates

Illinois Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Bloomington.More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Illinois Wesleyan University

6

Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the general business program make an average of $49,965 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

7

PFW is a medium-sized public university located in the large city of Fort Wayne.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the general business program make an average of $46,950 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Purdue University Fort Wayne

8
Oakland crest
Oakland University
Rochester Hills, MI
63 Annual Graduates
$56,118 Median Starting Salary
$24,922 Median Student Debt

Located in the large suburb of Rochester Hills, Oakland is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the general business/commerce program at Oakland University make $7,277 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Oakland University

9

GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Allendale.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the general business program state that they receive average early career wages of $45,285.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Grand Valley State University

10

Located in the city of South Bend, Indiana University - South Bend is a public university with a small student population.

Soon after graduating, general business bachelor's recipients generally earn around $48,238 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in general business/commerce from Indiana University - South Bend

Best General Business/Commerce Colleges by State

Explore the best general business/commerce schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 366
Ohio 252 288
Illinois 241 453
Indiana 235 3,539
Wisconsin 213 214

View All Rankings >

General Business/Commerce is one of 21 different types of Business, Management & Marketing programs to choose from.

General Business Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Business/Commerce 4,945

Majors Similar to General Business

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 15,832
Finance & Financial Management 9,072
Marketing 8,377
Accounting 6,561
Human Resource Management 1,877
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 1,868
Management Information Systems 1,255
Hospitality Management 779
Construction Management 636
International Business 608

Notes and References

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