2025 Best Economics Schools in the Far Western US Region
68Colleges in the Far Western US Region
12,012Economics Degrees Awarded
$55,327Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in economics, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #19 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 68 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Economics Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,012 degrees in economics annually.
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. For our Best Overall Economics School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Economics Schools in the Far Western US Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Economics in the Far Western US Region
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the economics degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Every student pursuing a degree in economics needs to take a look at University of California - Berkeley. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools 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 data year. Economics degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of about $25,119 over the typical income of economics graduates.
It is hard to beat Stanford University if you want to pursue a degree in economics. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools 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. Economics degree recipients from Stanford University get an earnings boost of around $42,777 over the typical earnings of economics graduates.
Every student who is interested in economics needs to check out University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.
There were approximately 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 $6,764 over the typical income of economics majors.
University of California - Santa Barbara is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in economics. UCSB is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara. A Best Colleges rank of #47 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UCSB is a great university overall.
There were roughly 679 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of California - Santa Barbara get an earnings boost of approximately $11,007 over the average earnings of economics graduates.
Claremont McKenna is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Claremont. A Best Colleges rank of #43 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Claremont McKenna is a great college overall.
There were approximately 129 economics students who graduated with this degree at Claremont McKenna in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Claremont McKenna College earn $34,178 more than the standard economics grad.
Located 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 #13 out of 2,152 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. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program report average early career wages of $57,060.
UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were approximately 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 income of $50,295.
Located in the large city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #49 out of 2,152 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. Students who receive their degree from the economics program make about $51,192 for their early career.
Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were about 482 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program state that they receive average early career earnings of $44,087.
SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #53 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.
There were about 108 economics students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics major at Santa Clara University earn $21,279 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle. A Best Colleges rank of #44 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW Seattle is a great university overall.
There were about 355 economics students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year. Soon after graduating, economics degree recipients usually earn around $53,934 in their early careers.
UCR is a fairly large public university located in the city of Riverside. This university ranks 28th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 341 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the economics program earn around $37,149 in the first couple years of working.
Located in the city of Santa Cruz, UC Santa Cruz is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #91 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Santa Cruz is a great university overall.
There were about 199 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Santa Cruz in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, economics degree recipients typically earn about $50,518 in their early careers.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Economics Schools in the Far Western US Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
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