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2025 Best Economics Schools in Pennsylvania

23 Colleges in Pennsylvania
2,191 Economics Degrees Awarded
$55,327 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.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 23 schools in Pennsylvania to determine which ones were the best for economics students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,191 degrees in economics annually.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Economics School

Best Economics Schools in Pennsylvania 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

Bachelor's Degrees in Economics
Master's Degrees in Economics
Doctor's Degrees in Economics

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 Pennsylvania list, to help you choose the best school for you. 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.

Best Schools for Economics in Pennsylvania

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 Pennsylvania Schools in Economics

1
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
281 Economics Degrees Awarded
2.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in economics needs to look into University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.

There were roughly 281 economics students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics degree program at University of Pennsylvania make $33,770 above the typical college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in economics from University of Pennsylvania

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
68 Economics Degrees Awarded
$86,284 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in economics needs to look into Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #8 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were about 68 economics students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Carnegie Mellon University receive $30,957 more than the typical economics student.

More information about a degree in economics from Carnegie Mellon University

Sponsored
Masters Degree Type
MS in Applied Economics Program Name

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.

More information about a degree in MS in Applied Economics from Southern New Hampshire University
3
Swarthmore crest
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
80 Economics Degrees Awarded
25.0% Growth in Graduates

Swarthmore College is a good choice for students interested in a degree in economics. Located in the large suburb of Swarthmore, Swarthmore is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Swarthmore is a great college overall.

There were about 80 economics students who graduated with this degree at Swarthmore in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Swarthmore College earn a boost of around $21,617 above the typical income of economics graduates.

More information about a degree in economics from Swarthmore College

4
Villanova crest
Villanova University
Villanova, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
124 Economics Degrees Awarded
$67,065 Median Starting Salary

Villanova University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in economics. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Villanova. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Villanova is a great university overall.

There were about 124 economics students who graduated with this degree at Villanova in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics program at Villanova University make $11,738 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in economics from Villanova University

5
Bucknell crest
Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
133 Economics Degrees Awarded
$70,946 Median Starting Salary

Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Lewisburg. A Best Colleges rank of #158 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Bucknell is a great university overall.

There were approximately 133 economics students who graduated with this degree at Bucknell in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics program at Bucknell University make $15,619 more than the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in economics from Bucknell University

6
Lafayette crest
Lafayette College
Easton, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
140 Economics Degrees Awarded
21.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 14th out of 103 schools for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were about 140 economics students who graduated with this degree at Lafayette in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Lafayette College earn a boost of about $12,837 above the typical income of economics majors.

More information about a degree in economics from Lafayette College

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
186 Economics Degrees Awarded
$50,529 Median Starting Salary

Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #85 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Pitt is a great university overall.

There were about 186 economics students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the economics program earn around $50,529 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in economics from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

8
Haverford crest
Haverford College
Haverford, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In PA

Located in the large suburb of Haverford, Haverford is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

There were approximately 23 economics students who graduated with this degree at Haverford in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in economics from Haverford College

9
Gettysburg crest
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg, PA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Economics Degrees Awarded
10.8% Growth in Graduates

Located in the fringe town of Gettysburg, Gettysburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 16th out of 103 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were approximately 74 economics students who graduated with this degree at Gettysburg in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Gettysburg College get an earnings boost of around $7,598 above the typical earnings of economics graduates.

More information about a degree in economics from Gettysburg College

10
Drexel crest
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
58 Economics Degrees Awarded
13.8% Growth in Graduates

Drexel is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #115 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Drexel is a great university overall.

There were about 58 economics students who graduated with this degree at Drexel in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Drexel University make $15,640 more than the typical economics grad.

More information about a degree in economics from Drexel University

Best Economics Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Economics Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
New York 333 5,213
Maryland 279 1,613
New Jersey 273 843
District of Columbia 188 737
Delaware 175 173

View All Rankings >

One of 13 majors within the Social Sciences area of study, Economics has other similar majors worth exploring.

Economics Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 1,158
General Economics 927
Applied Economics 67
Development Economics & International Development 25
Other Economics 13
International Economics 1

View All Economics Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Political Science & Government 2,049
Sociology 880
Geography & Cartography 665
International Relations & National Security 522
Anthropology 378
General Social Sciences 231
Other Social Sciences 170
Urban Studies 59
Sociology & Anthropology 48
Archeology 20

View All Economics Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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