2025 Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region
61Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
6,646Economics 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 61 colleges and universities when compiling its 2025 Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,646 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 picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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 Great Lakes 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.
It's hard to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a degree in economics. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were about 777 economics students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of Chicago earn a boost of about $36,748 above the typical earnings of economics majors.
Every student pursuing a degree in economics has to look into Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 421 economics students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics program at Northwestern University get $29,605 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
University of Notre Dame is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were about 252 economics students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame earn $20,972 more than the typical economics grad.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in economics. Located in the city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were about 690 economics students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $13,089 more than the typical economics grad.
Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were about 312 economics students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program report average early career wages of $54,013.
UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 495 economics students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $3,594 more than the typical economics graduate.
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 714 economics students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, economics degree recipients generally earn an average of $54,495 in their early careers.
Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 351 economics students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the economics program earn about $50,296 in their early career salary.
Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were about 205 economics students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Purdue University - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $3,860 above the typical earnings of economics majors.
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were roughly 110 economics students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Indiana University - Bloomington receive $3,815 more than the typical economics student.
Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 119 economics students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics degree program at Miami University - Oxford make $2,052 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the town of Greencastle, DePauw is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 11th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were about 61 economics students who graduated with this degree at DePauw in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics major at DePauw University make $8,068 above the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
Here are some additional great schools for Economics students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes 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).
Credit for the banner image above goes to pixabay.
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.
