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 8 schools in Maryland to determine which ones were the best for economics students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,519 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. 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.
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 Maryland 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.
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.
Johns Hopkins University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in economics. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were approximately 450 economics students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics program at Johns Hopkins University make $37,503 above the standard college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
It's difficult to beat University of Maryland - College Park if you want to pursue a degree in economics. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #37 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UMCP is a great university overall.
There were about 511 economics students who graduated with this degree at UMCP in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from University of Maryland - College Park earn $3,376 more than the standard economics graduate.
University of Maryland - Baltimore County is a good option for students pursuing a degree in economics. UMBC is a large public university located in the large suburb of Baltimore. This university ranks 6th out of 35 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were approximately 114 economics students who graduated with this degree at UMBC in the most recent data year. After graduation, economics degree recipients typically make around $54,859 at the beginning of their careers.
Loyola University Maryland is a good option for students pursuing a degree in economics. Located in the city of Baltimore, Loyola Maryland is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #157 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Loyola Maryland is a great university overall.
There were roughly 13 economics students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Maryland in the most recent year we have data available.
Towson is a large public university located in the city of Towson. A Best Colleges rank of #188 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Towson is a great university overall.
There were approximately 68 economics students who graduated with this degree at Towson in the most recent data year. After graduating, economics degree recipients typically make about $50,910 in the first five years of their career.
Located in the rural area of St. Mary's City, SMCM is a public college with a small student population. This college ranks 24th out of 35 colleges for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were approximately 40 economics students who graduated with this degree at SMCM 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 $51,483.
Salisbury is a moderately-sized public university located in the small suburb of Salisbury. This university ranks 12th out of 35 schools for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were roughly 8 economics students who graduated with this degree at Salisbury in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the small city of Baltimore, Goucher is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 27th out of 35 schools for overall quality in the state of Maryland.
There were roughly 16 economics students who graduated with this degree at Goucher in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program state that they receive average early career earnings of $46,774.
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. 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.
