Ranked #19 in popularity, economics is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 9 schools in North Carolina to determine which ones were the best for economics students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 1,297 degrees in economics to qualified students.
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. We derive our Best Overall Economics School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
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 North Carolina list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
The schools below may not offer all types of economics degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
Duke University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in economics. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 288 economics students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Duke University receive $43,322 more than the typical economics grad.
It is hard to beat University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill if you want to pursue a degree in economics. Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #38 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNC Chapel Hill is a great university overall.
There were approximately 469 economics students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill get an earnings boost of around $10,017 above the average income of economics majors.
Wake Forest University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in economics. Located in the large city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #76 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Wake Forest University is a great university overall.
There were about 120 economics students who graduated with this degree at Wake Forest University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the economics program make about $56,416 in their early career salary.
It is hard to beat Elon University if you want to pursue a degree in economics. Elon is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized suburb of Elon. This university ranks 5th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were about 44 economics students who graduated with this degree at Elon in the most recent data year.
UNC Charlotte is a fairly large public university located in the city of Charlotte. This university ranks 10th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 42 economics students who graduated with this degree at UNC Charlotte in the most recent data year.
Located in the large city of Raleigh, NC State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #122 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means NC State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 25 economics students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year.
Located in the city of Greenville, ECU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were roughly 68 economics students who graduated with this degree at ECU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, economics degree recipients generally make an average of $46,425 at the beginning of their careers.
Located in the city of Greensboro, UNC Greensboro is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 17th out of 93 colleges for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 43 economics students who graduated with this degree at UNC Greensboro in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the city of Greensboro, NC A&T is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 51st out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 14 economics students who graduated with this degree at NC A&T in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the economics program make about $45,446 in their early career salary.
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. We derive our Best Overall Economics School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
