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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 6 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Economics Schools in Iowa ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 326 degrees in economics annually.
Your choice of economics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
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 Iowa list to help you make the college 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.
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.
University of Iowa is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Iowa is a fairly large public university located in the city of Iowa City. A Best Colleges rank of #80 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa is a great university overall.
There were roughly 112 economics students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, economics degree recipients usually make an average of $50,223 in their early careers.
Grinnell College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in economics. Located in the remote town of Grinnell, Grinnell is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 4th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were approximately 46 economics students who graduated with this degree at Grinnell in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the economics program earn an average of $46,791 for their early career.
Iowa State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Located in the city of Ames, Iowa State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #88 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 59 economics students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Iowa State University make $2,292 more than the average economics grad.
University of Northern Iowa is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in economics. Located in the small city of Cedar Falls, UNI is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #270 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UNI is a great university overall.
There were roughly 32 economics students who graduated with this degree at UNI in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the economics program report average early career wages of $49,314.
Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Drake is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 5th out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were roughly 8 economics students who graduated with this degree at Drake in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids, Coe is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 22nd out of 37 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were approximately 19 economics students who graduated with this degree at Coe in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the economics program earn an average of $42,311 in the first couple years of their career.
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.
Your choice of economics school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. 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.
