DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/social-sciences/economics/applied-economics/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 3
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 45.06), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "MS in Applied Economics" with relevance 1
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "MS in Applied Economics" ACCEPTED (relevance 1)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Economics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Economics (I Have a HS Diploma or Associate Degree)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: Checking offer "Economics (I Have a Bachelors)" with relevance 0.9
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Economics (I Have a Bachelors)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.9)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 3
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 2 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 2
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 2 offers with relevance >= 0.9
Best Schools for Applied Economics in Virginia
If you are not interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the applied economics degrees they offer, see the list below.
Top Schools in Applied Economics
Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University tops our 2026 ranking of the best applied economics schools. Set in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University is a very large public institution. Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University graduates 86% of students within six years. There were roughly 19 applied economics students who graduated with this degree at Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University in the most recent data year. Applied Economics graduates of Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University earn a median of $56,261 early in their careers. Students borrow a median of $22,500 to complete this degree.
See the full applied economics program report for Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 1 school evaluated.
- 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
ADBLOCK #116