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College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2025 Best Economics Master's Degree Schools

113 Colleges in the United States
5,317 Master's Degrees
$74,076 Avg Early-Career Salary
a master's degree in economics is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #41 out of 343 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual reviewed 113 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of economics. Combined, these schools handed out 5,317 master's degrees in economics to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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Choosing a Great Economics School for Your Master's Degree

Best Economics Master's Degree Schools Your choice of economics for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality economics program can vary widely even among the top schools. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of master's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their master's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for economics students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Economics Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Economics Rankings Other Ranking Categories

The economics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Economics Master's Degree Schools.

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Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Economics in the United States

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for economics students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

22 Top Schools for a Master's in Economics

1

Johns Hopkins University is a great choice for individuals interested in a master's degree in economics. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Economics master's degree recipients from Johns Hopkins University get an earnings boost of approximately $25,978 above the typical income of economics graduates.

More information about a master’s in economics from Johns Hopkins University

2
64 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in economics has to take a look at Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from Northwestern University

3
67 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Cornell University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in economics. Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from Cornell University

4
179 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Columbia University in the City of New York if you wish to pursue a master's degree in economics. Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in economics from Columbia University in the City of New York

5
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
111 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from Harvard University

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6
78 Annual Graduates

UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.More information about a master’s in economics from University of Chicago

7
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
42 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from Vanderbilt University

8
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
87 Annual Graduates

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a master’s in economics from Duke University

9
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
32 Annual Graduates

UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a master’s in economics from University of Pennsylvania

10
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Georgetown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.

Master's recipients from the economics program at Georgetown University make $5,248 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in economics from Georgetown University

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11
115 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a master’s in economics from University of California - Los Angeles

12
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
17 Annual Graduates

Brown is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence.More information about a master’s in economics from Brown University

13
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
72 Annual Graduates

Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of New Haven.More information about a master’s in economics from Yale University

14
80 Annual Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

15
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
155 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from Boston University

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16
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
190 Annual Graduates

NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York.More information about a master’s in economics from New York University

17

Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the economics major at George Washington University make $8,711 above the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in economics from George Washington University

18
11 Annual Graduates

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a master’s in economics from University of Notre Dame

19
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
24 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in economics from Rice University

20
161 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in economics from University of Southern California

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21
104 Annual Graduates

UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign.More information about a master’s in economics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

22
Williams crest
Williams College
Williamstown, MA
26 Annual Graduates

Williams is a small private not-for-profit college located in the fringe town of Williamstown.More information about a master’s in economics from Williams College

Rest of the Top Best Economics Master's Degree Schools

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Economics students that almost earned our Best Economics Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
23 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
24 University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN
25 Tufts University Medford, MA
26 Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA
27 Northeastern University Boston, MA
28 American University Washington, DC
29 University of Delaware Newark, DE
30 Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO
31 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX
32 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
33 Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX
34 University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst, MA
35 University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA
36 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD
37 University of California - Davis Davis, CA
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Economics by Region

View the Best Economics Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes
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Economics is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.

Economics Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Econometrics & Quantitative Economics 4,337
General Economics 553
Development Economics & International Development 206
Applied Economics 138
Other Economics 49
International Economics 34
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Related Major Annual Graduates
International Relations & National Security 5,262
Political Science & Government 2,000
General Social Sciences 1,618
Sociology 1,358
Geography & Cartography 1,193
Anthropology 1,028
Urban Studies 327
Other Social Sciences 315
Archeology 52
Demography & Population Studies 46

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Notes and References

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