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The best colleges for a Economics degree in Illinois, led by University of Chicago, Northwestern University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Each school is shown with its acceptance rate, tuition, and average SAT so you can weigh Economics programs side by side.
Based on our rankings, University of Chicago is the top-ranked college for Economics in Illinois. Other top choices include Northwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, DePaul University.
The best Economics schools, based on program-specific federal data including median earnings and graduate counts, are University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Our rankings use College Scorecard field-of-study data rather than editorial opinion.
The average out-of-state tuition among top Economics programs is approximately $44,416 per year. However, costs vary significantly — many schools offer generous financial aid packages that can reduce the effective cost.
A bachelor's degree in Economics typically takes four years of full-time study. Some programs offer accelerated tracks or combined bachelor's-to-master's options that can extend or shorten the timeline.
Our major rankings are independently calculated from U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study (CIP) data — primarily median earnings 4 years after graduation and program scale (graduate count), with a 10+ annual graduates minimum per program. They are not derived from US News or any other publication.
Among the top 10 ranked Economics programs, the average early-career salary is approximately $67,301 per year. Below are the highest-paying Economics programs based on federal College Scorecard earnings data reported by graduates four years after completion.