2023 Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Economics School for You
Economics is the #19 most popular major in the country with 49,055 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 86 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for economics students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 15% Best Economics Schools
Our analysis found University of Wisconsin - River Falls to be the best value school for economics students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - River Falls are $15,661 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UW - River Falls also is in the top 10% of our Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
Read full report on Economics at University of Wisconsin - River Falls
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Youngstown State University is a great value for economics students. Located in the city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public college with a large student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Youngstown State University are $9,732 per year.
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Out of the 86 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the # 3 spot on the list. SIUE is a large public school located in the large suburb of Edwardsville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
WIU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,297 in tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW Oshkosh are $15,306 a year. While working on their degree, economics majors at UW Oshkosh accumulate an average of around $23,375 in student debt.
UW Oshkosh also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #6, University of Akron Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for economics students. Located in the medium-sized city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for economics students. It came in at #7 on the list. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the town of Whitewater.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Whitewater are $16,602 a year. After completing their degree, economics graduates from UW - Whitewater carry an average student debtload of $22,262.
UW - Whitewater also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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University of Wisconsin - La Crosse landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value economics programs. UW - La Crosse is a fairly large public school located in the small city of La Crosse.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - La Crosse are $18,014 a year. While working on their degree, economics majors at UW - La Crosse accumulate an average of around $24,081 in student debt.
UW - La Crosse also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Northern Illinois University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for economics students. It came in at #9 on the list. NIU is a large public school located in the suburb of Dekalb.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year. While working on their degree, economics majors at NIU accumulate an average of around $25,803 in student debt.
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University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public school with a large student population.
UW - Eau Claire undergraduate students pay an average of $17,149 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that economics majors at UW - Eau Claire take out is $18,526.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Eau Claire also did well on our Best Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Economics at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Report
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Valparaiso University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for economics students. It came in at #11 on the list. Valpo is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Valparaiso.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Valpo are $44,796 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.
UW - Stevens Point undergraduate students pay an average of $17,035 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on Economics at University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 14 | Indiana State University | Terre Haute, IN |
| 15 | Central Michigan University | Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 16 | Southern Illinois University Carbondale | Carbondale, IL |
| 16 | University of Southern Indiana | Evansville, IN |
Best Economics Colleges by State
Explore the best economics schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 1,496 |
| Ohio | 1,136 |
| Illinois | 2,155 |
| Indiana | 889 |
| Wisconsin | 1,225 |
More Economics Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Economics Related Majors for Economics
Economics is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.
Majors Similar to Economics
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
| Anthropology | 11,415 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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