2023 Best Value Economics Master's Degree Schools in California
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Economics Master's Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 10,510 degrees and certificates were awarded to economics students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #12 most popular major in the state.
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Economics Master's Degree Schools in California to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 23 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value master's degree programs for economics students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best Economics Master's Degree Schools
Our analysis found California State University - East Bay to be the best value school for economics students who want to pursue a master’s degree in California. Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public school with a large student population.
Cal State East Bay graduate students pay an average of $8,429 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for economics students working on their master’s degree. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the midsize city of Berkeley.
UC Berkeley graduate students pay an average of $14,160 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #2 for overall quality for economics in California.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great value for economics students working on their master’s degree. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at UCLA are $13,036 a year.
UCLA also made our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in California list, coming in at #4.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. San Jose State is a very large public school located in the large city of San Jose.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at San Jose State are $9,286 a year.
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Out of the 23 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo landed the # 5 spot on the list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a very large public school located in the small suburb of San Luis Obispo.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are $11,629 per year.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also claimed a spot on our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #6, University of California - Irvine did quite well on this year’s best value schools for economics students working on their master’s degree. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the large city of Irvine.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UC Irvine are $13,356 per year.
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University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #7 on the list. UCSB is a very large public school located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSB are $13,581 per year.
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University of California - San Diego did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of La Jolla, UCSD is a public college with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for graduate students at UCSD are $13,564 per year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCSD also is in the top 20% of our Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in California ranking.
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California State University - Fullerton did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for economics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Cal State Fullerton is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Fullerton.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state graduate student at Cal State Fullerton are $8,410 a year.
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San Diego State University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Economics Master’s Degree Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.
SDSU graduate students pay an average of $9,570 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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Request InformationBest Value Economics Colleges in the Far Western US Region
Explore all the Best Value Economics Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Washington | 713 |
| Oregon | 596 |
| Nevada | 147 |
| Hawaii | 92 |
| Alaska | 17 |
More Economics Rankings in California
Majors Related to Economics
One of 12 majors within the area of study, economics has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Related Majors
| 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 23 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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