Economics is a good major to misunderstand.
Students see the word "economics," look up what economists earn, and assume the occupation describes the typical bachelor's-degree outcome.
It doesn't.
Most economics majors do not become economists. Many move into finance, consulting, analytics, government, business, research and other roles. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics says economists typically need at least a master's degree for many positions.
So the right question is not "Do economists make good money?"
It is: What happens to people who earn an economics degree?
Economics can have strong earnings without leading to one job
Economics combines quantitative work with a way of thinking about incentives, markets, tradeoffs and policy.
That can be useful in a wide range of jobs.
The DegreeVerdict data should show two things immediately:
- median graduate earnings for economics programs; and
- how wide those outcomes vary across colleges.
Economics is exactly the kind of major where a single national salary number can hide large differences in school, geography, student selection and career path.
Do not use "economist salary" as economics-major salary
BLS reports a median annual wage of $124,720 for economists in May 2025.
That is a real number.
It is also a bad number to use as the expected salary of a new economics bachelor's graduate.
The economist occupation is relatively specialized, and BLS lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education.
An undergraduate economics major who goes into consulting, banking, data analysis, sales or government is not counted as an economist simply because economics was printed on the diploma.
Don't read this number the wrong way: occupation wages and degree earnings are different datasets answering different questions.
Economics vs. finance
Economics is broader and more theoretical. Finance is usually more directly tied to business, markets, valuation and corporate financial decisions.
Students who want investment banking, corporate finance or asset management may find finance more directly vocational.
Students who enjoy modeling behavior, policy, statistics and analytical reasoning may prefer economics.
Earnings can be strong in both.
If you're choosing between the two at the same college, look beyond median salary:
- curriculum;
- internship access;
- recruiting;
- quantitative rigor;
- ability to add statistics, computer science or finance coursework.
Related: Is Finance A Good Major
Economics gets much stronger when the coursework is quantitative
An economics degree can range from fairly conceptual to heavily mathematical.
That matters in the job market.
Students who graduate with econometrics, statistics, programming and data-analysis experience can demonstrate more concrete technical skills.
A student who avoids all quantitative electives may leave with a more general credential.
For students seeking the strongest labor-market flexibility, consider pairing economics with:
- statistics;
- mathematics;
- computer science;
- data science;
- finance;
- accounting.
You do not necessarily need a double major. A few well-chosen technical courses can materially change what you can do.
College choice matters for economics in an unusual way
Economics has strong representation at highly selective universities whose graduates also benefit from intense employer recruiting.
That makes causal interpretation especially tricky.
If graduates of a famous economics program earn a great deal, the degree may be excellent, but the number also reflects who attended, where the school is located, and which employers recruit there.
"Attending School X for economics will make you earn $Y."
Use:
"Graduates represented in the federal data report median earnings of $Y."
Then compare price and debt.
A less expensive university with slightly lower earnings may be the better financial trade.
Is graduate school necessary?
Not for many economics-major careers.
It is more important if you specifically want to work as a professional economist, pursue academic research or enter certain specialized policy and research roles.
This is an important distinction.
A bachelor's economics degree can be useful on its own. The occupation called "economist" often asks for more education.
Students should decide which path they mean before calculating ROI.
Economics vs. business
A general business degree tends to be more applied. Economics tends to be more analytical and theoretical.
Business students may take coursework across management, marketing, finance, operations and accounting. Economics students spend more time on microeconomics, macroeconomics, econometrics and theory.
If you want a broad business education, business may fit better.
If you enjoy understanding why systems behave the way they do, economics can be more intellectually coherent.
Financially, the answer depends heavily on program quality, recruiting and cost.
Related: Is A Business Degree Worth It
What jobs do economics majors get?
There is no single economics-major occupation.
Common directions include:
- financial analysis;
- consulting;
- data analysis;
- market research;
- government;
- policy;
- banking;
- business operations;
- sales;
- research;
- graduate study.
That breadth is both strength and weakness.
You have options, but the degree will not hand employers one obvious job title the way nursing or accounting often does.
Internships and technical skills matter.
When economics is probably worth it
The major looks strongest when:
- you like analytical thinking;
- you are willing to learn statistics and quantitative methods;
- the program is reasonably priced;
- the university has good internship and recruiting access;
- you want flexibility across business, finance, policy and analytics;
- you understand that becoming an economist may require graduate school.
When to think harder
Economics may be a weaker choice if:
- you dislike math and intend to avoid quantitative coursework;
- you expect the degree to lead automatically to a six-figure economist job;
- you are paying an enormous premium for brand name alone;
- you want a highly specific vocational path and dislike ambiguity.
How to compare economics programs
Economics outcomes can be unusually sensitive to the college and the version of economics taught there.
One department may have a mathematically rigorous curriculum with strong placement into finance, consulting and graduate study. Another may offer a much less quantitative path.
The degree title is the same.
Compare:
| Program A | Program B | |
|---|---|---|
| Net price | Not available | Not available |
| Graduate earnings | Not available | Not available |
| Econometrics required? | Not available | Not available |
| Calculus requirement | Not available | Not available |
| Programming/data electives | Not available | Not available |
| Employer recruiting | Not available | Not available |
| Graduate-school placement | Not available | Not available |
If you want analytics, finance or research, the quantitative differences should matter.
The prestige effect is especially hard to untangle in economics
Economics is popular at highly selective universities.
Those institutions often send graduates into investment banking, consulting and other high-paying fields. Their economics majors may show very high earnings.
But those students were also selected into elite colleges in the first place.
This does not make the data useless. It changes the claim you can make.
Use the earnings as an outcome:
Graduates from this program have high reported earnings.
Do not turn it into a causal promise:
This economics program creates high salaries.
DegreeVerdict's credibility will depend on maintaining that distinction even when a stronger headline would be tempting.
Economics is a good test case for cost versus brand
Suppose an elite private college reports economics earnings far above a public university.
Now calculate what your family would actually pay.
For a high-income family receiving little aid, the private option might cost $200,000 more over four years. For a lower-income family receiving generous need-based aid, the private school could actually be cheaper.
This is why published tuition is nearly useless for ROI comparisons.
Run the calculation on net price by family circumstances whenever possible.
If you might pursue a PhD, the undergraduate decision changes
Students considering doctoral economics should care about math preparation, research opportunities and faculty access, not only first-job earnings.
Courses such as real analysis, linear algebra, probability and advanced econometrics can matter for graduate preparation.
That can make an academically stronger but slightly lower-earning undergraduate program the better fit for a research-oriented student.
A practical decision rule for economics
Economics is strongest when the degree gives you both a way of thinking and a usable toolkit.
Before enrolling, check whether you will graduate able to:
- work with real datasets;
- interpret regression results;
- use at least one analytical or programming tool;
- explain economic arguments clearly in writing;
- apply theory to business or policy questions.
If the curriculum delivers those skills at a sensible price, economics has a strong case.
If the program is expensive and mostly theoretical while you want a business career, compare it directly with finance, accounting, statistics and data-oriented majors at the same school.
The most expensive mistake is assuming the word "economics" has the same labor-market meaning at every college.
The DegreeVerdict verdict
Economics can be a very good major, particularly for students who build quantitative skills and use internships to translate the degree into a career.
Its financial strength comes from flexibility, not from one occupation.
Ignore economist salary headlines. Compare actual economics-graduate outcomes at the colleges you can attend, then ask what you're paying to get them.
Compare economics programs by earnings, cost and debt →