Florida·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-3011

Best Economist programs in Florida, ranked by enrollment

Conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy.

23 schools in Florida run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,677 people a year. The job pays a median of $102,430 in Florida across about 500 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledEconomistEconomic AnalystForensic EconomistResearch EconomistResource EconomistEconomic ConsultantEnvironmental EconomistNatural Resource Economist
Graduates / yr
1,677
in Florida
Median pay · Florida
$102,430
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
500
people employed
Schools
23
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
67%
across those schools
Median net price
$28,325
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Florida that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

8 programs in Florida that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Florida (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Florida page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 45.0601In Florida
908
54.1%
19$51,725$22,907
2
CIP 45.0603In Florida
378
22.5%
8$51,725$22,907
3
CIP 27.0305In Florida
176
10.5%
4$60,930$21,143
4
CIP 52.0601In Florida
95
5.7%
6$53,269$21,962
5
CIP 01.0103In Florida
92
5.5%
1$47,242$19,964
6
CIP 45.0602In Florida
21
1.3%
1$51,725$22,907
7
CIP 45.1004In Florida
5
0.3%
2$35,631$23,538
8
CIP 30.5101In Florida
2
0.1%
1

Top 23 schools in Florida

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 23 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Florida
Gainesville, FL Public · 3 feeder programs
424Economics, General$42,34991%24%
2Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL Public · 3 feeder programs
293Econometrics and Quantitative Economics$47,30486%24%
3University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs
244Financial Mathematics84%$26,58919%
4University of South Florida
Tampa, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
221Economics, General$47,35177%43%
5Florida International University
Miami, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
161Economics, General$42,31474%55%
6University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
81Economics, General$47,74378%40%
7Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
50Economics, General$48,63263%66%
8The University of Tampa
Tampa, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
42Economics, General$54,28464%$33,07040%
9Rollins College
Winter Park, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
24Economics, General$36,11575%$31,43848%
10University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
21Economics, General$41,51969%53%
11Ana G. Mendez University
Orlando, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Business/Managerial Economics
12Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Tallahassee, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
15Economics, General53%21%
13Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
14Economics, General$47,34457%63%
14Ave Maria University
Ave Maria, FL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs
12Business/Managerial Economics54%$22,23541%
15Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
12Financial Mathematics67%$38,89965%
16Eckerd College
Saint Petersburg, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Economics, General66%$31,02276%
17University of West Florida
Pensacola, FL Public · 2 feeder programs
10Economics, General59%58%
18New College of Florida
Sarasota, FL Public · 1 feeder programs
8Economics, General67%73%
19Stetson University
DeLand, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
6Econometrics and Quantitative Economics62%$21,94872%
20Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Econometrics and Quantitative Economics45%$18,98678%
21Flagler College
Saint Augustine, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Economics, General56%$28,07081%
22Palm Beach Atlantic University
West Palm Beach, FL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
3Philosophy, Politics, and Economics55%$32,03182%
23Florida Southern College
Lakeland, FL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Economics, General71%$28,32564%

All 23 schools in Florida

Every school in Florida with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Florida that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of FloridaGainesvillePublic4243
Florida State UniversityTallahasseePublic2933
University of MiamiCoral GablesPrivate not-for-profit2444
University of South FloridaTampaPublic2212
Florida International UniversityMiamiPublic1612
University of Central FloridaOrlandoPublic812
Florida Atlantic UniversityBoca RatonPublic501
The University of TampaTampaPrivate not-for-profit422
Rollins CollegeWinter ParkPrivate not-for-profit242
University of North FloridaJacksonvillePublic212
Ana G. Mendez UniversityOrlandoPrivate not-for-profit161
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical UniversityTallahasseePublic151
Florida Gulf Coast UniversityFort MyersPublic141
Ave Maria UniversityAve MariaPrivate not-for-profit124
Embry - Riddle Aeronautical University - Daytona BeachDaytona BeachPrivate not-for-profit121

What economists earn in Florida

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Florida
$102,430
Mean annual
$113,290
Jobs in state
500
What the range looks like
10th pct$65,850Median$102,43090th pct$174,900
Versus the national median
-17.9%

U.S. median $124,720. Florida pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.44×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Florida

Jacksonville, FL
$136,990median
30 jobs
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
$118,030median
110 jobs
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
$103,690median
80 jobs
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
$102,430median
Tallahassee, FL
$70,430median
50 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+1.2%
Little or no change
Openings per year
900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
200
17,600 → 17,800
Typical entry education
Master's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Economists page.

How to become a Economist

Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above
Typical entry education
Master's degree

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingMathematicsActive ListeningActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Florida

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 16 majors mapped to Economists16 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 01.0103Agricultural Economics
  • 03.0204Environmental/Natural Resource Economics
  • 27.0305Financial Mathematics
  • 30.3901Economics and Computer Science
  • 30.4001Economics and Foreign Language/Literature
  • 30.4901Mathematical Economics
  • 30.5101Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
  • 45.0601Economics, General
  • 45.0602Applied Economics
  • 45.0603Econometrics and Quantitative Economics
  • 45.0604Development Economics and International Development
  • 45.0605International Economics
  • 45.0699Economics, Other
  • 45.1004Political Economy
  • 51.2007Pharmacoeconomics/Pharmaceutical Economics
  • 52.0601Business/Managerial Economics

Common questions

Answers for people weighing economists programs in Florida.

What degree do you need to become an Economist?+

Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Economics, General, which awarded 908 degrees in Florida in 2024-25, 54.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Economist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Economics, Applied Mathematics, Business/Managerial Economics, Agricultural Business and Management, plus 2 more. Together they graduate about 1,677 people a year in Florida.

How much do economists earn in Florida?+

The median is $102,430 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.9% below the U.S. median of $124,720. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for economists growing?+

BLS projects a +1.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Florida?+

23 institutions in Florida reported graduates from at least one of the 8 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do economists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Economist, Economic Analyst, Forensic Economist, Research Economist, Resource Economist, Economic Consultant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-3011.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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