Best degree programs for Economics Teachers, Postsecondary, ranked by enrollment
15 college programs and 912 schools train Economics Teachers, Postsecondary. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $123,920 median wage, 11,560 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
15 college programs at 912 schools train economics teachers, postsecondary, graduating 50,688 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Econometrics and Quantitative Economics. The job pays a median of $123,920 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About economics teachers, postsecondary
Teach courses in economics. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
15 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 45.0603 | 22,866 | 45.1% | 320 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 2 | CIP 45.0601 | 19,798 | 39.1% | 638 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0601 | 3,971 | 7.8% | 194 | $53,269 | $21,962 |
| 4 | CIP 01.0103 | 1,691 | 3.3% | 44 | $47,242 | $19,964 |
| 5 | CIP 45.0604 | 384 | 0.8% | 42 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 6 | CIP 45.0602 | 378 | 0.7% | 28 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 7 | CIP 03.0204 | 323 | 0.6% | 19 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 8 | CIP 45.1004 | 275 | 0.5% | 21 | $35,631 | $23,538 |
| 9 | CIP 45.0605 | 204 | 0.4% | 18 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 10 | CIP 30.4901 | 189 | 0.4% | 11 | — | — |
| 11 | CIP 30.5101 | 164 | 0.3% | 20 | — | — |
| 12 | CIP 51.2007 | 150 | 0.3% | 16 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 13 | CIP 30.3901 | 149 | 0.3% | 8 | — | — |
| 14 | CIP 45.0699 | 143 | 0.3% | 24 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 15 | Economics and Foreign Language/Literature CIP 30.4001 | 3 | 0.0% | 1 | — | — |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California - Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 1,028 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 93% | — | 9% |
| 2 | University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 943 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 93% | — | 11% |
| 3 | University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI Public · 5 feeder programs | 870 | Economics, General | 90% | — | 45% |
| 4 | Texas A&M University - College Station College Station, TX Public · 5 feeder programs | 808 | Agricultural Economics | 84% | — | 57% |
| 5 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 784 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 6 | University of California - Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 731 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 83% | — | 33% |
| 7 | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI Public · 3 feeder programs | 718 | Economics, General | 93% | — | 16% |
| 8 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 642 | Economics, General | 85% | — | 42% |
| 9 | University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 638 | Business/Managerial Economics | 87% | — | 29% |
| 10 | New York University New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 626 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 88% | $29,023 | 9% |
| 11 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 565 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 96% | $15,315 | 4% |
| 12 | The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Public · 2 feeder programs | 551 | Economics, General | 89% | — | 27% |
| 13 | Boston University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 521 | Economics, General | 89% | $21,956 | 11% |
| 14 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 515 | Agricultural Economics | 95% | $17,613 | 9% |
| 15 | University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 506 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 92% | $26,873 | 10% |
| 16 | University of Connecticut Storrs, CT Public · 4 feeder programs | 488 | Economics, General | 83% | — | 52% |
| 17 | University of California - Davis Davis, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 462 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 86% | — | 42% |
| 18 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 429 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 98% | $15,013 | 4% |
| 19 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 426 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 20 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL Public · 3 feeder programs | 424 | Economics, General | 91% | — | 24% |
| 21 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 410 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 88% | — | 61% |
| 22 | Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 409 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 91% | $21,126 | 16% |
| 23 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Public · 2 feeder programs | 398 | Economics, General | 91% | — | 15% |
| 24 | University of California - Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Public · 4 feeder programs | 393 | Business/Managerial Economics | 75% | — | 66% |
| 25 | Utah State University Logan, UT Public · 3 feeder programs | 393 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 59% | — | 92% |
| 26 | Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 387 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 94% | $11,888 | 6% |
| 27 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 385 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 96% | — | 17% |
| 28 | University of California - Riverside Riverside, CA Public · 2 feeder programs | 384 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 76% | — | 76% |
| 29 | University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD Public · 2 feeder programs | 381 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 89% | — | 45% |
| 30 | Michigan State University East Lansing, MI Public · 4 feeder programs | 346 | Economics, General | 81% | — | 85% |
| 31 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 346 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 86% | — | 61% |
| 32 | Binghamton University Vestal, NY Public · 3 feeder programs | 345 | Economics, General | 82% | — | 39% |
| 33 | University of Massachusetts - Amherst Amherst, MA Public · 4 feeder programs | 313 | Economics, General | 83% | — | 60% |
| 34 | Purdue University - Main Campus West Lafayette, IN Public · 5 feeder programs | 300 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 83% | — | 50% |
| 35 | Georgetown University Washington, DC Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 294 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 95% | $22,242 | 13% |
| 36 | Duke University Durham, NC Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 293 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 97% | $16,260 | 6% |
| 37 | Northeastern University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 292 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 91% | $18,925 | 5% |
| 38 | University of Georgia Athens, GA Public · 4 feeder programs | 284 | Business/Managerial Economics | 90% | — | 38% |
| 39 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN Public · 5 feeder programs | 281 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 85% | — | 80% |
| 40 | Yale University New Haven, CT Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 279 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 96% | $27,025 | 4% |
| 41 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA Public · 2 feeder programs | 276 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 85% | — | 39% |
| 42 | Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 272 | Economics, General | 43% | $34,565 | 100% |
| 43 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ Public · 4 feeder programs | 270 | Economics, General | 84% | — | 58% |
| 44 | Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 267 | Economics, General | 84% | $33,246 | 63% |
| 45 | Santa Monica College Santa Monica, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 254 | Economics, General | 36% | — | — |
| 46 | Pasadena City College Pasadena, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 250 | Economics, General | 48% | — | — |
| 47 | Brown University Providence, RI Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 247 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 96% | $14,644 | 5% |
| 48 | University of California - San Diego La Jolla, CA Public · 3 feeder programs | 245 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 86% | — | 27% |
| 49 | Florida State University Tallahassee, FL Public · 2 feeder programs | 244 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 86% | — | 24% |
| 50 | Los Angeles Pierce College Woodland Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 239 | Economics, General | 46% | — | — |
What economics teachers, postsecondary earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $137,360 | 770 | 0.57× | 152 | 12,530 |
| New York | $127,500 | 1,240 | 1.72× | 73 | 4,960 |
| Massachusetts | $164,410 | 750 | 2.76× | 39 | 3,308 |
| Texas | $118,530 | 770 | 0.73× | 42 | 2,697 |
| Illinois | $124,850 | 460 | 1.00× | 35 | 2,455 |
| Pennsylvania | $117,970 | 610 | 1.35× | 56 | 1,953 |
| Florida | $91,140 | 150 | 0.21× | 22 | 1,501 |
| Michigan | $129,400 | 350 | 1.06× | 24 | 1,346 |
| North Carolina | $114,200 | 490 | 1.34× | 23 | 1,320 |
| Maryland | $133,540 | 200 | 0.97× | 17 | 1,242 |
| Virginia | $128,790 | 460 | 1.52× | 28 | 1,241 |
| Ohio | $105,930 | 410 | 0.99× | 33 | 1,152 |
| Connecticut | $155,950 | 300 | 2.37× | 14 | 1,134 |
| Wisconsin | $99,970 | 310 | 1.41× | 18 | 1,133 |
| Utah | $128,370 | 150 | 1.18× | 9 | 956 |
| Georgia | $117,600 | 370 | 1.00× | 18 | 871 |
| Colorado | $98,870 | 270 | 1.28× | 19 | 867 |
| Indiana | $105,390 | 150 | 0.65× | 20 | 743 |
| New Jersey | $109,880 | 410 | 1.29× | 17 | 719 |
| Missouri | $116,530 | 150 | 0.67× | 18 | 669 |
| Washington | $96,500 | 190 | 0.73× | 15 | 611 |
| Minnesota | $108,460 | 250 | 1.16× | 23 | 573 |
| District of Columbia | $161,860 | 220 | 4.26× | 7 | 565 |
| Tennessee | $104,560 | 250 | 1.03× | 15 | 539 |
| Arizona | $137,250 | 100 | 0.41× | 12 | 535 |
| New Hampshire | $201,610 | 80 | 1.52× | 5 | 497 |
| South Carolina | $109,060 | 110 | 0.67× | 12 | 466 |
| Oregon | $136,450 | 180 | 1.24× | 13 | 339 |
| Maine | $125,960 | 70 | 1.39× | 6 | 320 |
| Alabama | $101,250 | 90 | 0.57× | 9 | 286 |
| Kansas | $103,490 | 130 | 1.22× | 9 | 285 |
| Kentucky | $106,250 | 120 | 0.79× | 12 | 264 |
| Louisiana | $132,670 | 70 | 0.47× | 9 | 261 |
| Iowa | $85,090 | 80 | 0.73× | 17 | 233 |
| Vermontmoderate | $134,850 | 80 | 3.40× | 4 | 204 |
| Oklahoma | $107,260 | 110 | 0.87× | 6 | 160 |
| South Dakotamoderate | $85,700 | 40 | 1.03× | 4 | 142 |
| Arkansas | $76,610 | 40 | 0.38× | 8 | 139 |
| West Virginia | $91,170 | 40 | 0.86× | 6 | 123 |
| Nebraska | $130,980 | 90 | 1.21× | 5 | 116 |
| Mississippi | $88,290 | 70 | 0.80× | 8 | 112 |
| New Mexicolimited | $110,020 | 60 | 0.92× | 2 | 82 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as econometrics, price theory, and macroeconomics.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
Skills
- Speaking4.1
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Writing4.0
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Learning Strategies3.9
- Active Learning3.8
- Mathematics3.3
Knowledge areas
- Mathematics4.5
- Education and Training4.3
- Economics and Accounting4.2
- English Language4.1
- Computers and Electronics2.9
- Administration and Management2.9
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.1
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Speech Clarity4.0
- Written Comprehension4.0
- Written Expression4.0
- Deductive Reasoning3.9
Core activities
- Getting Information4.7
- Training and Teaching Others4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.4
- Thinking Creatively4.3
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.3
- Working with Computers4.3
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Economics Teacher, Postsecondary
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Doctoral or professional 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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 15 majors mapped to Economics Teachers, Postsecondary15 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0103Agricultural Economics
- 03.0204Environmental/Natural Resource Economics
- 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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Economics Teacher, Postsecondary?+
Doctoral or professional degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, which awarded 22,866 degrees in 2024-25, 45.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Economics Teacher, Postsecondary?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 15 programs to this occupation. The largest are Economics, Business/Managerial Economics, Agricultural Business and Management, Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy, plus 6 more. Together they graduate about 50,688 people a year.
How much do economics teachers, postsecondary earn?+
The median is $123,920 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $64,060 at the 10th percentile to $224,200 at the 90th. 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 economics teachers, postsecondary growing?+
BLS projects a +2.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
912 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 15 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 economics teachers, postsecondary work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Professor, Instructor, Economics Professor, Economics Instructor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-1063.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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