Best Economist programs in Ohio, 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.
33 schools in Ohio run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,312 people a year. The job pays a median of $120,000 in Ohio across about 140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Ohio that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
12 programs in Ohio that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Ohio (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 Ohio page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economicsmain feeder CIP 45.0603In Ohio → | 551 | 42.0% | 17 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 2 | Economics, Generalmain feeder CIP 45.0601In Ohio → | 248 | 18.9% | 22 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 3 | Business/Managerial Economicsmain feeder CIP 52.0601In Ohio → | 236 | 18.0% | 12 | $53,269 | $21,962 |
| 4 | CIP 27.0305In Ohio → | 160 | 12.2% | 3 | $60,930 | $21,143 |
| 5 | CIP 01.0103In Ohio → | 62 | 4.7% | 1 | $47,242 | $19,964 |
| 6 | CIP 45.0604In Ohio → | 22 | 1.7% | 3 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 7 | Philosophy, Politics, and Economicsmain feeder CIP 30.5101In Ohio → | 10 | 0.8% | 1 | — | — |
| 8 | CIP 51.2007In Ohio → | 10 | 0.8% | 1 | $48,728 | $23,761 |
| 9 | Applied Economicsmain feeder CIP 45.0602In Ohio → | 6 | 0.5% | 1 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
| 10 | Economics and Computer Sciencemain feeder CIP 30.3901In Ohio → | 4 | 0.3% | 1 | — | — |
| 11 | CIP 03.0204In Ohio → | 2 | 0.2% | 1 | $37,946 | $24,125 |
| 12 | Economics, Othermain feeder CIP 45.0699In Ohio → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $51,725 | $22,907 |
Top 25 schools in Ohio
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 12 of the 33 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 500 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $50,209 | 88% | — | 61% |
| 2 | Miami University - Oxford Oxford, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 126 | Economics, General | $57,379 | 80% | — | 75% |
| 3 | University of Cincinnati - Main Campus Cincinnati, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 120 | Financial Mathematics | — | 75% | — | 85% |
| 4 | Denison University Granville, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 81 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $55,087 | 79% | $23,864 | 17% |
| 5 | Ohio University - Main Campus Athens, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 49 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $46,655 | 65% | — | 85% |
| 6 | Oberlin College Oberlin, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $61,713 | 81% | $28,313 | 34% |
| 7 | University of Dayton Dayton, OH Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 45 | Business/Managerial Economics | $55,871 | 80% | $28,560 | 65% |
| 8 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus Bowling Green, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 42 | Economics, General | $52,864 | 64% | — | 81% |
| 9 | The College of Wooster Wooster, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 37 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | — | 74% | $22,491 | 60% |
| 10 | Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Economics, General | $53,148 | 87% | $27,976 | 37% |
| 11 | Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | $56,731 | 64% | — | 86% |
| 12 | Kenyon College Gambier, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Economics, General | $58,082 | 82% | $20,475 | 31% |
| 13 | Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 24 | Business/Managerial Economics | — | 51% | — | 91% |
| 14 | Wright State University - Main Campus Dayton, OH Public · 4 feeder programs | 21 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | — | 42% | — | 96% |
| 15 | Xavier University Cincinnati, OH Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Business/Managerial Economics | — | 69% | $31,119 | 86% |
| 16 | University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | — | 52% | — | 60% |
| 17 | University of Toledo Toledo, OH Public · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | — | 57% | — | 92% |
| 18 | Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH Public · 3 feeder programs | 10 | Business/Managerial Economics | — | 50% | — | 84% |
| 19 | Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 8 | Economics, General | — | 59% | $18,325 | 56% |
| 20 | Air Force Institute of Technology - Graduate School of Engineering & Management Wright-Patterson AFB, OH Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Capital University Columbus, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Business/Managerial Economics | $59,203 | 60% | $22,920 | 70% |
| 22 | John Carroll University University Heights, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Economics, General | $65,098 | 79% | $25,705 | 81% |
| 23 | Cedarville University Cedarville, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Business/Managerial Economics | — | 73% | $22,701 | 65% |
| 24 | Muskingum University New Concord, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Economics, General | — | 56% | $19,372 | 82% |
| 25 | Otterbein University Westerville, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Economics, General | — | 68% | $20,150 | 85% |
All 33 schools in Ohio
Every school in Ohio 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State University - Main Campus | Columbus | Public | 500 | 4 |
| Miami University - Oxford | Oxford | Public | 126 | 3 |
| University of Cincinnati - Main Campus | Cincinnati | Public | 120 | 4 |
| Denison University | Granville | Private not-for-profit | 81 | 1 |
| Ohio University - Main Campus | Athens | Public | 49 | 4 |
| Oberlin College | Oberlin | Private not-for-profit | 48 | 1 |
| University of Dayton | Dayton | Private not-for-profit | 45 | 3 |
| Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green | Public | 42 | 4 |
| The College of Wooster | Wooster | Private not-for-profit | 37 | 2 |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland | Private not-for-profit | 36 | 1 |
| Kent State University at Kent | Kent | Public | 33 | 2 |
| Kenyon College | Gambier | Private not-for-profit | 28 | 1 |
| Cleveland State University | Cleveland | Public | 24 | 4 |
| Wright State University - Main Campus | Dayton | Public | 21 | 4 |
| Xavier University | Cincinnati | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 2 |
What economists earn in Ohio
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $124,720. Ohio pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Ohio
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Ohio
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 Ohio.
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 Econometrics and Quantitative Economics, which awarded 551 degrees in Ohio in 2024-25, 42.0% 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 12 programs to this occupation. The largest are Economics, Business/Managerial Economics, Applied Mathematics, Agricultural Business and Management, plus 4 more. Together they graduate about 1,312 people a year in Ohio.
How much do economists earn in Ohio?+
The median is $120,000 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.8% 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 Ohio?+
33 institutions in Ohio reported graduates from at least one of the 12 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 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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