Best value colleges for Economics in North Carolina.2026 Rankings
With 28 Economics programs spread across North Carolina, narrowing your list takes real data. Our algorithm ranks each school on six factors — admission rate, graduation rate, net price, median graduate earnings, student-faculty ratio, and major breadth — so you can compare apples to apples before you apply.
North Carolina offers 10 public and 18 private Economics programs in this ranking. Public universities average $27,238 for in-state students, making them a strong value option. The most competitive school on the list — Duke University — accepts 7% of applicants. Early-career earnings for Economics graduates average $33,175, with a state-wide graduation rate of 63% for ranked programs.
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ranked by value score
| # | College | Value Score | Admit Rate | Grad Rate | Net Price | Median Earnings | Student:Faculty | Majors Offered | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke UniversityPrivate | Perfect· 52 | 7% | 96% | $6,901 | $98,649 | 6:1 | 59 | 6,417 |
| 2 | Davidson CollegePrivate | Excellent· 47 | 14% | 92% | $7,610 | $41,411 | 9:1 | 32 | 1,901 |
| 3 | Wake Forest UniversityPrivate | Excellent· 46 | 22% | 91% | $12,769 | $56,416 | 9:1 | 37 | 5,471 |
| 4 | Excellent· 44 | 40% | 85% | $13,992 | $60,369 | 15:1 | 77 | 26,389 | |
| 5 | Excellent· 43 | 19% | 92% | $11,220 | $65,344 | 15:1 | 51 | 20,556 | |
| 6 | Elon UniversityPrivate | Strong· 37 | 67% | 83% | $32,133 | $69,298 | 11:1 | 64 | 6,402 |
| 7 | Strong· 35 | 89% | 73% | $15,766 | $33,742 | 16:1 | 67 | 19,304 | |
| 8 | Catawba CollegePrivate | Strong· 35 | 78% | 52% | $14,971 | $34,621 | 12:1 | 35 | 1,127 |
| 9 | Meredith CollegePrivate | Strong· 35 | 75% | 65% | $17,521 | $39,730 | 10:1 | 37 | 1,288 |
| 10 | Strong· 35 | 74% | 71% | $18,377 | $44,355 | 17:1 | 49 | 14,176 | |
| 11 | Warren Wilson CollegePrivate | Strong· 35 | 78% | 43% | $15,474 | $22,535 | 11:1 | 23 | 720 |
| 12 | Strong· 34 | 94% | 55% | $13,105 | $28,301 | 11:1 | 31 | 2,790 | |
| 13 | Strong· 34 | 80% | 68% | $14,014 | $44,953 | 21:1 | 69 | 23,567 | |
| 14 | Johnson C Smith UniversityPrivate | Good· 33 | 43% | 34% | $17,959 | $31,047 | 11:1 | 24 | 1,047 |
| 15 | Good· 33 | 46% | 55% | $13,024 | $45,446 | 20:1 | 58 | 11,925 | |
| 16 | Salem CollegePrivate | Good· 33 | 87% | 56% | $18,561 | $34,178 | 7:1 | 35 | 390 |
| 17 | Good· 33 | 69% | 49% | $15,668 | $25,653 | 16:1 | 36 | 4,244 | |
| 18 | Gardner-Webb UniversityPrivate | Good· 32 | 87% | 62% | $19,334 | $45,413 | 11:1 | 42 | 1,836 |
| 19 | East Carolina UniversityPublic | Good· 31 | 90% | 62% | $16,785 | $46,425 | 17:1 | 68 | 19,857 |
| 20 | Greensboro CollegePrivate | Good· 31 | 92% | 41% | $17,363 | $42,816 | 10:1 | 27 | 656 |
| 21 | Guilford CollegePrivate | Good· 31 | 84% | 48% | $25,205 | $31,217 | 12:1 | 40 | 1,011 |
| 22 | Lenoir-Rhyne UniversityPrivate | Good· 31 | 81% | 51% | $20,065 | $40,155 | 15:1 | 42 | 1,348 |
| 23 | Good· 31 | 90% | 58% | $12,295 | $37,785 | 17:1 | 56 | 13,848 | |
| 24 | Campbell UniversityPrivate | Good· 30 | 94% | 56% | $19,451 | $44,910 | 13:1 | 56 | 2,790 |
| 25 | Good· 30 | 77% | 46% | $20,909 | $51,360 | 11:1 | 16 | 466 | |
| 26 | High Point UniversityPrivate | Average· 29 | 77% | 70% | $37,597 | $47,613 | 17:1 | 52 | 4,970 |
| 27 | Belmont Abbey CollegePrivate | Average· 28 | 90% | 46% | $24,173 | $38,584 | 12:1 | 25 | 1,454 |
| 28 | Average· 27 | 75% | 52% | $30,472 | $33,862 | 12:1 | 17 | 1,126 |