2026 Best Colleges for Economics in California

Name: 2026 Best Colleges for Economics in California (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

55 California schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Colleges for Economics ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 55 colleges · How we rank colleges

Filter by

Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

Sort By

Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Colleges for Economics

Stanford University

Stanford

Acceptance rate

3.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,473

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#2 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

Acceptance rate

11.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#3 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla

Acceptance rate

26.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#4 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

9.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#5 Best Colleges for Economics

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

3.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,364

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#6 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Irvine

Irvine

Acceptance rate

28.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$19,268

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#7 Best Colleges for Economics

California Polytechnic State University--San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

Acceptance rate

31.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#8 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Davis

Davis

Acceptance rate

41.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#9 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Acceptance rate

33.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#10 Best Colleges for Economics

Pomona College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

6.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$56,284

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#11 Best Colleges for Economics

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

11.1%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$57,876

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#12 Best Colleges for Economics

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

13.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$60,402

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#13 Best Colleges for Economics

University of Southern California

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

10.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,446

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#14 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Riverside

Riverside

Acceptance rate

76.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#15 Best Colleges for Economics

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

Acceptance rate

43.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$48,000

#16 Best Colleges for Economics

California State Polytechnic University--Pomona

Pomona

Acceptance rate

73.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#17 Best Colleges for Economics

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

Acceptance rate

65.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#18 Best Colleges for Economics

San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus

Calexico

Acceptance rate

44.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,622

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,622

#19 Best Colleges for Economics

San Jose State University

San Jose

Acceptance rate

80.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,874

#20 Best Colleges for Economics

California State University--Long Beach

Long Beach

Acceptance rate

46.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$9,000

#21 Best Colleges for Economics

University of San Diego

San Diego

Acceptance rate

46.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,120

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#22 Best Colleges for Economics

California State University--Fullerton

Fullerton

Acceptance rate

90.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$5,000

#23 Best Colleges for Economics

Scripps College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

33.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$58,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$45,000

#24 Best Colleges for Economics

Pitzer College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

16.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,686

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#25 Best Colleges for Economics

Pepperdine University

Malibu

Acceptance rate

49.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$41,000

Best Colleges for Economics in nearby states

Economics colleges in Oregon

2026 Best Colleges for Economics in California

Best Colleges for Economics in nearby states

More college rankings in California

Browse more