Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Business/Managerial Economics

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

50

Schools Ranked

$49,013

Avg. Earnings

1.4 yrs

Best Payback

4,395

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private	$12,676	$70,456	1.4 yrs
2	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	$12,644	$68,219	1.5 yrs
3	Villanova University Villanova, PA · Private	$28,580	$90,856	2 yrs
4	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA · Private	$19,026	$73,446	2 yrs
5	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	$13,644	$60,771	2.1 yrs
6	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA · Public	$19,216	$64,493	2.6 yrs
7	Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY · Public	$9,505	$49,683	2.6 yrs
8	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	$13,273	$54,880	2.7 yrs
9	Pace University New York, NY · Private	$28,066	$72,325	3 yrs
10	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA · Public	$16,954	$57,556	3 yrs
11	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	$15,037	$53,894	3.2 yrs
12	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV · Public	$13,077	$51,482	3.2 yrs
13	University of North Florida Jacksonville, FL · Public	$10,194	$47,846	3.2 yrs
14	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA · Public	$18,372	$57,318	3.3 yrs
15	University of San Diego San Diego, CA · Private	$28,214	$69,338	3.3 yrs
16	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	$14,193	$51,750	3.4 yrs
17	CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York, NY · Public	$7,187	$43,426	3.4 yrs
18	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	$14,132	$51,482	3.4 yrs
19	Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA · Public	$15,415	$52,941	3.4 yrs
20	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	$23,513	$61,728	3.5 yrs
21	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA · Private	$29,618	$69,338	3.5 yrs
22	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC · Public	$14,424	$50,856	3.6 yrs
23	Marshall University Huntington, WV · Public	$9,256	$45,383	3.6 yrs
24	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public	$15,567	$51,607	3.7 yrs
25	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	$19,195	$55,512	3.7 yrs
26	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	$19,365	$55,512	3.8 yrs
27	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	$20,325	$55,964	3.9 yrs
28	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	$14,142	$48,432	4.2 yrs
29	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	$15,277	$49,084	4.3 yrs
30	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX · Public	$13,192	$47,260	4.3 yrs
31	Seattle University Seattle, WA · Private	$32,076	$63,749	4.5 yrs
32	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI · Private	$25,377	$57,318	4.5 yrs
33	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	$12,996	$46,673	4.5 yrs
34	Boise State University Boise, ID · Public	$16,204	$49,436	4.5 yrs
35	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN · Public	$13,140	$46,087	4.7 yrs
36	University of Dayton Dayton, OH · Private	$25,633	$56,415	4.8 yrs
37	West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA · Public	$19,085	$50,856	4.8 yrs
38	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL · Public	$21,649	$52,733	4.9 yrs
39	DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private	$28,577	$57,860	5 yrs
40	Albertus Magnus College New Haven, CT · Private	$21,958	$52,107	5.1 yrs
41	Capital University Columbus, OH · Private	$19,203	$49,683	5.2 yrs
42	Wheaton College Wheaton, IL · Private	$18,373	$48,667	5.4 yrs
43	Bentley University Waltham, MA · Private	$31,754	$58,221	5.5 yrs
44	Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA · Private	$26,175	$53,775	5.6 yrs
45	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public	$18,466	$48,041	5.7 yrs
46	Nichols College Dudley, MA · Private	$29,693	$55,964	5.7 yrs
47	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ · Private	$30,127	$55,914	5.8 yrs
48	Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO · Public	$13,811	$44,091	6.1 yrs
49	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL · Public	$9,426	$41,007	6.3 yrs
50	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	$11,189	$42,123	6.3 yrs

Top Earners in Business/Managerial Economics

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

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Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.