Business Economics degree: salary, jobs & colleges

Bachelor's graduates in business economics earn a median $80,165 four years after finishing, across 83 U.S. colleges. At ages 25-34, people whose degree is in business economics earn $83,958, $21,909 more than all bachelor's holders. The most common job is accountants and auditors (8%).

Graduates, 4 years out
$80,165

Median across 83 colleges; middle half $69,153–$87,455.

College Scorecard field of study (graduates who received federal aid)

All workers ages 25-34 with this degree
$83,958

Middle half $55,860–$121,830. 945 survey respondents.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; field "Business Economics"; EducationGuide calculation

Compared with
  • All bachelor's, 25-34$62,049
  • High school, 25-34$35,638
  • This degree vs high school+$48,320/yr

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school

Median federal debt at graduation
$21,962

Median across colleges reporting.

College Scorecard field of study

Jobs business economics graduates hold

What employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in business economics actually do, with U.S. wages and the outlook for each job. The first column comes from the Census survey; wages and growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

JobShare of graduatesU.S. median wageJobs growth 2025-35Typical entryInterests
Accountants And Auditors8%$83,680+5.0%Bachelor's degreeCEI
Other Managers6%————
Financial Managers4%$166,570+9.7%Bachelor's degreeEC
Financial And Investment Analysts3%$102,740+7.2%Bachelor's degreeCEI
Management Analysts3%$101,860+10.1%Bachelor's degreeCIE
First-Line Supervisors Of Retail Sales Workers3%$48,520-3.7%High school diploma or equivalentECS
Software Developers2%$135,980+10.2%Bachelor's degreeIC
Personal Financial Advisors2%$105,070+1.4%Bachelor's degreeECS

These 8 jobs account for 32% of employed graduates: people with this degree spread across many kinds of work.

Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata (ages 25-34, bachelor's as highest degree, employed); BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; O*NET 31.0 interest codes (R realistic, I investigative, A artistic, S social, E enterprising, C conventional).

Business Economics earnings by state

Two views of pay: recent graduates of the state's colleges four years out (College Scorecard), and everyone ages 25-34 living in the state with this field of degree (Census). States show a figure only with at least 3 colleges or 100 survey respondents.

StateGraduates, 4 yrs (colleges)Ages 25-34 (respondents)
California$83,440 (8)$93,844 (385)
Florida$74,103 (3)—
Georgia$78,206 (6)—
Illinois$79,176 (4)—
New York$70,986 (5)—
North Carolina$63,746 (4)—
Ohio$84,632 (6)—
South Carolina$78,906 (3)—
Tennessee$71,088 (4)—
Texas$76,588 (6)—
Virginia$79,620 (4)—

College Scorecard field of study (median of each college's graduates); Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata; EducationGuide calculations.

Colleges where business economics graduates earn the most

In the states we cover so far (Florida, Virginia, California): 7 in Florida, 10 in Virginia, 16 in California offer this major. Open a college to see cost to finish and payback for your income.

#CollegeEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
1University of California-Los AngelesCA$129,425$17,332
2University of MiamiFL$116,367$15,625
3Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVA$95,271—
4Hampden-Sydney CollegeVA$87,835$26,970
5University of California-DavisCA$87,455$13,000
6Chapman UniversityCA$84,978$22,977
7Westmont CollegeCA$84,815$25,000
8University of California-Santa CruzCA$82,064$16,500
9University of California-IrvineCA$77,807$15,000
10University of Central FloridaFL$74,103$23,105
11California State University-Long BeachCA$73,980$18,329
12Old Dominion UniversityVA$71,406—

College Scorecard field of study. Colleges meeting our core-data standard; online campuses left out.

Business Economics degree questions

How much do Business Economics graduates make?

Business Economics graduates earn a median $80,165 four years after finishing, across 83 U.S. colleges that report it (the middle half of colleges: $69,153 to $87,455; College Scorecard, graduates who received federal aid). Among all workers ages 25-34 whose bachelor's degree is in business economics, the median is $83,958 (Census ACS 2020-2024).

Is a Business Economics degree worth it?

At ages 25-34, people with a bachelor's in business economics earn a median $83,958: $21,909 more than all bachelor's degree holders ($62,049) and $48,320 more than high school graduates ($35,638). EducationGuide calculation from Census ACS 2020-2024 microdata, workers not in school.

What jobs do Business Economics graduates get?

Among employed 25-34-year-olds whose bachelor's is in business economics, the most common jobs are accountants and auditors (8%), other managers (6%), financial managers (4%). Accountants And Auditors earn a U.S. median $83,680.

How much do Business Economics graduates earn in Florida?

Across 3 Florida colleges reporting, Business Economics graduates earn a median $74,103 four years after graduating.

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey microdata; Bureau of Labor Statistics; O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0). Method
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Cite this: “Business Economics degree: salary, jobs and colleges,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/degrees/business-economics.