Best universities for economics

University of Cambridge comes top for economics, with a median salary of £50k 15 months after graduating and 95% of graduates in professional jobs. London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Warwick and Oxford University complete the top four.

90 unis ranked£30k typical early salary69% in graduate jobs

#1 for economics100

University of Cambridge

Satisfaction85%better than 44% of economics unis
Stay on course99%better than 94% of economics unis
Graduate jobs95%better than 97% of economics unis
Early salary£50kbetter than 99% of economics unis

Half of students who started had more than 232 UCAS points, counting all their qualifications

Ranked 2 to 5

2London School of Economics and Political Science9789% satisfied, £41k salary
3University of Warwick9689% satisfied, £40k salary
4Oxford University9084% satisfied, £45k salary
5University of St Andrews8690% satisfied, £40k salary

Scores are out of 100 and relative to other unis offering economics. Data: Discover Uni, September 2026.

Will my grades get me in?

Enter your predicted grades to see which economics courses you’d meet the offer for, where you’re a good match and which are a stretch.

We use each university’s typical offer from its course pages. Where we couldn’t get it, we show an estimated offer (marked ~) worked out from courses whose students had similar grades, so always check the course page. Your grades stay on this device. Jump to the table

Best for…

Happiest studentsCoventry University93%positive about their course
Highest early salaryUniversity of Cambridge£50kmedian, 15 months after graduating
Best for graduate jobsUniversity of Cambridge95%of working graduates in professional jobs
Best if you’re aiming below ABBAston University61/100half of starters had under 112 UCAS points

Full economics ranking

Tap a column to sort. Bars show where each uni sits between the lowest and highest for economics. ^* Ranked on fewer than five measures because some data isn’t published. ~ estimate = we couldn’t get the university’s own offer, so it’s estimated from similar courses. Check the course page.

Find a university

Region Fits my grades Placement year Year abroad Foundation year

	University
1	University of Cambridge2 courses	AAA+ others	100	85%	99%	95%	£50k	232
2	London School of Economics and Political Science13 courses	A*AA+ others	97	89%	98%	94%	£41k	205
3	University of Warwick13 courses	A*AA+ others	96	89%	97%	89%	£40k	209
4	Oxford University3 courses	AAA+ others	90	84%	99%	91%	£45k	200
5	University of St Andrews40 courses	AAA+ others	86	90%	99%	95%	£40k	220
6	University of Bath10 courses	A*AA+ others	79	85%	98%	91%	£38k	177
7	University of Birmingham10 courses	AAA+ others	71	89%	92%	82%	£36k	149
8	University of Exeter13 courses	A*AA–AAA+ others	71	85%	97%	88%	£36k	167
9	Durham University6 courses	A*AA	71	88%	89%	84%	£38.5k	165
10	Loughborough University13 courses	AAA+ others	70	88%	97%	81%	£35k	143
11	University of Liverpool9 courses	AAB+ others	67	91%	97%	78%	£30k	134
12	University of Nottingham6 courses	A*AA+ others	65	85%	94%	86%	£35k	157
13	University of Leeds9 courses	AAA+ others	63	88%	93%	83%	£33k	156
14	Aston University11 courses	BBB+ others	61	92%	93%	74%	£31.5k	112
15	University of Bristol20 courses	A*AA+ others	61	83%	94%	85%	£35k	162
16	University of Surrey16 courses	AAB+ others	59	91%	89%	76%	£33k	122
17	King's College London6 courses	A*AA+ others	58	82%	96%	79%	£36.5k	174
18	University of Sheffield8 courses	AAB+ others	56	88%	95%	78%	£30k	150
19	Lancaster University26 courses	AAB+ others	54	88%	93%	79%	£30k	131
20	University of Southampton12 courses	AAB+ others	54	86%	95%	80%	£32k	138
21	University of Strathclyde21 courses	ABB–BBB+ others	52	89%	90%	80%	£30k	203
22	UCL^*12 courses	A*AA+ others	51	80%	96%	82%	–	201
23	University of Hertfordshire^*2 courses	BBB	50	98%	85%	–	–	106
24	University of York12 courses	AAB+ others	50	86%	99%	74%	£30k	134
25	University of West London^*3 courses	112 UCAS points	46	97%	80%	–	–	96
26	Queen Mary University of London40 courses	AAA	44	84%	85%	74%	£33.5k	145
27	Queen's University Belfast7 courses	ABB	43	82%	95%	80%	£29k	144
28	Bath Spa University^*4 courses	BBB–BCC	42	90%	84%	–	–	110
29	Birkbeck, University of London10 courses	BBB+ others	42	87%	75%	65%	£43k	86
29	Cardiff University^*5 courses	AAB–BBB	42	84%	94%	–	–	136
31	University of Edinburgh13 courses	AAA–AAA+ others	39	79%	94%	80%	£36k	181
32	Liverpool John Moores University^*4 courses	BBC	39	87%	85%	–	–	110
33	University of Portsmouth7 courses	ABB–BBC+ others	38	89%	90%	72%	£28k	86
34	University of Plymouth3 courses	112 UCAS points	38	90%	88%	65%	£30k	98
35	University of Manchester13 courses	AAA	38	79%	93%	69%	£33k	173
36	University of Sussex17 courses	ABB–BBB+ others	37	86%	95%	61%	£30.5k	107
37	University of East Anglia29 courses	ABB	36	87%	94%	60%	£28k	117
38	Swansea University15 courses	ABB–BBC+ others	36	86%	94%	69%	£28k	105
39	Newcastle University6 courses	AAB	36	79%	94%	75%	£32k	142
40	University of East London2 courses	112 UCAS points	35	92%	60%	72%	£34k	88
41	Sheffield Hallam University^*3 courses	BBC	35	83%	96%	65%	–	104
42	Ulster University2 courses	~ABB–BBCestimate	34	87%	88%	70%	£27k	118
43	University of Stirling9 courses	ABB+ others	34	91%	95%	70%	£28k	128
44	Royal Holloway, University of London17 courses	AAB–BBB+ others	33	83%	89%	74%	£30k	113
45	Canterbury Christ Church University^*2 courses	BBC	33	89%	77%	–	–	94
46	Nottingham Trent University9 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	33	89%	84%	62%	£28.5k	106
47	University of Essex40 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	32	88%	94%	52%	£30k	95
48	University of Huddersfield2 courses	BBB–BBC	31	86%	95%	60%	£26k	115
49	Heriot-Watt University3 courses	BBC	31	74%	95%	55%	£34k	192
49	City St George's, University of London^*8 courses	BBB+ others	31	82%	89%	–	–	115
51	Oxford Brookes University8 courses	ABB+ others	30	85%	89%	60%	£30k	102
52	Coventry University6 courses	BBC+ others	29	93%	78%	53%	£28k	92
53	Cardiff Metropolitan University3 courses	CCC	29	81%	100%	65%	£28k	104
54	University of Chester^*1 course	BBC–BCC	29	82%	80%	–	–	107
55	University of Leicester11 courses	ABB+ others	29	83%	92%	70%	£27k	111
56	University of Reading17 courses	ABB+ others	29	83%	86%	72%	£30k	111
57	Leeds Beckett University^*2 courses	104 UCAS points	28	83%	81%	80%	–	101
58	Roehampton University^*2 courses	~BBC–CCCestimate	28	91%	70%	–	–	64
59	University of Bradford^*8 courses	BBC	28	84%	79%	–	–	96
60	Northeastern University London^*1 course	ABB–BBB	26	71%	80%	–	–	150
61	York St John University^*6 courses	104 UCAS points	26	85%	72%	–	–	94
62	University of Aberdeen21 courses	BBC	26	82%	95%	65%	£29k	139
63	University of Lincoln^*1 course	BBC–BCC	25	80%	95%	40%	–	88
64	University of Derby9 courses	BBC	24	91%	78%	55%	£26.5k	99
65	University of Glasgow35 courses	AAB–BBB+ others	24	77%	92%	63%	£33k	214
66	University of Greenwich (Part of London and South East University Group)2 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	23	87%	78%	49%	£32k	90
67	London South Bank University^*3 courses	112 UCAS points	22	89%	69%	60%	–	74
68	Kingston University9 courses	120–136 UCAS points	22	84%	86%	55%	£29k	87
69	Bangor University4 courses	112–136 UCAS points	21	88%	100%	40%	£26k	96
70	Southampton Solent University1 course	104–120 UCAS points	21	85%	73%	65%	£32k	90
71	University of Kent (Part of London and South East University Group)9 courses	BBC+ others	21	84%	88%	57%	£28.5k	92
72	University of Hull6 courses	BBC	21	75%	88%	61%	£29.5k	115
73	Bournemouth University^*4 courses	ABB–BBC	20	80%	78%	–	–	91
74	London Metropolitan University2 courses	96 UCAS points	19	89%	70%	52%	£30k	73
75	University of Westminster^*3 courses	BBC	19	85%	84%	43%	–	100
76	Brunel University of London^*8 courses	ABB–BBB	18	77%	88%	–	–	101
77	University of Northumbria at Newcastle^*4 courses	96–112 UCAS points	18	75%	90%	–	–	111
78	University of Dundee22 courses	–	16	75%	95%	70%	£29k	161
78	South East London Teaching Partnership7 courses	CCC+ others	16	84%	83%	54%	£28k	99
80	University of Brighton2 courses	ABB–BCC	15	86%	90%	43%	£27k	91
81	SOAS University of London21 courses	ABB+ others	14	79%	92%	48%	£31k	117
82	Manchester Metropolitan University5 courses	104–112 UCAS points+ others	14	80%	91%	58%	£27k	106
82	Keele University11 courses	BBC	14	79%	80%	63%	£27k	106
84	Aberystwyth University11 courses	BBB–CCC+ others	13	84%	94%	40%	£26k	91
85	University of Wolverhampton6 courses	~BBB–BBCestimate	13	90%	80%	41%	£26.5k	100
86	Middlesex University2 courses	BBC	12	82%	61%	65%	£32k	76
87	Birmingham City University1 course	BBC	11	85%	70%	55%	£27k	98
88	UWE, Bristol4 courses	112 UCAS points	8	81%	88%	44%	£31k	82
89	University of Bedfordshire3 courses	96 UCAS points	7	91%	83%	28%	£26k	80
90	University of Winchester1 course	BBB–BCC	0	68%	85%	46%	£26k	99

What economics graduates earn

Typical (median) earnings for economics graduates, across the universities we rank.

£30kAfter 15 months
£29.5kAfter 3 years
£39.8kAfter 5 years

Highest earnings five years after graduating

University of Cambridge£89.5k
London School of Economics and Political Science£72k
University of Warwick£64.5k
Durham University£64k
UCL£64k

The 15-month figure comes from the Graduate Outcomes survey and covers graduates in full-time work. The 3 and 5-year figures come from tax records and include everyone in work, including part-time, so they can be lower than the 15-month figure. Pay also depends on where people live. Compare earnings across all subjects or see what you’d repay on your student loan.

What the measures mean

Student satisfaction: Average share of final-year students answering positively across the seven themes of the National Student Survey: teaching, learning opportunities, assessment, support, organisation, resources and student voice.
Stay on course: Share of students still studying or having qualified a year after starting. Lower numbers mean more people drop out.
Graduate-level jobs: Of graduates in work 15 months after finishing, the share in professional or managerial roles.
Salary after 15 months: Median salary of graduates in full-time work in the UK, 15 months after finishing.
Entry points (median): The middle UCAS tariff score of students who started: half had more, half had less. It counts all their qualifications (a fourth A-level, EPQ, AS levels, music grades and so on), so it usually sits above the published offer, especially at selective universities. It shows how competitive entry is. Always check the real offer on the university’s course page.

See exactly how the overall score is calculated

Not ranked yet

These offer economics but don’t yet have enough published data to rank fairly, often because the course is new or small.

Hult, Richmond, The American International University in London, University of Buckingham, University of London, Universite Paris Dauphine London campus