Best Universities for Economics in the UK 2027
Swansea University tops our 2027 economics ranking with 196 points, combining strong student satisfaction, high sustainability scores and 96% academic support. Bangor University comes second with 191 points, achieving 100% academic support and 98% teaching quality — the joint-highest course delivery double in the field. Durham University is third with 184 points and produces the third-highest graduate earnings at £40,000. We ranked 85 UK universities across eight metrics: graduate earnings, teaching quality, student satisfaction, academic support, safety, cost of living, social life and sustainability.
Economics graduate earnings range from £21,000 (LJM and Northumbria) to £54,000 (Cambridge). Cambridge ranks 39th overall. LSE ranks 14th with £50,000 graduate earnings. Oxford ranks joint 5th with £45,000. All three are held down primarily by city cost of living. Brunel University London ranks last (62nd) with the lowest teaching quality in the field at 58%. University of Brighton (joint 21st) achieves 100% academic support and 97% teaching quality — the joint-highest double outside the top 10.
For how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher best universities overall ranking and our best universities for employability.
Economics University Rankings 2027
| # | University | Grad Earnings | Satisfaction | Teaching Quality | Academic Support | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swansea University Swansea |
£30,000 | 79% | 85% | 96% | 196 |
| 2 | Bangor University Bangor |
£25,500 | 76% | 98% | 100% | 191 |
| 3 | Durham University Durham |
£40,000 | 78% | 90% | 79% | 184 |
| 4 | University of Exeter Exeter |
£35,000 | 79% | 84% | 83% | 179 |
| 4 | Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff |
£25,500 | 75% | 88% | 90% | 179 |
| 5 | University of Oxford Oxford |
£45,000 | 76% | 90% | 92% | 172 |
| 5 | University of the West of England, Bristol Bristol |
£28,000 | 74% | 92% | 86% | 172 |
| 6 | Bath Spa University Bath |
£25,000 | 79% | 82% | 86% | 169 |
| 6 | De Montfort University Leicester |
£27,000 | 70% | 91% | 93% | 169 |
| 7 | Edge Hill University Ormskirk |
£27,000 | 83% | 87% | 89% | 168 |
| 8 | University of Plymouth Plymouth |
£25,000 | 75% | 90% | 90% | 166 |
| 9 | University of East Anglia (UEA) Norwich |
£34,000 | 79% | 84% | 94% | 165 |
| 10 | Nottingham Trent University Nottingham |
£30,000 | 76% | 89% | 93% | 164 |
| 11 | University of Bristol Bristol |
£35,000 | 73% | 81% | 82% | 163 |
| 12 | University of Essex Colchester |
£31,000 | 74% | 85% | 96% | 161 |
| 13 | Cardiff University Cardiff |
£31,500 | 71% | 80% | 89% | 159 |
| 14 | London School of Economics and Political Science London |
£50,000 | 69% | 92% | 92% | 158 |
| 15 | University of Lincoln Lincoln |
£26,500 | 78% | 75% | 95% | 157 |
| 15 | Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool |
£21,000 | 72% | 87% | 93% | 157 |
| 16 | University of Leeds Leeds |
£33,000 | 74% | 89% | 87% | 156 |
| 17 | University of Greenwich London |
£30,000 | 69% | 92% | 96% | 155 |
| 18 | University of St Andrews St Andrews |
£33,500 | 84% | 93% | 95% | 153 |
| 19 | University of Liverpool Liverpool |
£28,000 | 71% | 86% | 92% | 152 |
| 20 | University of Reading Reading |
£28,000 | 74% | 77% | 80% | 151 |
| 20 | Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester |
£26,000 | 73% | 79% | 85% | 151 |
| 21 | University of Salford Salford |
£25,000 | 73% | 85% | 91% | 150 |
| 21 | University of Brighton Brighton |
£26,000 | 72% | 97% | 100% | 150 |
| 22 | Bournemouth University Bournemouth |
£26,500 | 71% | 78% | 81% | 149 |
| 22 | University of Warwick Coventry |
£39,500 | 74% | 93% | 91% | 149 |
| 23 | Northumbria University, Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne |
£21,000 | 74% | 70% | 83% | 148 |
| 23 | Canterbury Christ Church University Canterbury |
£26,000 | 73% | 88% | 84% | 148 |
| 23 | University of Bedfordshire Luton |
£26,000 | 68% | 94% | 90% | 148 |
| 23 | University of Hertfordshire Hertfordshire |
£28,000 | 71% | 96% | 96% | 148 |
| 24 | Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield |
£28,000 | 73% | 82% | 94% | 145 |
| 24 | Royal Holloway, University of London Egham |
£30,000 | 74% | 89% | 89% | 145 |
| 25 | University of Bath Bath |
£39,500 | 80% | 85% | 88% | 144 |
| 26 | University of Kent Canterbury |
£30,000 | 72% | 84% | 90% | 143 |
| 27 | Lancaster University Lancaster |
£30,000 | 82% | 85% | 91% | 142 |
| 27 | Coventry University Coventry |
£30,000 | 72% | 90% | 88% | 142 |
| 28 | York St John University York |
£24,000 | 80% | 71% | 77% | 140 |
| 29 | University of Manchester Manchester |
£31,000 | 70% | 85% | 84% | 139 |
| 30 | University of West London London |
£29,000 | 72% | 79% | 88% | 138 |
| 31 | University of Derby Derby |
£26,000 | 74% | 93% | 92% | 137 |
| 32 | King's College London London |
£33,000 | 67% | 86% | 86% | 136 |
| 33 | Oxford Brookes University Oxford |
£30,000 | 74% | 77% | 87% | 134 |
| 33 | University of Sheffield Sheffield |
£30,000 | 75% | 87% | 89% | 134 |
| 34 | University of Surrey Guildford |
£34,000 | 78% | 86% | 90% | 131 |
| 35 | UCL (University College London) London |
£41,000 | 68% | 81% | 82% | 130 |
| 36 | University of York York |
£33,500 | 77% | 72% | 84% | 129 |
| 37 | Newcastle University Newcastle upon Tyne |
£30,000 | 75% | 75% | 76% | 128 |
| 37 | University of Winchester Winchester |
£26,500 | 82% | 82% | 93% | 128 |
| 38 | University of Sussex Brighton and Hove |
£30,000 | 77% | 87% | 92% | 126 |
| 38 | University of Huddersfield Huddersfield |
£24,000 | 74% | 92% | 91% | 126 |
| 39 | University of Cambridge Cambridge |
£54,000 | 76% | 86% | 84% | 124 |
| 40 | Leeds Beckett University Leeds |
£23,000 | 70% | 74% | 84% | 120 |
| 41 | Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge |
£26,000 | 70% | 78% | 75% | 119 |
| 42 | University of Glasgow Glasgow |
£30,500 | 75% | 82% | 91% | 117 |
| 42 | University of Nottingham Nottingham |
£34,500 | 74% | 83% | 85% | 117 |
| 43 | Birmingham City University Birmingham |
£24,000 | 69% | 77% | 81% | 116 |
| 44 | Keele University Newcastle-under-Lyme |
£25,000 | 81% | 80% | 75% | 115 |
| 44 | Kingston University Kingston upon Thames |
£29,000 | 71% | 81% | 88% | 115 |
| 45 | Queen Mary University of London London |
£33,000 | 69% | 83% | 88% | 114 |
| 46 | University of Leicester Leicester |
£30,000 | 73% | 80% | 87% | 111 |
| 46 | University of Strathclyde Glasgow |
£29,500 | 75% | 84% | 91% | 111 |
| 47 | University of Portsmouth Portsmouth |
£28,000 | 77% | 85% | 94% | 110 |
| 47 | Aston University Birmingham |
£30,000 | 75% | 95% | 94% | 110 |
| 48 | SOAS University of London London |
£33,000 | 66% | 73% | 76% | 109 |
| 48 | Liverpool Hope University Liverpool |
£26,500 | 80% | 94% | 88% | 109 |
| 49 | University of Stirling Stirling |
£26,000 | 78% | 93% | 89% | 105 |
| 50 | University of Bradford Bradford |
£28,000 | 71% | 81% | 71% | 104 |
| 51 | University of Birmingham Birmingham |
£32,500 | 72% | 80% | 88% | 100 |
| 51 | University of Southampton Southampton |
£32,000 | 76% | 85% | 78% | 100 |
| 52 | Imperial College London London |
£40,000 | 66% | 82% | 85% | 97 |
| 52 | University of Westminster London |
£30,000 | 68% | 84% | 90% | 97 |
| 53 | Middlesex University Middlesex |
£28,000 | 69% | 88% | 90% | 94 |
| 54 | University of East London London |
£27,000 | 68% | 77% | 91% | 91 |
| 55 | University of Hull Hull |
£29,000 | 76% | 84% | 90% | 87 |
| 56 | University of Dundee Dundee |
£27,000 | 75% | 74% | 86% | 84 |
| 57 | Goldsmiths, University of London London |
£28,000 | 64% | 87% | 95% | 83 |
| 58 | Brunel University London Uxbridge |
£30,000 | 68% | 58% | 75% | 82 |
| 59 | City St George's, University of London London |
£32,000 | 67% | 77% | 91% | 81 |
| 60 | University of Roehampton London |
£26,000 | 72% | 82% | 97% | 76 |
| 61 | University of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton |
£27,000 | 71% | 84% | 85% | 72 |
| 61 | London South Bank University London |
£24,000 | 68% | 91% | 91% | 72 |
| 62 | London Metropolitan University London |
£30,000 | 66% | 80% | 78% | 59 |
What the ranking tells you about studying economics
Economics is one of the most versatile degrees in the UK and one of the most stratified in terms of outcomes. The difference in graduate earnings, postgraduate pathways and career access between the top and bottom of an 85-university ranking is substantial. This ranking scores all 85 on eight metrics, giving you a data-driven picture that explicitly challenges the assumption that institutional prestige and student experience quality are the same thing.
Cambridge at 39th, LSE at 14th: what the rankings actually show
University of Cambridge ranks 39th in this ranking with 124 points and produces economics graduates earning £54,000 — the highest of any university in the dataset by £4,000. University of Oxford ranks joint 5th (172 points, £45,000). LSE ranks 14th (158 points, £50,000). UCL ranks 35th (130 points, £41,000). Cambridge and UCL rank where they do because of Cambridge's low sustainability score (44.7 — second-lowest in the field), the cost of living in both cities and lower student satisfaction figures. Their teaching quality and academic support scores are reasonable but not exceptional: Cambridge achieves 86% teaching and 84% support, which is below the field average for a university that appears in every top-10 global ranking. For students whose primary goal is maximising graduate earnings, Cambridge and LSE are the clear top two. For students who want to compare the complete student experience, the data here is what the comparison looks like.
Bangor and Brighton: the strongest course delivery outside the top 5
Bangor University (2nd, 191 points) achieves 100% academic support and 98% teaching quality — the strongest course delivery double in the ranking outside its joint-first position alongside Swansea. University of Brighton (joint 21st, 150 points) achieves 100% academic support and 97% teaching quality — the joint-highest double outside the top 10. Both are universities that rarely feature in economics applicant guidance. Bangor's low graduate earnings (£25,500) reflect the Welsh labour market rather than a deficiency in the programme quality that its teaching scores indicate. Brighton's economics graduates earn £26,000 — above several universities in the top 10 on earnings. For students who prioritise the quality of their academic environment over institutional brand, both make a compelling case.
Brunel University London ranks last with 82 points and the lowest teaching quality in the entire ranking at 58%. No other economics department in this 85-university dataset scores below 70% for teaching quality. Brunel's student satisfaction (68%) is also among the lowest in the field. Its graduate earnings of £30,000 are mid-table. The combination of very low teaching quality, low satisfaction and no particular earnings advantage makes it the weakest overall economics package in this ranking by the metrics used.
The economics earnings landscape
The gap between the lowest (£21,000 at LJM and Northumbria) and highest (£54,000 at Cambridge) graduate earnings is the second-largest of any subject in our dataset, at £33,000. This reflects the extreme variation in the types of roles economics graduates enter: from financial analyst, investment banking and management consulting graduate schemes at the top, to graduate management trainee and public sector roles at the lower end. The six-month snapshot captures where graduates land immediately on graduation — not where they will be in five years. Economics graduates who enter finance and consulting typically see steep salary growth in years two to five. Those who enter non-economics roles have more varied trajectories. The university you attend significantly affects your access to the highest-earning graduate schemes, where recruitment targeting of specific universities is a documented practice at major banks and consultancies.
For a broader view of how these universities compare across all subjects, see the Unifresher overall best universities ranking. For graduate employment data, see the employability ranking.
