Major decision guide
Political Science vs Economics
Both study how societies allocate power and resources, but they use different instruments. Political science explains outcomes through institutions, behaviour and ideas — constitutions, parties, courts, public opinion — and its methods run from formal theory to interviews and archival work. Economics models outcomes as the result of constrained choice, and commits early to mathematics and statistics as the way to test that model. The practical difference on a transcript is the calculus and econometrics sequence.
How each major is officially classified
Both definitions below are the official U.S. Department of Education (NCES) CIP 2020 descriptions — not CampusPin summaries.
CIP 45.1001
Political Science
Official title: Political Science and Government, General · Family: social sciences
A general program that focuses on the systematic study of political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in political philosophy, political theory, comparative government and politics, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, political research methods, studies of the government and politics of specific countries, and studies of specific political institutions and processes.
CIP 45.0601
Economics
Official title: Economics, General · Family: social sciences
A general program that focuses on the systematic study of the production, conservation and allocation of resources in conditions of scarcity, together with the organizational frameworks related to these processes. Includes instruction in economic theory, micro- and macroeconomics, comparative economic systems, money and banking systems, international economics, quantitative analytical methods, and applications to specific industries and public policy issues.
What you actually study
Political Science
- American politics and government
- Comparative politics across countries and systems
- International relations and foreign policy
- Political theory (classical and contemporary)
- Public policy analysis
- Quantitative methods for political research
- Constitutional law
Economics
- Microeconomic theory
- Macroeconomic theory
- Econometrics (regression, time series, causal inference)
- Calculus, linear algebra, probability
- Field electives: labor, public, international, behavioral
- Game theory
- Economic history or development
Where each major leads
The federal CIP–SOC crosswalk maps each academic program to the occupations it is designed to feed. Comparing the two lists shows where Political Science and Economics converge and where they part. Every wage below is the BLS 2024 national median for that occupation — not an outcome for the major, and not a starting salary.
Mapped to both (3)
Occupations the federal crosswalk associates with both programs.
$136,550 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Bachelor's degree. Employment is projected to grow 4.5% 2024–2034.
Social Science Research Assistants
$58,040 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Bachelor's degree. Employment is projected to grow 4.4% 2024–2034.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$64,580 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Bachelor's degree. Employment is projected to decline 1.6% 2024–2034.
Mapped to Political Science only (2)
The crosswalk associates these with Political Science but not with Economics. Graduates of either major are still hired into many of them.
$139,380 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Master's degree. Employment is projected to decline 3.1% 2024–2034.
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
$94,680 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Doctoral or professional degree. Employment is projected to grow 2.0% 2024–2034.
Mapped to Economics only (3)
The crosswalk associates these with Economics but not with Political Science. Graduates of either major are still hired into many of them.
$115,440 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Master's degree. Employment is projected to grow 1.2% 2024–2034.
$63,380 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Master's degree. Employment is projected to decline 5.2% 2024–2034.
Economics Teachers, Postsecondary
$119,980 annual median (2024)
Typically enters with: Doctoral or professional degree. Employment is projected to grow 2.1% 2024–2034.
A major does not restrict you to these occupations, and plenty of graduates work outside them. The mapping describes what each program is built to prepare you for.
Which one tends to suit which student
This part is CampusPin’s judgement, not a measurement. Neither major is better; they suit different temperaments.
Political Science may fit if…
You want to understand why a policy passed, who blocked it, and how the institution shaped the result, and you would rather read and argue than derive. Qualitative evidence feels like evidence to you, not a weaker substitute for it.
Economics may fit if…
You want a formal framework and are willing to spend several semesters on calculus, statistics and econometrics to get it. You like that a model makes a prediction specific enough to be wrong.
Commonly misunderstood
Economics is often described as the more "employable" of the two, which conflates the degree with the quantitative skills inside it. The federal crosswalk associates both with policy and analyst occupations; what differs is the statistical training the economics sequence forces you to complete, and a political science student who takes that sequence closes much of the gap.
What to ask each department
Curricula vary far more between institutions than between these two majors. These questions surface the differences that actually matter for this choice.
- 1How much calculus and statistics does the economics degree require, and where does the econometrics sequence start? This is the single largest practical difference between the two.
- 2Does the political science department offer a quantitative or formal-theory track, and would it prepare me for the same graduate programs as an economics degree?
- 3Which department teaches the public policy courses here, and can I take them from either major?
- 4If I am considering law school or a policy master's, which major do this school's recent admits actually come from?
How this comparison was built
The occupation lists come from the official NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk, which maps each academic program to the occupations it prepares students for. CampusPin intersects the two programs’ lists to show the shared and distinct destinations; the grouping is arithmetic on a federal dataset, not an editorial ranking.
Wages, projected employment change, and typical entry-level education come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and are attached to the occupation, not to the major. A median is the midpoint for everyone in that occupation nationally, including people with decades of experience, so it is not a starting salary and not a promise.
The “which one tends to suit which student” and “what to ask” sections are editorial judgement, labelled as such. CampusPin does not rank majors and takes no position on which is worth more.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between a Political Science and a Economics major?
- Both study how societies allocate power and resources, but they use different instruments. Political science explains outcomes through institutions, behaviour and ideas — constitutions, parties, courts, public opinion — and its methods run from formal theory to interviews and archival work. Economics models outcomes as the result of constrained choice, and commits early to mathematics and statistics as the way to test that model. The practical difference on a transcript is the calculus and econometrics sequence.
- Do Political Science and Economics lead to the same jobs?
- Partly. The federal CIP–SOC crosswalk maps both programs to 3 of the same occupations — including Managers, All Other, Social Science Research Assistants, Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education. It also maps 2 occupations to Political Science that it does not map to Economics, and 3 to Economics that it does not map to Political Science. A degree is not a restriction — graduates work outside these lists routinely — but the mapping shows where each program is designed to lead.
- Which pays more, Political Science or Economics?
- CampusPin does not publish a "higher-paying major" answer, because the data does not support one. BLS reports median wages by OCCUPATION, not by college major, and both of these majors lead to a range of occupations that overlap. The per-occupation medians on this page are the honest version of that question: compare the specific roles you are actually interested in, and remember that pay varies widely by employer, region, and experience.
- Is there anything commonly misunderstood about choosing between Political Science and Economics?
- Economics is often described as the more "employable" of the two, which conflates the degree with the quantitative skills inside it. The federal crosswalk associates both with policy and analyst occupations; what differs is the statistical training the economics sequence forces you to complete, and a political science student who takes that sequence closes much of the gap.
Read the full major guides
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Data sources & methodology
Academic classifications, occupation mappings, and wage figures for Political Science and Economics come from federal datasets committed to this site.
Sources used across this page
Not every source informs every figure. Each data point draws on the source appropriate to it see the relevant section and the data dictionary for field-level provenance.
NCES Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP 2020)
Official academic program taxonomy: the code, title, and definition shown for each major.
NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 Crosswalk
The federal mapping from academic programs to occupations. Determines which occupations each major is shown as leading to.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook
Median annual wage, projected employment change, and typical entry-level education for every occupation named.
IPEDS / NCES College Navigator
Federal enrollment, admissions, tuition, retention, and program data. Released annually with a 1–2 year lag.
Where a value is unavailable it is shown as unavailable, never as 0, free, or a negative judgment. Always confirm final details with the institution before applying.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. Political Science vs Economics: How to Choose a Major. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/compare-majors/political-science-vs-economics