What does Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 mean for academic journals?

Quartiles divide journals in a subject category into four equal groups based on their citation rate or SJR score. Q1 contains the top 25% (highest impact), Q2 the next 25%, Q3 the third quartile, and Q4 the bottom 25%.

Is a Q1 journal always better than a Q2 journal?

Q1 journals have higher citation rates within their subject category, but 'better' depends on your research scope, audience, and field norms. Some specialized Q2 journals are more appropriate venues than broad Q1 journals.

How are these rankings calculated?

Rankings are derived from the latest citation rate data for each journal in our database. When official quartile data is available we use it directly; otherwise quartiles are computed by ranking journals within the selected subject category.

Journal Rankings 2026 — Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4

Browse 26 ranked journals grouped into quartiles by citation rate. Use the subject filter below to narrow down by research field.

Data last refreshed: Jul 30, 2026

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All Subjects Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies Medicine Human auditory perception and evaluation Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth Social Sciences Advanced Statistical Methods and Models Economic Theory and Policy Economic theories and models Environmental Science Social sciences (General) Corporate Finance and Governance Education (General) Monetary Policy and Economic Impact Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Medicine (General) Statistical Methods and Inference Electronic computers. Computer science Global Maternal and Child Health Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life Health disparities and outcomes Innovation and Knowledge Management Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference Business Digital Marketing and Social Media Energy, Environment, Economic Growth Law Plant and animal studies Bayesian Methods and Mixture Models Education Market Dynamics and Volatility

Q1 — Top 25%

7 journals

Journal	IF
American Economic Review American Economic Association	12.91
Journal of Political Economy University of Chicago Press	5.42
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management Elsevier	4.39
World Development Elsevier BV	4.22
The Review of Economics and Statistics The MIT Press	3.92
The Economic Journal Oxford University Press	3.65
Economic Modelling Elsevier BV	3.35

Q2 — 50th-75th Percentile

6 journals

Journal	IF
Journal of Public Economics Elsevier BV	3.24
Journal of Development Economics Elsevier BV	3.04
Public Administration Review Wiley	2.91
Environmental and Resource Economics Springer Nature	2.82
European Economic Review Elsevier BV	2.66
Economica Wiley	2.32

Q3 — 25th-50th Percentile

7 journals

Journal	IF
World Economy Wiley	2.27
Applied Economics Taylor & Francis	1.92
Economics Letters Elsevier BV	1.88
Public Choice Springer Science+Business Media	1.68
Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control Elsevier BV	1.65
American Journal of Economics and Sociology Wiley	1.62
Journal of Policy Analysis and Management Wiley	1.34

Q4 — Bottom 25%

6 journals

Journal	IF
National Tax Journal University of Chicago Press	1.21
Applied Economics Letters Taylor & Francis	1.06
Climate Change Economics World Scientific	1.02
Economic Development and Cultural Change University of Chicago Press	0.90
Southern Economic Journal Wiley	0.90
Economic Record Wiley	0.29

Understanding Journal Quartile Rankings

Quartile rankings (Q1-Q4) are a standard way to categorize academic journals within a subject. They're calculated by ordering all journals in a category by their citation rate (or SJR score) and dividing them into four equal groups.

Q1 — Top 25%, highest impact in the field
Q2 — 50th to 75th percentile
Q3 — 25th to 50th percentile
Q4 — Bottom 25%

Note: When official Scopus/JCR quartile data is available we use it. Otherwise quartiles are approximated by ranking journals within the selected subject by their latest citation rate.