Im majoring in economics but trying to decide between michigan state or suny Buffalo. P.S. im from new york and buffalo is cheaper than michigan state (I would have to take out 15k in loan if i were to go to MSU which is not too bad since I want to live in NYC afterwards were I hopefully land a good job at a big bank)
Seems Buffalo is the right choice but what’s making you consider MSU?
If your parents need to cosign $15k in loans per year for you to attend MSU, go to Buffalo.
They’re equivalent academically and Buffalo is cheaper, so this is no brainer: Buffalo 
This analysis might give you some idea as to the relative strength of these schools in economics:
If repec were useful for evaluating the quality of econ programs, it would be more useful for graduate students and not undergrads. The econ program at Buffalo allows for a financial economics concentration, which might be appealing to the OP.
In an earlier study on the topic of faculty research, Hartley and Robinson wrote,
On the undergraduate level, these benefits would be more pronounced, of course, at colleges at which the most accomplished faculty teach a range of undergraduate courses and mentor undergraduate research.
Note that both of these schools appear within the top quartile in the linked analysis. Either could make a nice choice. In that UB would be less expensive, it would probably be my recommendation.