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Illinois ranking · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges in Illinois

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data retrieved March-July 2026, these operating Illinois colleges (undergraduate enrollment 1,000+) rank highest on value: median earnings ten years after enrollment minus average net price. That single gap is the sort key - not prestige, selectivity, or a composite score.

$77,025
Top earnings-price gap
89
Illinois colleges ranked
$14,860
#1 avg net price

The list in one line

Among Illinois colleges with enrollment of 1,000+, every school on this list clears a $-9,639 earnings-minus-net-price gap. University of Chicago leads at $77,025.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$77,025
#1 - University of Chicago
$91,885
#1 ten-year median earnings
$-9,639
#89 cutoff gap
1,000+
undergraduate enrollment floor

Value = 10-year median earnings - average net price for federal-aid students. See methodology for cohort and lag details.

Top 15 Illinois colleges by earnings-price gap

Higher gap = more earnings relative to average net price

earnings - net price

What this shows Specialized health and career schools can rank highly when program mix lifts earnings; compare completion rates and debt on each school profile before reading value as overall quality.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full Illinois list

# School Name Median Earnings (10yr)Avg Net PriceEarnings - PriceEnrollment
1 University of Chicago $91,885 $14,860 $77,025 7,569
2 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign $81,054 $14,355 $66,699 36,258
3 Illinois Institute of Technology $82,592 $18,425 $64,167 2,833
4 Chamberlain University-Illinois $92,405 $31,837 $60,568 14,027
5 Northwestern University $89,363 $29,167 $60,196 9,201
6 University of Illinois Chicago $68,740 $10,974 $57,766 22,170
7 University of St Francis $63,926 $13,006 $50,920 1,223
8 Lewis University $66,099 $17,028 $49,071 4,015
9 Dominican University $60,327 $11,745 $48,582 2,561
10 Saint Xavier University $58,656 $10,970 $47,686 3,096
11 University of Illinois Springfield $57,103 $9,833 $47,270 2,263
12 Governors State University $58,169 $12,329 $45,840 2,556
13 Northern Illinois University $57,808 $13,391 $44,417 11,301
14 Bradley University $66,852 $22,719 $44,133 3,574
15 Illinois State University $62,117 $19,398 $42,719 19,057
16 Illinois Wesleyan University $70,871 $28,199 $42,672 1,582
17 Oakton College $47,852 $5,183 $42,669 6,072
18 North Park University $59,572 $16,948 $42,624 1,818
19 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville $56,346 $14,889 $41,457 8,750
20 Western Illinois University $54,163 $12,937 $41,226 4,410
21 Joliet Junior College $42,889 $1,672 $41,217 9,306
22 Benedictine University $63,446 $22,313 $41,133 1,942
23 Moraine Valley Community College $43,892 $2,829 $41,063 7,490
24 Augustana College $62,971 $22,736 $40,235 2,490
25 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale $53,390 $13,297 $40,093 8,494
26 Aurora University $58,709 $18,838 $39,871 3,974
27 College of DuPage $46,909 $7,401 $39,508 16,114
28 Elgin Community College $45,516 $6,026 $39,490 6,648
29 Eastern Illinois University $51,989 $12,786 $39,203 4,188
30 North Central College $60,123 $21,044 $39,079 2,428
31 Illinois Valley Community College $40,810 $2,232 $38,578 2,040
32 Northeastern Illinois University $52,234 $14,109 $38,125 3,982
33 McHenry County College $45,143 $7,042 $38,101 4,691
34 DePaul University $68,751 $30,902 $37,849 14,090
35 Triton College $41,728 $4,138 $37,590 6,902
36 Elmhurst University $61,462 $24,185 $37,277 3,006
37 Morton College $42,406 $5,191 $37,215 2,640
38 Wheaton College $63,756 $26,975 $36,781 2,121
39 Lake Land College $38,877 $2,254 $36,623 2,448
40 William Rainey Harper College $48,071 $11,607 $36,464 9,313
41 College of Lake County $43,424 $7,607 $35,817 9,420
42 Concordia University-Chicago $54,089 $18,436 $35,653 1,323
43 Loyola University Chicago $71,530 $36,079 $35,451 11,737
44 City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College $41,625 $6,375 $35,250 4,372
45 Kishwaukee College $39,657 $4,574 $35,083 1,936
46 Richland Community College $38,793 $3,741 $35,052 1,346
47 Lewis and Clark Community College $37,724 $3,349 $34,375 2,487
48 Lincoln Land Community College $38,479 $4,299 $34,180 3,976
49 Kankakee Community College $38,767 $4,665 $34,102 1,985
50 Rock Valley College $39,158 $5,242 $33,916 4,359
51 McKendree University $58,572 $24,717 $33,855 1,752
52 Waubonsee Community College $44,788 $11,442 $33,346 5,721
53 National Louis University $45,799 $12,641 $33,158 4,406
54 Lake Forest College $61,825 $28,673 $33,152 1,813
55 Olivet Nazarene University $53,213 $20,729 $32,484 2,603
56 Kaskaskia College $38,801 $6,477 $32,324 1,920
57 Sauk Valley Community College $40,458 $8,493 $31,965 1,158
58 Prairie State College $36,696 $4,738 $31,958 2,443
59 Carl Sandburg College $35,274 $3,662 $31,612 1,051
60 John Wood Community College $38,631 $7,050 $31,581 1,371
61 Chicago State University $42,778 $12,335 $30,443 1,384
62 South Suburban College $33,680 $3,242 $30,438 2,042
63 Black Hawk College $37,253 $6,944 $30,309 2,354
64 Parkland College $38,320 $8,048 $30,272 3,348
65 Knox College $54,820 $24,595 $30,225 1,127
66 Danville Area Community College $34,867 $4,777 $30,090 1,508
67 City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College $37,962 $7,886 $30,076 2,789
68 Quincy University $50,369 $20,359 $30,010 1,010
69 Millikin University $51,262 $21,989 $29,273 1,382
70 City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College $36,531 $7,397 $29,134 4,207
71 Heartland Community College $40,768 $12,013 $28,755 2,997
72 City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College $36,484 $7,863 $28,621 2,505
73 John A Logan College $34,096 $5,541 $28,555 2,016
74 Roosevelt University $48,712 $20,194 $28,518 2,849
75 Illinois Eastern Community Colleges $37,533 $10,092 $27,441 1,634
76 Rend Lake College $35,775 $9,187 $26,588 1,175
77 Southwestern Illinois College $36,884 $10,427 $26,457 5,675
78 Universal Technical Institute of Illinois Inc $52,873 $27,060 $25,813 1,156
79 City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College $32,427 $7,220 $25,207 6,409
80 Illinois Central College $37,366 $12,961 $24,405 5,052
81 Moody Bible Institute $45,399 $22,221 $23,178 1,510
82 City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College $31,114 $9,038 $22,076 1,661
83 Rasmussen University-Illinois $39,080 $19,854 $19,226 1,145
84 City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College $28,467 $9,494 $18,973 1,777
85 Columbia College Chicago $42,195 $26,598 $15,597 5,368
86 DeVry University-Illinois $45,987 $30,770 $15,217 27,825
87 Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park $38,683 $25,598 $13,085 1,539
88 Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois $33,601 $27,793 $5,808 1,326
89 School of the Art Institute of Chicago $40,151 $49,790 $-9,639 2,805

About This Ranking

Schools in Illinois are ranked by the same value metric as the national best-value list: 10-year median earnings minus average net price. Only operating schools with at least 1,000 undergraduates and both figures published are included. Ties break toward larger enrollment. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. See methodology.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means the largest earnings-minus-price gap among eligible Illinois schools - not teaching quality, campus life, or the right fit for any applicant. Program mix (for example nursing or engineering) can lift institution-level earnings without proving a stronger undergraduate experience.

Earnings cover federally aided students only and describe a lagged cohort. Net price averages aided students and will not match every family's bill. Always open the school profile for completion, debt, and program detail.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or admissions advice.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard and IPEDS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.