10-yr median earnings
$57,808
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Dekalb, Illinois
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a public institution in Dekalb, Illinois. as a public institution, published Scorecard outcomes are the federal Title-IV cohort view of former students — not every graduate and not a guarantee for any one enrollee.
- $13,391
- Avg net price / yr
- $57,808
- 10-yr median earnings
- 49.2%
- 150%-time completion
- 69.8%
- Acceptance rate
The verdict
Northern Illinois University pairs top-quartile former-student earnings with a moderately open admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 18%
- former-student earnings, US
- 69.8%
- acceptance rate
- 49.2%
- 150%-time completion
- +25%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Suburb: Small
Carnegie: R2
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Northern Illinois University profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
C
College Value Score
56/100
Northern Illinois University
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings A-
$57,808
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price C+
$13,391
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
49.2%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$22,162
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment B+
74.2%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention F
69.6%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$13,391
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
49.2%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 49.2%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Northern Illinois University vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Northern Illinois University ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Northern Illinois University: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$57,808 Top 18% higher than 82% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Northern Illinois University | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $57,808 | #918 of 5103 | 82nd |
| Average net price | $13,391 | #1784 of 5020 | 64th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 49.2% | #3051 of 4858 | 37th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 11,301 | #299 of 5462 | 95th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
11,301
Undergraduate enrollment
69.8%
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
49.2%
150%-time completion
$57,808
10-yr median earnings
69.6%
First-year retention
How Northern Illinois University ranks in Illinois
State rank among 189 reporting Illinois colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Northern Illinois University | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $57,808 | #39 of 189 | 79th |
| Average net price | $13,391 | #80 of 179 | 55th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 49.2% | #112 of 171 | 35th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 11,301 | #9 of 201 | 96th |
Highest former-student earnings in Illinois
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chamberlain University-Illinois | $92,405 | $31,837 |
| 2 | University of Chicago | $91,885 | $14,860 |
| 3 | Northwestern University | $89,363 | $29,167 |
| 4 | St. John's College | $86,331 | - |
| 5 | Lakeview College of Nursing | $84,522 | - |
| 6 | Illinois Institute of Technology | $82,592 | $18,425 |
| 7 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | $81,054 | $14,355 |
| 8 | Saint Anthony College of Nursing | $77,709 | - |
| 9 | Rush University | $75,194 | - |
| 10 | Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing | $72,850 | - |
| 11 | Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences | $72,430 | - |
| 12 | Loyola University Chicago | $71,530 | $36,079 |
| 39 | Northern Illinois UniversityThis school | $57,808 | $13,391 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 69.8% |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Northern Illinois University
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$10,126 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$9,854 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$12,797 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$21,834 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Northern Illinois University - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $13,248 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $13,248 |
| Average Net Price | $13,391 |
47.3%
Pell Grant Rate
46.7%
Federal Loan Rate
$22,162
Median Debt
$235/mo
Monthly Payment
Northern Illinois University costs less today than it did in 2013
Average net price fell from $19,624 to $12,909 (-34.2%) between 2013 and 2023, before any inflation adjustment, which makes the real-terms fall larger still. Most colleges moved the other way: the median change across the 4,315 schools measured over the same span was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $19,6242023 · $12,909
Over the same years, enrollment went -28.5% (15,782 → 11,277 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
53.5%
Female
38.3%
First Generation
Outcomes
69.6%
Retention Rate
$46,113
Median Earnings (6yr)
71.0%
Earning Over $25K
74.2%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 49.2% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 69.6% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $46,113 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $57,808 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 71.0% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 74.2% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $22,162 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $235/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 46 | 2,806 | $60,748 | $93,962 | $22,823 |
| Master's | 28 | 880 | $71,982 | $120,765 | $31,700 |
| Doctoral | 4 | 66 | $94,652 | $117,352 | $61,500 |
| First Professional | 1 | 104 | $78,459 | $78,459 | $75,688 |
Top programs at Northern Illinois University by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$120,765 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$119,872 median earnings
- Curriculum and Instruction
Curriculum and Instruction
$117,352 median earnings
- Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
$107,338 median earnings
- Accounting and Related Ser…
Accounting and Related Services
$101,106 median earnings
- Electrical, Electronics, a…
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
$93,962 median earnings
- Computer Science
Computer Science
$93,438 median earnings
- Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
$86,999 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
Nearby Schools
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1,936 students
Waubonsee Community College
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Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Elgin
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Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Matches use Scorecard measures among reporting colleges — not state-system recommendations or geographic proximity.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Public institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Public institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Northern Illinois University? ▼
Northern Illinois University is a public institution in Dekalb, Illinois. The acceptance rate is 69.8%. Undergraduate enrollment is 11,301 students.
How much do Northern Illinois University former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Northern Illinois University who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $57,808 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $46,113.
How much does Northern Illinois University cost? ▼
The average net price at Northern Illinois University is $13,391. In-state tuition is $13,248 and out-of-state tuition is $13,248. Median student debt at graduation is $22,162.
What is the graduation rate at Northern Illinois University? ▼
Northern Illinois University has a 49.2% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 69.6%.
Is Northern Illinois University worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Northern Illinois University is $22,162, while former students earn a median of $57,808 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 38% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 74.2% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $235.
Sources & methodology
Public-college profiles lean on IPEDS enrollment and Scorecard Title-IV outcomes. State appropriations are outside this page; the figures below are the federal cohort measures only.
Every number is read live from the Mar–Jul 2026 Scorecard/IPEDS retrievals. Public institutions often enroll large Title-IV cohorts, so medians can be stable — still cohort averages, never a personal forecast. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Northern Illinois University
- Compare Northern Illinois University against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Illinois side by side.Browse Illinois
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Public-college Scorecard figures are historical Title-IV cohort averages — confirm current tuition, aid, and admissions rules with the institution before deciding.
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. Public-institution profiles compile Scorecard Title-IV earnings, IPEDS enrollment/admissions, and Treasury linkage fields — no editor-typed figures. 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.