10-yr median earnings
$36,696
Federal aid recipients only
Public · Chicago Heights, Illinois
Prairie State College
Prairie State College is a public institution in Chicago Heights, 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.
- $4,738
- Avg net price / yr
- $36,696
- 10-yr median earnings
- 20.1%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Prairie State College posts modest former-student earnings.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- 37th pct.
- former-student earnings, US
- 20.1%
- 150%-time completion
- +21%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Suburb: Large
Carnegie: Associate's
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Prairie State College 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 ("Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career & Technical-High Nontraditional"), 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
D
College Value Score
45/100
Prairie State College
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 F
$36,696
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price A+
$4,738
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
20.1%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt B-
$11,000
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment F
37.9%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention N/A
N/A
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
$4,738
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
20.1%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 20.1%
Less-than-four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Prairie State College 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 Prairie State College 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.
Prairie State College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$36,696 37th percentile higher than 37% 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 | Prairie State College | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $36,696 | #3231 of 5103 | 37th |
| Average net price | $4,738 | #289 of 5020 | 94th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 20.1% | #4677 of 4858 | 4th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 2,443 | #1294 of 5462 | 76th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
2,443
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
20.1%
150%-time completion
$36,696
10-yr median earnings
-
First-year retention
How Prairie State College ranks in Illinois
State rank among 189 reporting Illinois colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Prairie State College | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $36,696 | #123 of 189 | 35th |
| Average net price | $4,738 | #16 of 179 | 91st (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 20.1% | #165 of 171 | 4th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 2,443 | #54 of 201 | 73rd |
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 |
| 123 | Prairie State CollegeThis school | $36,696 | $4,738 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Prairie State College
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k $3,546
$0 – $30k
$3,546 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k $3,013
$30k – $48k
$3,013 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$7,839 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$13,908 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Prairie State College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $4,176 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $11,064 |
| Average Net Price | $4,738 |
33.0%
Pell Grant Rate
8.2%
Federal Loan Rate
$11,000
Median Debt
$117/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Prairie State College swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $3,301 to $8,981 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as -19.4%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$3,301
Highest year
$8,981
Most recent (2023)
$5,280
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $6,5522023 · $5,280
Over the same years, enrollment went -47.4% (4,651 → 2,448 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
63.1%
Female
39.3%
First Generation
Outcomes
$30,388
Median Earnings (6yr)
42.8%
Earning Over $25K
37.9%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 20.1% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $30,388 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $36,696 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 42.8% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 37.9% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $11,000 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $117/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate's | 7 | 281 | $52,524 | $87,212 | $13,516 |
| Certificate | 2 | 140 | $49,840 | $57,474 | $8,750 |
Top programs at Prairie State College 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
$87,212 median earnings
- Dental Support Services an…
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
$65,505 median earnings
- Allied Health Diagnostic, …
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions
$57,474 median earnings
- Health/Medical Preparatory…
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs
$48,709 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$47,550 median earnings
- Liberal Arts and Sciences,…
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities
$47,062 median earnings
- Practical Nursing, Vocatio…
Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants
$42,205 median earnings
- Criminal Justice and Corre…
Criminal Justice and Corrections
$39,190 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.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's | 49 | $87,212 | $14,500 |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions | Associate's | 40 | $65,505 | - |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Certificate | 52 | $57,474 | - |
| Health/Medical Preparatory Programs | Associate's | - | $48,709 | - |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Associate's | 0 | $47,550 | $12,100 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's | 191 | $47,062 | $13,949 |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Certificate | 88 | $42,205 | $8,750 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Associate's | 1 | $39,190 | - |
| Psychology, General | Associate's | - | $32,438 | - |
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Prairie State College? ▼
Prairie State College is a public institution in Chicago Heights, Illinois. Undergraduate enrollment is 2,443 students.
How much do Prairie State College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Prairie State College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $36,696 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $30,388.
How much does Prairie State College cost? ▼
The average net price at Prairie State College is $4,738. In-state tuition is $4,176 and out-of-state tuition is $11,064. Median student debt at graduation is $11,000.
What is the graduation rate at Prairie State College? ▼
Prairie State College has a 20.1% completion rate within 150% of normal program time at a less-than-four-year institution.
Is Prairie State College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Prairie State College is $11,000, while former students earn a median of $36,696 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 30% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 37.9% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $117.
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 Prairie State College
- Compare Prairie State College 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.