Public · Champaign, Illinois

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public institution in Champaign, 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.

$14,355
Avg net price / yr
$81,054
10-yr median earnings
85.0%
150%-time completion
42.4%
Acceptance rate

The verdict

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign pairs top-5% former-student earnings with a selective admit.

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

Top 3%
former-student earnings, US
42.4%
acceptance rate
85.0%
150%-time completion
+25%
earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Small Carnegie: R1
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Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.

How to read this University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 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: Very 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

B+
College Value Score
78/100
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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+
$81,054
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price C+
$14,355
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate A+
85.0%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$19,500
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
82.7%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A+
94.8%
First-year students returning for year two
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign vs. the national benchmark
EarningsNet PriceCompletionDebtRepaymentRetention

Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.

10-yr median earnings

$81,054

Federal aid recipients only

Avg net price

$14,355

After grants and scholarships

150%-time completion

85.0%

Full-time, first-time cohort

150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 85.0%

Four-year-institution cohort

College ROI Quadrant - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign vs peers

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign positioned by earnings vs cost Two-by-two quadrant chart: x-axis median earnings 10 years after enrollment, y-axis average net price after financial aid. Each dot is a college, colored by completion within 150% of normal time (garnet ≥65%, amber 45-64%, red <45%). Net price increases upward, earnings increase rightward, so: bottom-right = best value (low cost, high earnings); top-right = premium (high cost, high earnings); bottom-left = community college tier (low cost, modest earnings); top-left = cost challenge (high cost, low earnings). Currently plotting 8 colleges. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard joined to Carnegie Classification. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign posi… Carnegie Classification: R1 R1 COST CHALLENGE PREMIUM COMMUNITY BEST VALUE $15K $85K Median Earnings 10 Years After Enrollment ($) $6K $26K Avg Net Price ($) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (you are here): $81K earn · $14K net · 85% grad You are here - University of Illi… University of Illinois Chicago: $69K earn · $11K net · 61% grad University of Illi… Illinois State University: $62K earn · $19K net · 65% grad Illinois State Uni… College of DuPage: $47K earn · $7K net · 25% grad College of DuPage Northern Illinois University: $58K earn · $13K net · 49% grad Northern Illinois … College of Lake County: $43K earn · $8K net · 38% grad College of Lake Co… William Rainey Harper College: $48K earn · $12K net · 47% grad Tricoci University of Beauty Culture: $18K earn · $25K net · 62% grad Grad rate (4yr) ≥65% 45-64% <45%
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education

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 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 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.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: former-student earnings vs. every US college

10-year median earnings, College Scorecard

$81,054 Top 3% higher than 97% of 5,103 US colleges

$0–$20,000: 169 US colleges (3%). Below this entry. $20,000–$40,000: 2,245 US colleges (44%). Below this entry. $40,000–$60,000: 1,897 US colleges (37%). Below this entry. $60,000–$80,000: 606 US colleges (12%). Below this entry. $80,000–$100,000: 134 US colleges (3%). This entry sits in this band. $100,000–$120,000: 39 US colleges (1%). Above this entry. $120,000–$140,000: 11 US colleges (0%). Above this entry. $140,000–$160,000: 2 US colleges (0%). Above this entry. This college $0 $160,000 every US college, bucketed by value

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 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign National rank Percentile
10-yr median earnings $81,054 #175 of 5103 97th
Average net price $14,355 #1967 of 5020 61st (lower is better)
150%-time completion 85.0% #437 of 4858 91st
Undergraduate enrollment 36,258 #34 of 5462 99th

National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.

Quick Facts

36,258
Undergraduate enrollment
42.4%
Acceptance rate
1,440
SAT average
85.0%
150%-time completion
$81,054
10-yr median earnings
94.8%
First-year retention

How University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ranks in Illinois

State rank among 189 reporting Illinois colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.

Metric University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign State rank Percentile
10-yr median earnings $81,054 #7 of 189 96th
Average net price $14,355 #83 of 179 54th (lower is better)
150%-time completion 85.0% #13 of 171 92nd
Undergraduate enrollment 36,258 #1 of 201 100th

Highest former-student earnings in Illinois

#School10-yr earningsNet price
1Chamberlain University-Illinois$92,405$31,837
2University of Chicago$91,885$14,860
3Northwestern University$89,363$29,167
4St. John's College$86,331-
5Lakeview College of Nursing$84,522-
6Illinois Institute of Technology$82,592$18,425
7University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignThis school$81,054$14,355
8Saint Anthony College of Nursing$77,709-
9Rush University$75,194-
10Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing$72,850-
11Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences$72,430-
12Loyola University Chicago$71,530$36,079

Admissions

Admission Rate 42.4%
SAT Average 1,440
SAT Math (25th-75th) 660 – 780
SAT Reading (25th-75th) 650 – 740
ACT Average 32
ACT (25th-75th) 30 – 34
0%100%42.4%
Share of applicants admitted

Costs & Financial Aid

Net price by family income at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket

net price / yr

What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.

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

Tuition & Net Price

In-State Tuition $16,004
Out-of-State Tuition $35,124
Average Net Price $14,355
23.4%
Pell Grant Rate
27.4%
Federal Loan Rate
$19,500
Median Debt
$207/mo
Monthly Payment

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign costs less today than it did in 2013

Average net price fell from $18,798 to $15,201 (-19.1%) 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%.

Average net price, 2013–2023

11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.

2013: $18,7982014: $18,3752015: $18,1432016: $18,2432017: $18,3772018: $17,3022019: $15,8802020: $14,3212021: $15,4832022: $16,1092023: $15,201
2013 · $18,7982023 · $15,201

Over the same years, enrollment went +9.3% (31,663 → 34,623 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

49.5%
Female
24.9%
First Generation

Outcomes

94.8%
Retention Rate
$64,802
Median Earnings (6yr)
79.9%
Earning Over $25K
82.7%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)

Outcomes & debt snapshot

Measure Cohort / horizon Value
Completion within 150% of normal time First-time, full-time 85.0%
First-year retention First-time, full-time freshmen 94.8%
Median earnings 6 years after entry $64,802
Median earnings 10 years after entry $81,054
Share earning over $25,000 Working, not enrolled 79.9%
Loan repayment rate Completers, 3 years after leaving 82.7%
Median federal student debt At completion $19,500
Estimated monthly payment Standard 10-year plan $207/mo

Programs & Earnings

Field-of-study summary by credential

Credential Programs Award count Avg earnings Top earnings Avg debt
Bachelor's 78 9,039 $79,010 $181,981 $19,922
Master's 39 4,843 $90,532 $179,395 $33,526
Doctoral 8 196 $114,219 $163,024 $111,370

Top programs at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign by completer earnings

Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file

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.

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

Program Credential Completers Median Earnings Median Debt
Computer Science Bachelor's 292 $181,981 $18,983
Computer Science Master's 635 $179,395 $18,835
Physics Doctoral 34 $163,024 -
Computer Engineering Bachelor's 318 $159,855 $20,500
Mathematics and Computer Science Bachelor's 81 $155,503 $21,500
Business Administration, Management and Operations Master's 1,285 $151,907 $37,154
Computer and Information Sciences, General Bachelor's 100 $146,946 $19,199
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering Master's 126 $142,725 -
Veterinary Medicine Doctoral - $133,973 $196,772
Chemistry Doctoral 46 $131,278 -
Law Doctoral - $130,428 $77,159
Mechanical Engineering Master's 57 $127,773 -
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering Master's 32 $125,843 -
Finance and Financial Management Services Bachelor's 301 $119,978 $19,500
Management Information Systems and Services Bachelor's 240 $116,339 $19,300

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the acceptance rate at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public institution in Champaign, Illinois. The acceptance rate is 42.4%. The average SAT score is 1,440. Undergraduate enrollment is 36,258 students.
How much do University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign former students earn?
Federally aided former students at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $81,054 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $64,802.
How much does University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign cost?
The average net price at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is $14,355. In-state tuition is $16,004 and out-of-state tuition is $35,124. Median student debt at graduation is $19,500.
What is the graduation rate at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign?
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a 85.0% 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 94.8%.
Is University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign worth the student debt?
The median student debt at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is $19,500, while former students earn a median of $81,054 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 24% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 82.7% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $207.

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.

Where to go next from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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.