College ROI in Illinois

See the strongest eligible ROI and value signals, then browse every covered college located in the state.

Download IL data ↓Read the national value report →Federal data through June 10, 2026

52Colleges with a publishable ROI scenario

$59,330Median observed year-5 earnings

$19,125Median annual net price

−47%Median modeled 10-year ROI

STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024

Illinois's everyday prices are 0.0% below the U.S. average

This statewide BEA benchmark helps put college budgets in context. It is not tuition, a campus-specific cost estimate or an input to our ROI rankings.

Overall prices: 100.0
Housing: 93.9
Utilities: 85.0

TOP 10 · ECONOMIC ROI

Best estimated 10-year return

52 colleges meet the consistent ROI screen.

1University of ChicagoChicago · Private nonprofit+144%2Northwestern UniversityEvanston · Private nonprofit+72%3Chamberlain University-IllinoisAddison · Private for-profit+64%4Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago · Private nonprofit+62%5University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign · Public+42%6University of Illinois ChicagoChicago · Public+18%7University of St FrancisJoliet · Private nonprofit+6%8DePaul UniversityChicago · Private nonprofit−15%9Lewis UniversityRomeoville · Private nonprofit−16%10Bradley UniversityPeoria · Private nonprofit−17%

TOP 10 · VALUE

Most earnings per price dollar

Observed five-year earnings divided by annual average net price.

1University of ChicagoChicago · Private nonprofit7.0×2University of Illinois ChicagoChicago · Public6.5×3University of Illinois SpringfieldSpringfield · Public6.4×4Saint Xavier UniversityChicago · Private nonprofit5.7×5University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign · Public5.5×6University of St FrancisJoliet · Private nonprofit5.3×7Dominican UniversityRiver Forest · Private nonprofit5.3×8Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago · Private nonprofit4.7×9Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb · Public4.6×10Governors State UniversityUniversity Park · Public4.5×

LOW DEBT · SOLID COMPLETION

Where completer borrowers leave with less federal debt

Limited to currently operating colleges with at least 500 students and a completion rate at or above the Illinois median among debt-reporting colleges.

1Carl Sandburg CollegeGalesburg · Public$4,909median federal debt50%college completion 2Rend Lake CollegeIna · Public$5,809median federal debt63%college completion 3Lake Land CollegeMattoon · Public$6,188median federal debt58%college completion 4Illinois Eastern Community CollegesOlney · Public$6,500median federal debt63%college completion 5Midwestern Career CollegeChicago · Private for-profit$7,521median federal debt54%college completion 6Heartland Community CollegeNormal · Public$7,826median federal debt54%college completion 7Sauk Valley Community CollegeDixon · Public$8,250median federal debt49%college completion 8Richland Community CollegeDecatur · Public$8,256median federal debt60%college completion 9Illinois Central CollegeEast Peoria · Public$8,900median federal debt49%college completion 10Midwest Technical Institute-IllinoisSpringfield · Private for-profit$9,500median federal debt69%college completion

Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. This view does not rank ROI or guarantee affordability.

ALL COLLEGES IN IL

Browse the full Illinois directory

236 matching colleges · page 3 of 10

CollegeEarningsNet priceFederal debt10-year ROI

Danville Area Community CollegeDanville · Public$50,974$4,777$7,218−70%Trinity International University-IllinoisDeerfield · Private nonprofit$50,600$2,835$26,082−71%Capital Area Career CenterSpringfield · Public$51,517$16,797$9,500−74%Rasmussen University-IllinoisRockford · Private for-profit$51,660$19,854$20,899−74%Elgin Community CollegeElgin · Public$50,211$6,026$7,390−74%Millikin UniversityDecatur · Private nonprofit$51,792$21,989$27,000−75%Career Center of Southern IllinoisRed Bud · Public$52,076$25,204$15,170−75%Chicago State UniversityChicago · Public$50,497$12,335$30,625−76%Kankakee Community CollegeKankakee · Public$49,490$4,665$9,969−77%Illinois CollegeJacksonville · Private nonprofit$50,547$18,298$25,565−78%Triton CollegeRiver Grove · Public$49,252$4,138$9,413−78%Quincy UniversityQuincy · Private nonprofit$50,581$20,359$24,000−79%Aviation Institute of Maintenance-ChicagoChicago · Private for-profit$50,739$27,347$31,301−80%Illinois Valley Community CollegeOglesby · Public$48,589$2,232$8,233−81%College of Lake CountyGrayslake · Public$48,905$7,607$8,735−81%Blackburn CollegeCarlinville · Private nonprofit$49,562$18,460$24,242−82%McHenry County CollegeCrystal Lake · Public$48,703$7,042$6,260−82%Monmouth CollegeMonmouth · Private nonprofit$49,373$17,133$27,000−82%Richland Community CollegeDecatur · Public$48,325$3,741$8,256−83%Prairie State CollegeChicago Heights · Public$48,170$4,738$11,000−84%Moraine Valley Community CollegePalos Hills · Public$47,991$2,829$9,500−84%City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright CollegeChicago · Public$48,058$6,375$6,500−85%Eureka CollegeEureka · Private nonprofit$47,962$17,349$23,250−88%Kishwaukee CollegeMalta · Public$47,285$4,574$9,395−88%Knox CollegeGalesburg · Private nonprofit$47,902$24,595$27,000−90%

The directory includes every College Scorecard institution assigned to Illinois, including online-only colleges at their federal administrative location and historical records marked as not currently operating. Online-only colleges are labeled and excluded from state top-10 lists because their students are not confined to that state. “Not available” means a required federal value was missing or suppressed. Top-10 ROI eligibility requires current operating status, a reported bachelor’s-level program, at least 500 students, observed earnings and average net price of at least $1,000.