College ROI in Illinois
See the strongest eligible ROI and value signals, then browse every covered college located in the state.
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
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%
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 completion2Rend Lake CollegeIna · Public$5,809median federal debt63%college completion3Lake Land CollegeMattoon · Public$6,188median federal debt58%college completion4Illinois Eastern Community CollegesOlney · Public$6,500median federal debt63%college completion5Midwestern Career CollegeChicago · Private for-profit$7,521median federal debt54%college completion6Heartland Community CollegeNormal · Public$7,826median federal debt54%college completion7Sauk Valley Community CollegeDixon · Public$8,250median federal debt49%college completion8Richland Community CollegeDecatur · Public$8,256median federal debt60%college completion9Illinois Central CollegeEast Peoria · Public$8,900median federal debt49%college completion10Midwest 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 9 of 10
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.