Best-Value Colleges in Illinois
24 Illinois 4-year colleges ranked by return on investment - 10-year graduate earnings per dollar of net price - among schools that beat the state median on earnings and graduation rate.
Quick answer
The best-value college in Illinois is University of Illinois Springfield, Springfield - a net price of $7,528 against $57,103 in median 10-year earnings, an ROI of 7.6×, with a 61% graduation rate. Every school here turns a modest cost into outsized, above-median earnings.
| # | School | Net price /yr | 10-yr earnings | ROI (earn ÷ price) | Grad rate | In-state tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL | $7,528 | $57,103 | 7.6× | 61% | $12,640 |
| 2 |  University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL | $9,540 | $68,740 | 7.2× | 60% | $14,652 |
| 3 |  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | $13,042 | $81,054 | 6.2× | 85% | $16,354 |
| 4 |  Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL | $10,171 | $58,656 | 5.8× | 59% | $39,080 |
| 5 |  University of Chicago Chicago, IL | $16,776 | $91,885 | 5.5× | 95% | $73,962 |
| 6 |  Dominican University River Forest, IL | $14,013 | $60,327 | 4.3× | 62% | $40,608 |
| 7 |  University of St Francis Joliet, IL | $15,961 | $63,926 | 4.0× | 65% | $38,900 |
| 8 |  Lewis University Romeoville, IL | $17,318 | $66,099 | 3.8× | 63% | $40,700 |
| 9 |  Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL | $22,443 | $82,592 | 3.7× | 72% | $53,398 |
| 10 |  Trinity Christian College Palos Heights, IL | $15,155 | $55,700 | 3.7× | 64% | $21,205 |
| 11 |  Illinois State University Normal, IL | $17,829 | $62,117 | 3.5× | 66% | $16,152 |
| 12 |  McKendree University Lebanon, IL | $18,457 | $58,572 | 3.2× | 60% | $35,430 |
| 13 |  Augustana College Rock Island, IL | $21,153 | $62,971 | 3.0× | 79% | $53,346 |
| 14 |  Bradley University Peoria, IL | $22,469 | $66,852 | 3.0× | 72% | $43,850 |
| 15 |  Knox College Galesburg, IL | $19,292 | $54,820 | 2.8× | 68% | $60,051 |
| 16 |  Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL | $23,165 | $61,462 | 2.7× | 65% | $45,858 |
| 17 | NCC North Central College Naperville, IL | $22,836 | $60,123 | 2.6× | 71% | $47,340 |
| 18 |  Northwestern University Evanston, IL | $34,420 | $89,363 | 2.6× | 96% | $70,589 |
| 19 |  Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL | $27,863 | $70,871 | 2.5× | 83% | $59,430 |
| 20 |  DePaul University Chicago, IL | $27,108 | $68,751 | 2.5× | 70% | $47,676 |
| 21 |  Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL | $24,987 | $61,825 | 2.5× | 70% | $58,902 |
| 22 |  Wheaton College Wheaton, IL | $26,059 | $63,756 | 2.4× | 87% | $47,770 |
| 23 |  Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL | $36,340 | $71,530 | 2.0× | 77% | $56,060 |
| 24 |  Methodist College Peoria, IL | $41,238 | $69,800 | 1.7× | 75% | $18,318 |
How we ranked this
From every Illinois four-year college that publishes net price, 10-year median earnings, and graduation rate, we keep only those that beat the state median on earnings and that graduate at least 45% of students (or the state median grad rate, whichever is higher). We then rank by ROI = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price - the dollars of graduate earnings each dollar of net price buys - highest first. This rewards genuine return on investment rather than the cheapest sticker price, and the 4-year + outcome guards keep out the low-completion and 2-year outliers a pure price sort surfaces. Colleges missing any of the three figures are excluded, never estimated. Minimum 5 qualifying schools required to publish a page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best-value college in Illinois?+
University of Illinois Springfield in Springfield has the highest return on investment among Illinois 4-year colleges that beat the state median on outcomes: a net price of $7,528 against $57,103 in 10-year median earnings - an ROI of 7.6× (dollars earned per dollar of annual net price) - with a 61% graduation rate.
What does "net price" mean?+
Net price is the average annual cost students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the full cost of attendance - a far better affordability measure than sticker tuition. We use the College Scorecard average net price.
How is "best value" defined here?+
Value means return on investment, not cheapness. Among Illinois four-year colleges that beat the state median on BOTH 10-year graduate earnings and graduation rate (and graduate at least 45% of students), we rank by the ROI ratio = 10-year median earnings ÷ average annual net price. The school that turns each tuition dollar into the most graduate earnings ranks first.
Is the cheapest college always the best value?+
No. A rock-bottom price that leads to low earnings is worse value than a moderate price that leads to high earnings. That is exactly why we rank by the earnings-to-net-price ratio rather than by lowest price, and require above-median earnings and graduation rates first. Colleges missing net price, earnings, or graduation data are excluded rather than estimated.
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard · IPEDS. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “-” and never estimated. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.