Best colleges for computer science in Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranks first in Illinois for computer science value (#11 nationally, value score 88.8): graduates earn $181,981 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $13,042 a year.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 20 Illinois colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026
Best computer science colleges in Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranks first in Illinois for computer science value (#11 nationally, value score 88.8): graduates earn $181,981 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $13,042 a year. 20 Illinois colleges qualify. At the median one, computer science graduates earn $96,275 and the average net price is $17,047 a year.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard field of study, 2025
What the data shows
Key findings
- 20 Illinois colleges qualify. At the median one, computer science graduates earn $96,275 and the average net price is $17,047 a year.
- The lowest average net price among them is at University of Illinois at Springfield: $7,528 a year.
- Median earnings
- $96,275
- National: $97,375
- Median net price
- $17,047
- National: $16,804
- Median federal debt
- $18,625
- computer science graduates
- Public colleges
- 10 of 20
- in this list
20 colleges
The Illinois ranking
Ordered by the national value score; the national rank is shown with each college. Earnings are medians 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
- Rank in Illinois 1
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public · #11 nationally
88.8Value- Earnings
- $181,981
- Net price
- $13,042
- Federal debt
- $15,000
- Graduation rate
- 86%
- Earnings
- $178,068
- Net price
- $16,776
- Federal debt
- $14,037
- Graduation rate
- 95%
- Earnings
- $120,470
- Net price
- $9,540
- Federal debt
- $17,025
- Graduation rate
- 61%
- Rank in Illinois 4
Northwestern University-Illinois
Evanston, IL · Private nonprofit · #61 nationally
72.1Value- Earnings
- $155,106
- Net price
- $34,420
- Federal debt
- $16,500
- Graduation rate
- 96%
- Earnings
- $111,099
- Net price
- $17,829
- Federal debt
- $15,125
- Graduation rate
- 67%
- Rank in Illinois 6
University of Illinois at Springfield
Springfield, IL · Public · #115 nationally
63.4Value- Earnings
- $102,020
- Net price
- $7,528
- Federal debt
- $18,750
- Graduation rate
- 53%
- Rank in Illinois 7
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL · Public · #132 nationally
61.9Value- Earnings
- $106,082
- Net price
- $13,111
- Federal debt
- $19,753
- Graduation rate
- 56%
- Rank in Illinois 8
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · #143 nationally
60.8Value- Earnings
- $120,953
- Net price
- $22,443
- Federal debt
- $22,000
- Graduation rate
- 71%
- Earnings
- $88,917
- Net price
- $9,377
- Federal debt
- $12,500
- Graduation rate
- 25%
- Earnings
- $93,438
- Net price
- $14,505
- Federal debt
- $16,093
- Graduation rate
- 48%
- Earnings
- $107,379
- Net price
- $22,469
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 73%
- Earnings
- $92,824
- Net price
- $10,018
- Federal debt
- $24,875
- Graduation rate
- 49%
- Rank in Illinois 13
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · #296 nationally
41.0Value- Earnings
- $99,112
- Net price
- $36,340
- Federal debt
- $21,625
- Graduation rate
- 72%
- Earnings
- $90,089
- Net price
- $19,385
- Federal debt
- $18,800
- Graduation rate
- 61%
- Earnings
- $82,159
- Net price
- $17,318
- Federal debt
- $16,000
- Graduation rate
- 57%
- Rank in Illinois 16
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Carbondale, IL · Public · #375 nationally
31.6Value- Earnings
- $69,552
- Net price
- $12,554
- Federal debt
- $18,500
- Graduation rate
- 59%
- Rank in Illinois 17
University Park, IL · Public · #390 nationally
30.3Value- Earnings
- $79,154
- Net price
- $15,833
- Federal debt
- $16,195
- Graduation rate
- 23%
- Rank in Illinois 18
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · #394 nationally
30.0Value- Earnings
- $84,554
- Net price
- $27,308
- Federal debt
- $19,000
- Graduation rate
- 67%
- Rank in Illinois 19
North Central College-Illinois
Naperville, IL · Private nonprofit · #439 nationally
22.5Value- Earnings
- $79,877
- Net price
- $22,836
- Federal debt
- $25,000
- Graduation rate
- 62%
- Earnings
- $58,964
- Net price
- $21,512
- Federal debt
- $22,500
- Graduation rate
- 34%
Method: the same value score as the national computer science ranking (earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate, each a national percentile). Data: College Scorecard, reporting year 2025; 2026–27 edition, verified Nov 2026.
Questions about computer science colleges in Illinois
What are the best colleges for computer science in Illinois?
By CollegesRef value score, the top 3 Illinois colleges for computer science are University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (value score 88.8), University of Chicago (value score 84.6) and University of Illinois at Chicago (value score 77.5). The score weighs graduate earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate.
Which Illinois college has the highest earnings for computer science graduates?
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: its computer science graduates have median earnings of $181,981 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
What is the most affordable computer science college in Illinois on this list?
University of Illinois at Springfield has the lowest average net price of the ranked Illinois colleges, $7,528 a year after grants. A family's own price depends on income and aid.
How many Illinois colleges are ranked for computer science?
20 Illinois colleges have a computer science bachelor's program with enough graduates and reported earnings, plus a published net price and graduation rate. Ranks shown are national; the state rank is their order within Illinois.