Best colleges for nursing in Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago ranks first in Illinois for nursing value (#63 nationally, value score 72.7): graduates earn $87,037 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $9,540 a year.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 21 Illinois colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026
Best nursing colleges in Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago ranks first in Illinois for nursing value (#63 nationally, value score 72.7): graduates earn $87,037 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $9,540 a year. 21 Illinois colleges qualify. At the median one, nursing graduates earn $84,705 and the average net price is $18,457 a year.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard field of study, 2025
What the data shows
Key findings
- 21 Illinois colleges qualify. At the median one, nursing graduates earn $84,705 and the average net price is $18,457 a year.
- The highest nursing earnings in the state are at Benedictine University-Illinois ($97,934), ranked #2 in the state once cost, debt and graduation rate count.
- Median earnings
- $84,705
- National: $85,171
- Median net price
- $18,457
- National: $18,014
- Median federal debt
- $22,900
- nursing graduates
- Public colleges
- 5 of 21
- in this list
21 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.
- Earnings
- $87,037
- Net price
- $9,540
- Federal debt
- $13,000
- Graduation rate
- 61%
- Rank in Illinois 2
Benedictine University-Illinois
Lisle, IL · Private nonprofit · #126 nationally
66.2Value- Earnings
- $97,934
- Net price
- $18,910
- Federal debt
- $12,500
- Graduation rate
- 43%
- Earnings
- $87,383
- Net price
- $15,961
- Federal debt
- $20,000
- Graduation rate
- 64%
- Earnings
- $87,170
- Net price
- $10,171
- Federal debt
- $24,300
- Graduation rate
- 55%
- Rank in Illinois 5
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL · Public · #241 nationally
56.9Value- Earnings
- $83,867
- Net price
- $13,111
- Federal debt
- $19,201
- Graduation rate
- 56%
- Earnings
- $86,694
- Net price
- $10,018
- Federal debt
- $24,598
- Graduation rate
- 49%
- Earnings
- $81,264
- Net price
- $17,829
- Federal debt
- $15,000
- Graduation rate
- 67%
- Earnings
- $85,320
- Net price
- $17,318
- Federal debt
- $21,500
- Graduation rate
- 57%
- Earnings
- $88,391
- Net price
- $15,833
- Federal debt
- Not reported
- Graduation rate
- 23%
- Earnings
- $86,581
- Net price
- $15,949
- Federal debt
- $25,874
- Graduation rate
- 52%
- Earnings
- $84,022
- Net price
- $19,385
- Federal debt
- $21,500
- Graduation rate
- 61%
- Earnings
- $79,916
- Net price
- $18,457
- Federal debt
- $11,676
- Graduation rate
- 51%
- Earnings
- $86,941
- Net price
- $22,469
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 73%
- Rank in Illinois 14
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · #436 nationally
43.0Value- Earnings
- $87,922
- Net price
- $36,340
- Federal debt
- $25,000
- Graduation rate
- 72%
- Rank in Illinois 15
Bourbonnais, IL · Private nonprofit · #453 nationally
42.0Value- Earnings
- $84,705
- Net price
- $19,978
- Federal debt
- $26,206
- Graduation rate
- 60%
- Earnings
- $82,200
- Net price
- $16,652
- Federal debt
- $24,342
- Graduation rate
- 51%
- Earnings
- $79,372
- Net price
- $23,165
- Federal debt
- $18,750
- Graduation rate
- 64%
- Rank in Illinois 18
Bloomington, IL · Private nonprofit · #518 nationally
37.2Value- Earnings
- $84,527
- Net price
- $27,863
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 73%
- Rank in Illinois 19
Quincy, IL · Private nonprofit · #524 nationally
36.8Value- Earnings
- $78,599
- Net price
- $22,711
- Federal debt
- $10,875
- Graduation rate
- 44%
- Earnings
- $70,537
- Net price
- $22,581
- Federal debt
- $24,625
- Graduation rate
- 44%
- Rank in Illinois 21
Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit · #685 nationally
5.3Value- Earnings
- $75,989
- Net price
- $41,238
- Federal debt
- $29,381
- Graduation rate
- 30%
Method: the same value score as the national nursing 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 nursing colleges in Illinois
What are the best colleges for nursing in Illinois?
By CollegesRef value score, the top 3 Illinois colleges for nursing are University of Illinois at Chicago (value score 72.7), Benedictine University-Illinois (value score 66.2) and University of St Francis (value score 61.8). The score weighs graduate earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate.
Which Illinois college has the highest earnings for nursing graduates?
Benedictine University-Illinois: its nursing graduates have median earnings of $97,934 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
What is the most affordable nursing college in Illinois on this list?
University of Illinois at Chicago has the lowest average net price of the ranked Illinois colleges, $9,540 a year after grants. A family's own price depends on income and aid.
How many Illinois colleges are ranked for nursing?
21 Illinois colleges have a nursing 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.