Colleges in Illinois whose graduates clear the bar most often

Ranked by the share of each school's programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test).

#CollegePrograms clearing the barMedian earningsPrograms measured
1Midwestern University-Downers Grove100%$137,49613
2Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science100%$118,85610
3Illinois Institute of Technology100%$100,07822
4University of Chicago100%$87,86933
5Rush University100%$85,45013
6University of St Francis100%$73,45225
7Benedictine University100%$70,65728
8DeVry University-Illinois100%$68,93435
9Lewis University100%$67,96238
10William Rainey Harper College100%$66,93516
11Concordia University-Chicago100%$64,45924
12Aurora University100%$62,91028
13Illinois State University100%$62,05676
14University of Illinois Springfield100%$61,49929
15McKendree University100%$61,26718
16Northern Illinois University100%$60,95074
17Millikin University100%$60,80417
18Dominican University100%$60,31123
19Northeastern Illinois University100%$59,85335
20Southern Illinois University-Carbondale100%$59,56980
21Governors State University100%$57,93026
22College of Lake County100%$57,02612
23Judson University100%$54,89810
24Eastern Illinois University100%$54,54843
25Trinity Christian College100%$54,42711

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0).

Ranked on one stated metric, the share of a school's programs that clear the benchmark. Schools need at least 10 programs with reported earnings to appear. Note that specialised graduate institutions (medical and health-science centres, for example) often rank at the top because their programs are almost all high-earning; the 'programs measured' column and each school's page give the context.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10). Earnings are median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing, and describe past graduates rather than a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.