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Best Value Degrees in Illinois (2026)

Top 100 of 915 programs in Illinois · Updated 2026

The best college programs in Illinois, ranked by overall value. We scored 915 programs across Illinois schools on earnings, AI resilience, job demand, and tuition ROI. The top programs average $64,812/yr in graduate earnings.

Programs in IL

915

Avg Earnings (Top 100)

$64,812/yr

Avg DW Score

79/100

#1 Program

Nursing (RN/BSN)

Governors State University

Top Programs in Illinois

Top 100 programs by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full analysis.

#	Program	DW Score	Earnings	AI Risk	ROI
1	Nursing (RN/BSN) Governors State University · University Park, IL	89 83–89	$80,391/yr	High	22.7x
2	Finance University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	86 78–90	$75,381/yr	Very High	17.5x
3	Computer Science University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	89 78–91	$124,530/yr	Very High	25.6x
4	Fire Protection & Safety Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	86 82–86	$104,017/yr	Moderate	18.6x
5	Business Administration University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	86 80–88	$68,442/yr	High	13.9x
6	Computer & Information Science University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	89 79–89	$113,503/yr	Very High	16.7x
7	Management Science & Analytics University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	86 78–88	$72,527/yr	Very High	14.7x
8	Nursing (RN/BSN) Rasmussen University-Illinois · Rockford, IL	86 80–85	$74,861/yr	High	16.5x
9	Computer Science University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	85 72–88	$78,040/yr	Very High	19.3x
10	Nursing (RN/BSN) Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	86 81–83	$75,557/yr	High	14.5x
11	Computer Science Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville · Edwardsville, IL	85 73–88	$76,106/yr	Very High	18.9x
12	Nursing (RN/BSN) Chicago State University · Chicago, IL	84 77–84	$63,869/yr	High	17.6x
13	Nursing (RN/BSN) University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	85 80–82	$75,045/yr	High	14.0x
14	Business Administration Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	83 76–85	$52,724/yr	High	14.0x
15	Computer Science University of Illinois Springfield · Springfield, IL	85 73–87	$72,657/yr	Very High	18.7x
16	Accounting University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	81 73–85	$74,731/yr	Very High	14.1x
17	Management Science & Analytics National Louis University · Chicago, IL	84 76–85	$59,084/yr	Very High	15.0x
18	Computer Science Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	85 74–85	$77,257/yr	Very High	15.9x
19	Computer Science Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	83 70–87	$70,053/yr	Very High	19.1x
20	Nursing (RN/BSN) Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville · Edwardsville, IL	84 79–81	$71,161/yr	High	13.9x
21	Business Administration University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	85 80–84	$65,781/yr	High	10.5x
22	Computer Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	84 73–86	$103,123/yr	Very High	20.3x
23	Mathematics and Computer Science University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	86 77–87	$109,843/yr	Very High	16.2x
24	Computer Science Illinois State University · Normal, IL	84 72–85	$81,363/yr	Very High	14.5x
25	Accounting Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	80 72–84	$63,743/yr	Very High	15.4x
26	Finance Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	79 72–83	$54,802/yr	Very High	14.6x
27	Business (General) Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	80 71–83	$45,015/yr	High	15.1x
28	Business Administration Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	82 77–82	$55,633/yr	High	11.5x
29	Nursing (RN/BSN) Western Illinois University · Macomb, IL	84 79–80	$74,490/yr	High	12.4x
30	Finance Eastern Illinois University · Charleston, IL	77 69–83	$51,370/yr	Very High	14.7x
31	Nursing (RN/BSN) Illinois State University · Normal, IL	83 78–80	$72,709/yr	High	12.0x
32	Computer Science Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	81 68–84	$62,831/yr	Very High	17.0x
33	Teacher Education (Subject-Specific) Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	83 80–82	$63,615/yr	High	11.8x
34	Business (General) Trinity International University-Illinois · Deerfield, IL	80 73–82	$47,463/yr	High	13.2x
35	Business Administration Rasmussen University-Illinois · Rockford, IL	83 79–81	$59,693/yr	High	10.5x
36	Finance University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	77 71–81	$55,591/yr	Very High	12.5x
37	Agricultural Business University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	75 70–80	$55,934/yr	High	12.8x
38	Finance Illinois State University · Normal, IL	76 69–82	$54,958/yr	Very High	12.5x
39	Health Administration National Louis University · Chicago, IL	77 69–81	$46,203/yr	High	13.3x
40	Computer & Information Science Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville · Edwardsville, IL	79 66–82	$55,844/yr	Very High	15.6x
41	Nursing (RN/BSN) Chamberlain University-Illinois · Addison, IL	82 78–79	$83,188/yr	High	10.3x
42	Accounting University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	78 71–81	$65,680/yr	Very High	12.6x
43	IT Management Rasmussen University-Illinois · Rockford, IL	78 68–80	$59,685/yr	Very High	13.1x
44	Criminal Justice Governors State University · University Park, IL	75 71–76	$42,456/yr	Moderate	12.0x
45	Health Administration Governors State University · University Park, IL	76 69–79	$44,498/yr	High	13.0x
46	Business Administration Governors State University · University Park, IL	78 72–78	$44,436/yr	High	11.7x
47	Teacher Education (General) University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	79 78–77	$60,917/yr	High	9.2x
48	Computer & Information Science Illinois State University · Normal, IL	79 67–80	$65,127/yr	Very High	12.2x
49	Business Administration Illinois State University · Normal, IL	77 71–79	$50,647/yr	High	10.0x
50	Accounting Illinois State University · Normal, IL	76 68–79	$62,940/yr	Very High	11.8x
51	Management Science & Analytics Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	79 71–80	$51,128/yr	Very High	11.9x
52	Business Administration Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	78 72–78	$46,630/yr	High	11.0x
53	Health Administration University of St Francis · Joliet, IL	77 71–79	$83,104/yr	High	5.1x
54	Business Administration University of Illinois Springfield · Springfield, IL	77 70–79	$44,236/yr	High	11.8x
55	Teacher Education (Subject-Specific) Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	77 75–77	$54,215/yr	High	11.0x
56	Allied Health & Diagnostic Professions Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	77 76–73	$69,021/yr	Moderate	12.2x
57	Economics University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	76 67–80	$58,921/yr	Very High	13.2x
58	Marketing University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL	77 70–79	$69,273/yr	Very High	12.9x
59	International Business Illinois State University · Normal, IL	76 69–79	$52,491/yr	Very High	11.3x
60	Construction Management Illinois State University · Normal, IL	77 71–78	$70,672/yr	High	13.7x
61	Finance Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	75 69–78	$48,807/yr	Very High	11.9x
62	Nursing (RN/BSN) Roosevelt University · Chicago, IL	80 75–77	$75,231/yr	High	8.3x
63	Accounting Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	75 67–78	$54,694/yr	Very High	12.3x
64	Nursing (RN/BSN) Trinity Christian College · Palos Heights, IL	80 76–77	$76,446/yr	High	8.4x
65	Construction Management Western Illinois University · Macomb, IL	78 72–77	$70,789/yr	High	13.2x
66	Business (General) DeVry University-Illinois · Lisle, IL	78 74–77	$57,020/yr	High	7.8x
67	Business Administration DeVry University-Illinois · Lisle, IL	77 73–77	$55,102/yr	High	7.9x
68	Accounting Eastern Illinois University · Charleston, IL	72 63–79	$48,070/yr	Very High	13.7x
69	Accounting Governors State University · University Park, IL	73 66–77	$47,836/yr	Very High	13.2x
70	Computer Networking Illinois State University · Normal, IL	77 66–78	$66,801/yr	Very High	12.2x
71	Health Administration Illinois State University · Normal, IL	74 67–76	$48,886/yr	High	9.5x
72	Nursing (RN/BSN) Methodist College · Peoria, IL	78 74–75	$67,809/yr	High	9.2x
73	Criminal Justice Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	72 68–74	$40,719/yr	Moderate	10.9x
74	Finance Southern Illinois University-Carbondale · Carbondale, IL	74 68–77	$48,708/yr	Very High	11.0x
75	Business Administration Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville · Edwardsville, IL	75 69–77	$43,753/yr	High	10.8x
76	Accounting Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville · Edwardsville, IL	73 64–79	$49,046/yr	Very High	13.4x
77	Computer & Information Science Western Illinois University · Macomb, IL	78 67–78	$62,578/yr	Very High	11.3x
78	Information Science University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	76 64–78	$58,651/yr	Very High	12.8x
79	Computer Engineering University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	77 67–78	$71,148/yr	Very High	13.0x
80	Health Administration University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	73 65–76	$44,526/yr	High	10.5x
81	Management Science & Analytics Illinois State University · Normal, IL	75 65–78	$47,553/yr	Very High	10.6x
82	Management Science & Analytics North Central College · Naperville, IL	77 70–78	$85,168/yr	Very High	3.8x
83	Medical Laboratory Science Northern Illinois University · Dekalb, IL	75 73–72	$70,654/yr	Moderate	12.6x
84	Accounting Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	73 66–77	$50,475/yr	Very High	11.9x
85	Computer Engineering Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville · Edwardsville, IL	79 69–80	$71,841/yr	Very High	12.9x
86	Business Administration Western Illinois University · Macomb, IL	74 68–76	$45,137/yr	High	9.3x
87	Finance Rasmussen University-Illinois · Rockford, IL	73 67–76	$47,744/yr	Very High	10.8x
88	Nursing (RN/BSN) Aurora University · Aurora, IL	74 69–73	$72,520/yr	High	6.1x
89	Computer Science University of Chicago · Chicago, IL	74 62–79	$117,578/yr	Very High	7.5x
90	Health Administration Concordia University-Chicago · River Forest, IL	73 67–75	$65,314/yr	High	4.0x
91	Computer & Information Science Governors State University · University Park, IL	76 64–76	$48,567/yr	Very High	12.7x
92	Management Science & Analytics University of Illinois Chicago · Chicago, IL	74 66–76	$45,665/yr	Very High	10.4x
93	Nursing (RN/BSN) Benedictine University · Lisle, IL	74 70–73	$80,136/yr	High	4.9x
94	Public Health Illinois State University · Normal, IL	74 67–75	$59,207/yr	High	12.0x
95	Nursing (RN/BSN) Lewis University · Romeoville, IL	73 68–73	$76,766/yr	High	4.7x
96	Nursing (RN/BSN) McKendree University · Lebanon, IL	73 68–73	$73,156/yr	High	5.9x
97	Nursing (RN/BSN) Millikin University · Decatur, IL	74 70–73	$71,848/yr	High	6.2x
98	Teacher Education (General) Northeastern Illinois University · Chicago, IL	70 68–71	$41,938/yr	High	10.8x
99	Nursing (RN/BSN) University of St Francis · Joliet, IL	73 68–73	$75,811/yr	High	4.9x
100	Nursing (RN/BSN) Saint Xavier University · Chicago, IL	74 69–73	$78,285/yr	High	4.6x

Methodology

This ranking includes the top 100 programs at Illinois colleges and universities, drawn from 915 total programs with earnings data. Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score (0–100), which combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and tuition ROI.

Only in-state tuition is used for ROI calculations. Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best college program in Illinois?

By DegreeWorth Score, Nursing (RN/BSN) at Governors State University ranks #1 in Illinois with a score of 89/100 and graduate earnings of $80,391/yr.

How many college programs are in Illinois?

Our database includes 915 programs across Illinois colleges with reported earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.