Best ROI Colleges in Illinois
Looking for value in Illinois? Start here. We ranked these colleges by ROI - earnings premium (30%), payback period (25%), debt-to-earnings (20%), completion rate (15%), and loan repayment (10%) - all from U.S. Department of Education data, with no prestige guesswork in the mix.
10 schools ranked
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
| # | School | ROI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL | 98 |
| 2 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL | 94 |
| 3 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL | 93 |
| 4 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL | 92 |
| 5 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL | 85 |
| 6 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL | 82 |
| 7 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL | 77 |
| 8 | Bradley University Peoria, IL | 75 |
| 9 | Chamberlain University-Illinois Addison, IL | 75 |
| 10 | Illinois State University Normal, IL | 74 |
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How We Rank
Rankings are based on our ROI score (0-100), which weights five quantifiable factors: Earnings Premium (30%), Payback Period (25%), Debt-to-Earnings (20%), Completion Rate (15%), and Loan Repayment (10%). All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. No subjective criteria are used.
Full methodology →