by our College Data Analytics TeamWith all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Top Illinois Colleges ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Our analysis looked at 85 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best in terms of overall quality. To come up with this ranking, we look at more than 20 factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include freshman retention, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and post graduate earnings, among other things.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of Chicago to be the best school for overall quality in Illinois in this year’s ranking.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 5 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UChicago is $91,885 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Northwestern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Illinois.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 6 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern go into careers with an average salary of $89,363 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Illinois list means University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $81,054 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Loyola University Chicago helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Illinois.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $71,530 during the early years of their career..
Out of the 85 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Rasmussen University - Illinois landed the #5 spot on the list.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 100%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Rasmussen University - Illinois is $39,080 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #6, Concordia University, Chicago did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, Chicago is $54,089 during the early years of their career.
DePaul University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from DePaul go into careers with an average salary of $68,751 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #8, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Illinois State make an average of $62,117 a year.
Columbia College Chicago did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #9.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Columbia make an average of $42,195 a year.
University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #10 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UIC go into careers with an average salary of $68,740 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #11, Aurora University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Aurora go into careers with an average salary of $58,709 during the early years of their career.
National Louis University landed the #12 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from NLU go into careers with an average salary of $45,799 during the early years of their career.
Wheaton College Illinois came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College Illinois go into careers with an average salary of $63,756 during the early years of their career.
Benedictine University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The student loan default rate at the school is 1.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1% Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,446 during the early years of their career..
Lincoln Land Community College ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from LLCC make an average of $38,479 per year during the early years of their career.
College of Lake County ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from College of Lake County is $43,424 during the early years of their career.
University of St Francis ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,926 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #18, Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 78%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan make an average of $70,871 per year during the early years of their career.
Bradley University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #19.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Bradley is $66,852 during the early years of their career.
Northern Illinois University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $57,808 during the early years of their career..
Augustana College landed the #21 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Augustana is $62,971 during the early years of their career.
Waubonsee Community College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Waubonsee make an average of $44,788 per year during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #23, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Tech is $82,592 during the early years of their career.
Roosevelt University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #24.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $48,712 during the early years of their career..
William Rainey Harper College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Harper College is $48,071 during the early years of their career.
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.