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2022 Best Value Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

7 Ranked Colleges
784 Degrees Awarded
$10,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Civil Engineering is the 45th most popular major in the country with 21,561 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, civil engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,122 and had an average of $23,807 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 784 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,729 and $24,301 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in civil engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent civil engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the civil engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 65 ’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $1,866 for Illinois Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Northwestern University Civil Engineering Report

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 367 ’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $5,477 for Illinois Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Civil Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 139 ’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $10,648 for Illinois Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIC.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at UIC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 46 diplomas to qualified ’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k list, SIUE has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,055 for illinois civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Civil Engineering Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 47 ’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,658 for Illinois Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SIUC.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Civil Engineering Report

#6

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Bradley is located in Peoria, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 40 ’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

Bradley also made our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $17,205 for Illinois Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Bradley

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Illinois Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 80 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also took the #4 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Tech is $17,222 for illinois civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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