2022 Best Value Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income Over $110k) in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Environmental Engineering is the 166th most popular major in the country with 2,802 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, environmental engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,600 and had an average of $23,573 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 69 environmental engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in environmental engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality environmental engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. 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.

273104346528677

Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income Over $110k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$15,880 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 32 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Environmental Engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UIUC Environmental Engineering Report

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$24,664 Average Net Price

$68,272 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 12 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $24,664 for Illinois Environmental Engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%.

Full Northwestern Environmental Engineering Report

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$22,831 Average Net Price

$62,621 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Vallue Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 13 ’s environmental engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $22,831 for illinois environmental engineering students whose families make more than $110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 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%.

Read more about Environmental Engineering at Illinois Tech

• Best Value Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income Over $110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Environmental Engineering (Income Over $110k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alesia Goosic.

Featured Environment / Natural Resources Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >