2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Economics in Illinois (With Aid)
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2019-2020, 48,831 people earned their degree in economics, making the major the 18th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,295 and had an average of $21,978 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 2,106 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,350 and $22,044 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,749 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 27 colleges that offered a degree in economics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent economics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the economics program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.
Top 25 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Economics in Illinois (With Aid)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 490 degrees to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2019-2020.
UIUC also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend UIUC.
The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read more about Economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 99 students in 2019-2020.
UIC also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. University of Illinois at Springfield is located in Springfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
UIS also took the #13 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Springfield is $12,477 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 338 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend Northwestern.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Out of the 27 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid list, EIU has also earned the #21 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,607 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend Eastern Illinois University.
Northern Illinois University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 24 degrees to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2019-2020.
NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #18 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northern Illinois University is $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
SIUE also took the #19 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,423 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
With a ranking of #8, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. WIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 8 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
WIU also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #17. It costs about $16,210 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend WIU.
Northeastern Illinois University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid list, Northeastern Illinois University has also earned the #25 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,843 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend Northeastern Illinois University.
Read more about Economics at Northeastern Illinois University
With a ranking of #10, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 13 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #24 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid.
With a ranking of #11, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 423 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $27,315 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend UChicago.
The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #12, Dominican University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school situated in River Forest, Illinois. It awarded 6 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid list, Dominican U has also earned the #14 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,268 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend Dominican University.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Illinois College came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Illinois College is located in Jacksonville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
Illinois College also took the #20 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,562 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend Illinois College.
Illinois State University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 46 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid list, Illinois State has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $20,895 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #15. Olivet Nazarene is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 33 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid list, Olivet Nazarene has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $20,195 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend Olivet Nazarene.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Wheaton College Illinois did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #16. Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Wheaton, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 40 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Wheaton College Illinois also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Wheaton College Illinois is $25,358 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Elmhurst University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Elmhurst is a small school located in Elmhurst, Illinois that handed out 11 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Elmhurst, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst University is $21,485 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Augustana College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #18. Augustana College is located in Rock Island, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
Augustana not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $23,874 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend Augustana College.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.
Knox College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Knox College is a small school located in Galesburg, Illinois that handed out 18 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
Knox not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Knox is $22,292 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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%.
With a ranking of #20, McKendree University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. McKendree is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lebanon, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
McKendree also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #23. The yearly cost to attend McKendree is $19,844 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid.
Lake Forest College ranked #21 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Lake Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.
Lake Forest not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $26,426 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend Lake Forest College.
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%.
With a ranking of #22, North Central College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. North Central College is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 31 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at North Central, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend North Central College is $24,786 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid.
The low student loan default rate of 3.9% 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%.
With a ranking of #23, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Bradley is a private not-for-profit institution located in Peoria, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Bradley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $25,634 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend Bradley.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
With a ranking of #24, Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Illinois Wesleyan University is a small school located in Bloomington, Illinois that handed out 14 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid list, Illinois Wesleyan has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $26,039 for illinois bachelor’s degree economics students with aid per year to attend Illinois Wesleyan.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #25, Roosevelt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Roosevelt University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 5 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.
It costs about $22,749 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Economics students with aid per year to attend Roosevelt University.
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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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