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.
Find out more about our ranking methodology.
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.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 91%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. 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.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 85%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $89,363 during the early years of their career..
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Illinois.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UIUC make an average of $81,054 per year during the early years of their career.
Read full report on University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #4 in Illinois on this year’s overall quality ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Chicago is $71,530 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges in Illinois list means Rasmussen University - Illinois is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 100%, which is impressive 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.
Concordia University, Chicago landed the #6 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Concordia University, Chicago go into careers with an average salary of $54,089 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #7, DePaul University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making 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.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State is $62,117 during the early years of their career.
Columbia College Chicago landed the #9 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Columbia go into careers with an average salary of $42,195 during the early years of their career.
University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #10.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from UIC is $68,740 during the early years of their career.
Aurora University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making 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.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from NLU is $45,799 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #13, Wheaton College Illinois did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from Wheaton College Illinois make an average of $63,756 a year.
Benedictine University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine U go into careers with an average salary of $63,446 during the early years of their career.
Lincoln Land Community College came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from LLCC make an average of $38,479 a year.
With a ranking of #16, College of Lake County did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from College of Lake County make an average of $43,424 a year.
University of St Francis landed the #17 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from University of Saint Francis make an average of $63,926 a year.
Illinois Wesleyan University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 78%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $70,871 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #19, Bradley University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $66,852 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #20, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from NIU is $57,808 during the early years of their career.
Augustana College ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in Illinois list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Augustana make an average of $62,971 a year.
Waubonsee Community College did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #22.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Waubonsee go into careers with an average salary of $44,788 during the early years of their career.
Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, coming in at #23.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Illinois Tech make an average of $82,592 a year.
Roosevelt University landed the #24 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Roosevelt make an average of $48,712 per year during the early years of their career.
William Rainey Harper College landed the #25 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Harper College make an average of $48,071 per year 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.