2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Out of the majors we analyze each year, nursing was the most popular one in Illinois. In total, 21,938 people earned a degree or certificate in the field from a school in Illinois.
Today's nursing students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Nursing Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 79 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best value experiences for nursing students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 15% Best Nursing Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Graham Hospital School of Nursing the best value school in Illinois for nursing students. Located in the distant town of Canton, Graham Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Graham Hospital School of Nursing undergraduate students pay an average of $7,206 in in-state tuition and fees each year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lincoln Land Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois list. LLCC is a small public school located in the city of Springfield.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LLCC are $6,840 a year. Nursing majors at LLCC take out an average of $19,800 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Out of the 79 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Elgin Community College landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Elgin, ECC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
ECC undergraduate students pay an average of $7,140 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from ECC carry an average student debtload of $11,355.
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The excellent programs at John A Logan College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Illinois. John A Logan College is a small public school located in the suburb of Carterville.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at John A Logan College are $5,960 per year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at John A Logan College take out is $12,375.
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Out of the 79 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Rend Lake College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Rend Lake College is a small public school located in the rural area of Ina.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Rend Lake College are $6,000 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Rend Lake College carry an average student debtload of $9,750.
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With a ranking of #6, Highland Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for nursing students. Located in the distant town of Freeport, Highland Community College is a public college with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Highland Community College are $6,846 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Highland Community College carry an average student debtload of $17,262.
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Southwestern Illinois College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the large suburb of Belleville, SWIC is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SWIC are $6,390 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at SWIC accumulate an average of around $14,162 in student debt.
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Lake Land College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the town of Mattoon, Lake Land College is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Lake Land College are $8,104 a year. The average amount in student loans that nursing majors at Lake Land College take out is $9,243.
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William Rainey Harper College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Palatine, Harper College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Harper College are $9,870 per year. Nursing majors at Harper College take out an average of $17,125 in student loans while working on their egree.
Harper College also took the #4 spot in our Best Nursing Schools in Illinois rankings.
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Oakton Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois list. Oakton Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Des Plaines.
Oakton Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,446 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at Oakton Community College take out an average of $8,812 in student loans while working on their egree.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Oakton Community College is ranked #2 for overall quality for nursing in Illinois.
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Waubonsee Community College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Waubonsee is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Sugar Grove.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Waubonsee are $9,271 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Waubonsee carry an average student debtload of $12,771.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Nursing students in the state of Illinois seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Kaskaskia College | Centralia, IL |
| 13 | Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg, IL |
| 14 | Black Hawk College | Moline, IL |
| 15 | Governors State University | University Park, IL |
| 15 | Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills, IL |
Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 7,345 |
| Ohio | 13,973 |
| Indiana | 7,922 |
| Wisconsin | 5,410 |
More Nursing Rankings in Illinois
Majors Related to Nursing
Nursing Focus Areas
Majors Similar to Nursing
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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 the rest 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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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