2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best Nursing School for You
Nursing is the most popular major in Illinois with 21,938 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which healthcare program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Healthcare Degree Search has developed this Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 79 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value programs for nursing students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois
Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
Top 15% Best Nursing Schools
Our analysis found Graham Hospital School of Nursing to be the best value school for nursing students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. Graham Hospital School of Nursing is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Canton.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Graham Hospital School of Nursing are $7,206 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lincoln Land Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Springfield, LLCC is a public school with a small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LLCC are $6,840 per year. On average, nursing graduates from LLCC take out $19,800 in student loans while working on their degree.
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. ECC is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of Elgin.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ECC are $7,140 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at ECC accumulate an average of around $11,355 in student debt.
Out of the 79 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, John A Logan College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the small suburb of Carterville, John A Logan College is a public school with a small student population.
John A Logan College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,960 in in-state tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from John A Logan College carry an average student debtload of $12,375.
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. Located in the rural area of Ina, Rend Lake College is a public school with a small student population.
Rend Lake College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,000 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Rend Lake College accumulate an average of around $9,750 in student debt.
Highland Community College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Highland Community College is a small public school located in the distant town of Freeport.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Highland Community College are $6,846 per year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Highland Community College accumulate an average of around $17,262 in student debt.
Southwestern Illinois College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois list. SWIC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Belleville.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SWIC are $6,390 a year. Nursing majors at SWIC take out an average of $14,162 in student loans while working on their egree.
Lake Land College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #8 on the list. Lake Land College is a small public school located in the town of Mattoon.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lake Land College are $8,104 per year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from Lake Land College carry an average student debtload of $9,243.
William Rainey Harper College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Harper College is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Palatine.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Harper College are $9,870 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Harper College take out $17,125 in student loans while working on their degree.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Harper College also did well on our Best Nursing Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Read full report on Nursing at William Rainey Harper College
Oakton Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the small city of Des Plaines, Oakton Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Oakton Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,446 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, nursing graduates from Oakton Community College take out $8,812 in student loans while working on their degree.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Oakton Community College is ranked #4 for overall quality for nursing in Illinois.
Waubonsee Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois list. Located in the rural area of Sugar Grove, Waubonsee is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
Waubonsee undergraduate students pay an average of $9,271 in in-state tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Waubonsee accumulate an average of around $12,771 in student debt.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top 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 |
|---|---|
| Ohio | 13,973 |
| Michigan | 7,345 |
| Indiana | 7,922 |
| Wisconsin | 5,410 |
More Nursing Rankings in Illinois
Nursing Related Majors for Nursing
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.
Nursing Concentrations
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
| Public Health | 40,596 |
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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