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.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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, Course Advisor 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.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. 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.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
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2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois
The following schools top our list of the Best Value Nursing Colleges.
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 town of Canton, Graham Hospital School of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Graham Hospital School of Nursing are $7,206 per year.
Read full report on Nursing at Graham Hospital School of Nursing
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Lincoln Land Community College is a great value for nursing students. LLCC is a small public school located in the medium-sized city of Springfield.
LLCC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,840 in in-state tuition and fees each 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. Located in the midsize city of Elgin, ECC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at ECC are $7,140 a year. While working on their degree, nursing majors at ECC accumulate an average of around $11,355 in student debt.
The excellent programs at Rend Lake College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Illinois. 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. While working on their degree, nursing majors at Rend Lake College accumulate an average of around $9,750 in student debt.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend John A Logan College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois list. John A Logan College is a small public school located in the small suburb of Carterville.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at John A Logan College are $5,960 a year. After completing their degree, nursing graduates from John A Logan College carry an average student debtload of $12,375.
Highland Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the town of Freeport, Highland Community College is a public school with a small student population.
Highland Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,846 in in-state tuition and fees each 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 did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Belleville, SWIC is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
SWIC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,390 in in-state tuition and fees each year. Nursing majors at SWIC take out an average of $14,162 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Nursing at Southwestern Illinois College
Lake Land College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the distant town of Mattoon, Lake Land College is a public college with a small student population.
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 landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Palatine, Harper College is a public school with a fairly large student population.
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.
Harper College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Nursing Schools in Illinois list.
Oakton Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #10 on the list. Oakton Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the small city of Des Plaines.
The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Oakton Community College are $10,446 a year. On average, nursing graduates from Oakton Community College take out $8,812 in student loans while working on their degree.
Waubonsee Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for nursing students. It came in at #11 on the list. Waubonsee is a medium-sized public school located in the rural area of Sugar Grove.
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.
Additional Noteworthy Schools
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 | Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills, IL |
| 15 | Governors State University | University Park, IL |
Best Value Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
Explore all the Best Value Nursing Schools 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 is one of 30 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to Nursing
| 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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