by our College Data Analytics TeamChicago State University is a public institution in Chicago, Illinois enrolling 1,384 undergraduates. It accepts 43% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 15%, below the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #2,508 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 49%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Chicago State University ranks #2,508 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 49%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Chicago State University was awarded 1 badge in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked CSU as #2,508 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
CSU also holds the #113 spot on the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
See all of the rankings for Chicago State University.
Chicago State University has an acceptance rate of 43%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for CSU.
Learn more about Chicago State University admissions.
At CSU, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 9 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Chicago State University is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At Chicago State University this rate is 57%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.
When we say that a student has graduated on time, we mean that they have finished their bachelor’s degree within four years. The on-time graduation rate at CSU is 15%. That’s lower than the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Chicago State University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,384 undergraduates at CSU.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Chicago State University.
The average net price of CSU is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $9,073 | $9,550 | $11,334 | $13,899 | $28,427 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of CSU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At CSU, approximately 78% of students took out student loans averaging $7,735 a year. That adds up to $30,940 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 9.3%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for Chicago State University.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University make about $42,778 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is about 13% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at Chicago State University make the most money.
Chicago State University is a public institution situated in Chicago, Illinois. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Chicago State University.
Contact details for Chicago State University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 9501 S. King Drive, Chicago, IL 60628-1598 |
| Phone: | 7739952000 |
| Website: | www.csu.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/chicagostateuniversity |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/ChicagoState |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 21 majors graduated from Chicago State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 485 | NA |
| Computer Science | 75 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 51 | $35,049 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 37 | $32,482 |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 37 | $28,460 |
| Library & Information Science | 30 | NA |
| General Psychology | 29 | $26,067 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 28 | $31,389 |
| General Biology | 23 | $28,475 |
| Rehabilitation Professions | 18 | $65,021 |
952 students took at least one online class at Chicago State University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Chicago State University.
Interested in comparing CSU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.