by our College Data Analytics TeamIllinois State University is a public institution in Normal, Illinois enrolling 19,057 undergraduates. It accepts 88% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 65%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #180 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 3%), 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.
Illinois State University ranks #180 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 3%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Illinois State University was awarded 573 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Illinois State is ranked #180 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.
Within the state, Illinois State holds the #5 spot on the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.
See all of the rankings for Illinois State University.
With an acceptance rate of 88%, Illinois State University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 44% of students accepted to Illinois State submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 500 and 620. Math scores were between 490 and 590.
Illinois State received ACT scores from 8% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 21 and 27.
Learn more about Illinois State University admissions.
At Illinois State University, the student to faculty ratio is 19 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.
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 Illinois State University is 74%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 81% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Illinois State University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Illinois State the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 65%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Illinois State University.
The current enrollment includes 19,057 undergraduates at Illinois State.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Illinois State University.
The typical net cost at Illinois State 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 + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $11,568 | $12,301 | $16,348 | $23,865 | $28,224 |
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 Illinois State, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Illinois State, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $6,065 a year. That adds up to $24,260 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Illinois State University.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Illinois State University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $62,117 in their early years. That’s great news for Illinois State University students since it is 26% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Illinois State University make the most money.
Illinois State University is a public institution found in Normal, Illinois. Normal is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center. Get more details about the location of Illinois State University.
Contact information for Illinois State University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | North and School Streets, Normal, IL 61790-1000 |
| Phone: | 3094382111 |
| Website: | illinoisstate.edu/ |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_State_University |
| Facebook: | illinoisstate.edu/Facebook |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/IllinoisStateU |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 29 majors graduated from Illinois 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 | 5,617 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 467 | $39,193 |
| Nursing | 379 | $67,354 |
| Marketing | 266 | $45,387 |
| General Psychology | 236 | $28,754 |
| Special Education | 215 | $43,480 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 214 | $38,118 |
| Business Administration & Management | 211 | $45,754 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 173 | $52,313 |
| Accounting | 163 | $56,002 |
7,950 students took at least one online class at Illinois State University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Illinois State University.
Curious how schools stack up against Illinois State? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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.
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