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2024 Best Accounting Schools in Illinois

36 Colleges in Illinois
3,741 Accounting Degrees Awarded
$51,906 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #8 in popularity, accounting is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 36 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of accounting. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,741 degrees in accounting during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Accounting School

Best Accounting Schools in Illinois Your choice of accounting school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for accounting schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Accounting Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Accounting
Bachelor's Degrees in Accounting
Master's Degrees in Accounting

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Accounting Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Accounting in Illinois

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the accounting degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Illinois Schools in Accounting

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
385 Accounting Degrees Awarded
2.9% Growth in Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign if you want to pursue a degree in accounting. Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #34 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 385 accounting students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the accounting program at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign make $12,819 above the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in accounting from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
314 Accounting Degrees Awarded
$62,789 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in accounting needs to look into DePaul University. Located in the city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #203 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were roughly 314 accounting students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available. Accounting degree recipients from DePaul University get an earnings boost of approximately $10,883 above the typical income of accounting graduates.

More information about a degree in accounting from DePaul University

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
112 Accounting Degrees Awarded
25.0% Growth in Graduates

Loyola University Chicago is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in accounting. Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 112 accounting students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the accounting major at Loyola University Chicago make $13,180 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in accounting from Loyola University Chicago

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
189 Accounting Degrees Awarded
$57,049 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat University of Illinois at Chicago if you wish to pursue a degree in accounting. UIC is a very large public university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #192 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.

There were about 189 accounting students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent data year. Accounting degree recipients from University of Illinois at Chicago earn a boost of around $5,142 above the average earnings of accounting majors.

More information about a degree in accounting from University of Illinois at Chicago

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
73 Accounting Degrees Awarded
19.2% Growth in Graduates

Located in the medium-sized city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #309 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Bradley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 73 accounting students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent data year. Accounting degree recipients from Bradley University earn a boost of about $6,862 over the typical income of accounting majors.

More information about a degree in accounting from Bradley University

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
243 Accounting Degrees Awarded
9.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #231 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.

There were about 243 accounting students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the accounting program at Illinois State University make $6,334 more than the typical college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in accounting from Illinois State University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$61,838 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #463 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Illinois Wesleyan is a great university overall.

There were roughly 22 accounting students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Wesleyan in the most recent year we have data available. Accounting degree recipients from Illinois Wesleyan University get an earnings boost of approximately $9,932 above the average income of accounting majors.

More information about a degree in accounting from Illinois Wesleyan University

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Accounting Degrees Awarded
$43,167 Median Starting Salary

Rasmussen University - Illinois is a small private for-profit university located in the midsize city of Rockford. A Best Colleges rank of #277 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Rasmussen University - Illinois is a great university overall.

There were roughly 32 accounting students who graduated with this degree at Rasmussen University - Illinois in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the accounting program state that they receive average early career earnings of $43,167.

More information about a degree in accounting from Rasmussen University - Illinois

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
156 Accounting Degrees Awarded
$58,509 Median Starting Salary

NIU is a fairly large public university located in the small suburb of Dekalb. This university ranks 24th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 156 accounting students who graduated with this degree at NIU in the most recent data year. Those accounting students who get their degree from Northern Illinois University make $6,602 more than the typical accounting graduate.

More information about a degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University

10
Augustana crest
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Accounting Degrees Awarded
10.0% Growth in Graduates

Augustana is a small private not-for-profit college located in the city of Rock Island. A Best Colleges rank of #471 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Augustana is a great college overall.

There were about 50 accounting students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent data year. Accounting degree recipients from Augustana College earn a boost of around $2,592 over the average income of accounting majors.

More information about a degree in accounting from Augustana College


 

Best Accounting Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Accounting Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 2,427
Ohio 314 3,277
Indiana 294 1,647
Wisconsin 273 1,606

View All Rankings >

Accounting is one of 21 different types of Business, Management & Marketing programs to choose from.

Accounting Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Accounting 2,992
Accounting Technology/Technician and Bookkeeping 559
Accounting and Finance 186
Accounting and Business/Management 3
Other Accounting and Related Services 1

View All Accounting Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 13,789
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 4,786
Marketing 2,154
Finance & Financial Management 2,054
Human Resource Management 1,421
General Business/Commerce 918
Business Support & Assistant Services 571
Management Information Systems 569
Hospitality Management 260
Business/Managerial Economics 249

View All Accounting Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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