2027 Best Value Labor & Industrial Relations Schools in Illinois
[Labor & Industrial Relations](/majors/business-management-marketing-sales/human-resource-management/labor-and-industrial-relations/) programs reward a close look at where your money goes furthest. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2027 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 3 schools to find the best return on investment for labor & industrial relations students.
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2027 Best Value Labor & Industrial Relations Schools in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in labor & industrial relations, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Labor & Industrial Relations Schools
For return on investment in labor & industrial relations, no school beat University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign this year. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $18,267, compared with $40,096 for out-of-state students. Typical student debt for labor & industrial relations graduates is $20,778. Early-career labor & industrial relations graduates make about $89,637. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. The acceptance rate is 42%.
Northwestern University came in at #2 on our 2027 list of the best value labor & industrial relations schools. Set in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit institution. Students from in state pay about $68,322 in tuition and fees. Students borrow a median of $38,832 to complete the labor & industrial relations program here. Labor & Industrial Relations graduates of Northwestern University earn a median of $78,551 early in their careers. Set against $38,832 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Northwestern University admits about 8% of applicants.
A rank of #3 makes Loyola University Chicago one of the best values for labor & industrial relations. Set in the city of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago is a large private not-for-profit institution. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $53,710. Students borrow a median of $23,521 to complete the labor & industrial relations program here. Labor & Industrial Relations graduates of Loyola University Chicago earn a median of $58,568 early in their careers. That is a strong return on a $23,521 median debt. Roughly 82% of applicants are accepted.
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2027 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 3 ranked 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
