Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Civil Engineering

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

7 Ranked Colleges
402 Degrees Awarded
$10,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 21,561 people earned their degree in civil engineering, making the major the 45th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, civil engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,122 and had an average of $23,807 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 784 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,729 and $24,301 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 402 civil engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in civil engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great civil engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the civil engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Civil Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $1,866 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Northwestern

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 180 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $5,477 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at UIUC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 79 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #5 spot in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $10,648 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Civil Engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s civil eng degrees to qualified students.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $8,055 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Civil Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 32 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $13,658 for illinois bachelor’s degree civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#6

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Bradley University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 31 bachelors’s civil eng degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k list, Bradley has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,205 for illinois bachelor’s degree civil eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bradley.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Bradley Civil Engineering Report

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Civil Eng Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 37 degrees to qualified bachelors’s civil eng students in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Civil Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $17,222 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Civil Eng students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois Tech.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Civil Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

Switch to a Similar Major

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

Notes and References

References

  • 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

Featured Engineering Schools

Find Schools Near You