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2026 Best Value General Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois

[General Environmental Engineering](/majors/engineering/environmental-engineering/general-environmental-engineering/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong general environmental engineering education at a price that pays off.

College Factual analyzed 5 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the best value general environmental engineering schools.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value General Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois

2026 Best Value General Environmental Engineering Schools in Illinois

If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the general environmental engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.

Best Value General Environmental Engineering Schools

1

University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Champaign, IL

$18,267 In-State Tuition & Fees

$20,778 Avg Student Debt

$81,054 Median Earnings (10yr)

Leading the list is University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, our #1 best value for general environmental engineering in Illinois. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $18,267, while out-of-state students pay about $40,096. Typical student debt for general environmental engineering graduates is $20,778. Soon after graduation, general environmental engineering degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign generally make around $57,461. Set against $20,778 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 42% of applicants are accepted.

2

Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

$68,322 In-State Tuition & Fees

$16,616 Avg Student Debt

$89,363 Median Earnings (10yr)

A rank of #2 makes Northwestern University one of the best values for general environmental engineering. Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $68,322. Typical student debt for general environmental engineering graduates is $16,616. Early-career general environmental engineering graduates make about $78,551. Set against $16,616 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Northwestern University admits about 8% of applicants.

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Notes and References

The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 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 · 5 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.