If you pursue a degree in registered nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #3 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 73 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Registered Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 15,995 degrees in registered nursing annually.
The registered nursing program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Registered Nursing rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for registered nursing schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Registered Nursing Schools in Illinois list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
The schools below may not offer all types of registered nursing degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
Loyola University Chicago is a good choice for students pursuing a degree in registered nursing. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 418 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available.
Any student pursuing a degree in registered nursing has to look into Rasmussen University - Illinois. Located in the medium-sized city of Rockford, Rasmussen University - Illinois is a private for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #111 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Rasmussen University - Illinois is a great university overall.
There were about 721 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Rasmussen University - Illinois in the most recent year we have data available.
With the affordable and transfer-friendly online RN to BSN program at Southern New Hampshire University, you can build upon your prior educational journey and enhance your professional experience in a program designed to fit around your schedule.
Every student pursuing a degree in registered nursing has to take a look at University of Illinois at Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #254 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 296 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available.
Bradley University is a wonderful option for students pursuing a degree in registered nursing. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Peoria. This university ranks 19th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 79 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Bradley in the most recent data year.
Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal. A Best Colleges rank of #210 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Illinois State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 235 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent data year.
Located in the large city of Chicago, SXU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 30th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 138 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at SXU in the most recent year we have data available.
BS in Nursing - RN to BSN - Accelerated RN to MSNProgram Name
At Southern New Hampshire University, we understand the demands placed on today's nursing professionals. When it comes to your education, consider saving money and time by electing the RN to MSN pathway. Eligible students will complete graduate courses within their undergraduate program. This pathway allows you to gain a BSN along the way and ultimately shorten your time within the MSN Nursing Education or Population Healthcare tracks.
University of Saint Francis is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Joliet. A Best Colleges rank of #508 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means University of Saint Francis is a great university overall.
There were about 157 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at University of Saint Francis in the most recent year we have data available.
SIUE is a large public university located in the suburb of Edwardsville. This university ranks 31st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 479 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at SIUE in the most recent data year.
Olivet Nazarene is a small private not-for-profit university located in the small suburb of Bourbonnais. This university ranks 34th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were about 92 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Olivet Nazarene in the most recent year we have data available.
Lewis is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Romeoville. This university ranks 39th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 111 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Lewis in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the town of Danville, Lakeview College of Nursing is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
There were roughly 61 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Lakeview College of Nursing in the most recent year we have data available.
Aurora is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Aurora. A Best Colleges rank of #348 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Aurora is a great university overall.
There were approximately 158 registered nursing students who graduated with this degree at Aurora in the most recent year we have data available.
Here are some additional great schools for Registered Nursing students in the state of Illinois that almost earned our Best Registered Nursing Schools in Illinois award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
The registered nursing program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Registered Nursing rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for registered nursing schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
