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2022 Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

7 Ranked Colleges
1,511 Degrees Awarded
$15,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 34,750 people earned their degree in law, making the major the 25th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, law graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $58,876 and had an average of $112,084 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,511 law graduates with average earnings and debt of $76,510 and $124,300 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in law. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great law programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the law program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Law Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. 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 Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois law students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Law (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 278 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $3,995 for Illinois Law students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Northwestern.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 Law at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s law degrees to 204 students in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $2,800 for Illinois Law students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Law at University of Chicago

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 80 diplomas to qualified ’s law students in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $15,861 for illinois law students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Law at Northern Illinois University

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 102 ’s law degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $14,306 for Illinois Law students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Law at SIUC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s law degrees to 223 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Institute of Technology is $18,720 for illinois law students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Law at Illinois Tech

#6

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #6. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s law degrees to 232 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola University Chicago is $29,788 for illinois law students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Full Loyola University Chicago Law Report

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Law Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 233 diplomas to qualified ’s law students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Law Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $25,842 for Illinois Law students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend DePaul.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.

Read full report on Law at DePaul

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.

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