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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

6 Ranked Colleges
392 Degrees Awarded
$17,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 33,568 people earned their degree in criminal justice, making the major the 32nd most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 561 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 392 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in criminal justice. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality criminal justice programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminal justice program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 6 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Western Illinois University is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 291 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $14,526 for illinois bachelor’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at WIU

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 2 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s criminal justice students in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $14,306 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Criminal Justice students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SIUC.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at SIUC

#3

University of St Francis

Joliet, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of St Francis. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of St Francis is a small school located in Joliet, Illinois that handed out 14 bachelors’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Saint Francis also took the #5 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $11,229 for illinois bachelor’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of St Francis.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% 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 University of St Francis Criminal Justice Report

#4

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elmhurst University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Elmhurst University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst also took the #3 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Elmhurst University is $17,837 for illinois bachelor’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Elmhurst

#5

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bradley University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s criminal justice degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

Bradley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Bradley is $18,232 for illinois bachelor’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Bradley Criminal Justice Report

#6

DeVry University - Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

DeVry University - Illinois ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. DeVry University - Illinois is a large private for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 41 bachelors’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

DeVry University - Illinois did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $28,303 for illinois bachelor’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend DeVry University - Illinois.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at DeVry University - Illinois

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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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