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2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

11 Ranked Colleges
256 Degrees Awarded
$27,700 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Economics Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 48,831 people earned their degree in economics, making the major the 18th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,295 and had an average of $21,978 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 2,106 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $49,350 and $22,044 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 256 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in economics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great economics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the economics program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 11 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Economics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality
$56,567 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 34 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Northwestern are $56,567.

Read full report on Economics at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality
$61,548 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 59 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full UChicago Economics Report

#3

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois
#3 in overall quality
$30,083 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s economics degrees to 76 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are $30,083.

Full UIUC Economics Report

#4

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#4 in overall quality
$27,036 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 14 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036.

Read full report on Economics at UIC

#5

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#8 in overall quality
$20,761 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 11 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree economics students whose families make $0-$30k list, EIU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Eastern Illinois University are $20,761, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Economics at Eastern Illinois University

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#10 in overall quality
$11,086 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Northern Illinois University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 4 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #10. Average graduate tuition and fees at NIU are $11,086, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Economics at Northern Illinois University

#7

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois
#7 in overall quality
$32,928 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 4 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at SIUC are $32,928, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Economics at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#8

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#6 in overall quality
$11,069 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Illinois State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s economics degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Illinois State University Economics Report

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality
$11,996 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Western Illinois University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. WIU is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 10 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Western Illinois University are $11,996, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Economics at Western Illinois University

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois
$21,605 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Roosevelt University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Roosevelt University is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 1 masters’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #0 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Roosevelt are $21,605.

Read full report on Economics at Roosevelt University

#11

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#5 in overall quality
$19,760 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees
$64,990 Average Early-Career Earnings

With a ranking of #11, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 29 masters’s economics degrees to qualified students.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Economics Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at DePaul are $19,760, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full DePaul University Economics Report

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

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to pixabay.

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