2023 Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
22
Ranked Colleges
1,771
Degrees Awarded
$50,560
Avg Salary
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s” ranking.
Economics is the 19th most popular major in the country with 49,055 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $48,736 and had an average of $22,046 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 2,155 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,939 and $23,350 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,771 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,117 and $25,584 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 22 colleges that offer a degree in economics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great economics programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the economics program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Economics Schools
The economics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree vets studying economics.
Top 22 Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
Out of the 22 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 443 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Of the 52,679 students enrolled at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 10 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full UIUC Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 491 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Of the 17,834 students enrolled at UChicago, 241 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 113 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $18,948. In addition to receiving other benefits, 58 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.
Read More…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Among the 11,366 students enrolled at SIUC, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. SIUC does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at SIUC]](/colleges/southern-illinois-university-carbondale/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 117 students in 2020-2021.
UIC also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5.Among the 33,518 students enrolled at UIC, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,878. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UIC]](/colleges/university-of-illinois-at-chicago/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree vets studying economics list, SIUE has also earned the #16 rank in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.According to our most recent data, SIUE supports 12,860 students, and 3 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 2 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,082. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. SIUE offers credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville]](/colleges/southern-illinois-university-edwardsville/student-life/veterans/)
Illinois State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #6. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Illinois State also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8.Among the 20,720 students enrolled at Illinois State University, 530 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 163 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,997. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
North Central College landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. Naperville, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
North Central also took the #12 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.According to our most recent data, North Central supports 2,832 students, and 46 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 32 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $19,214. In addition to receiving other benefits, 15 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. North Central offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 More…
Northwestern University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 351 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Among the 22,603 students enrolled at Northwestern University, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $399. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read More…
With a ranking of #9, DePaul University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 25 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Among the 21,922 students enrolled at DePaul, 528 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 367 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,957. During this same period, 101 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. DePaul offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full DePaul University Veteran Student Life Report
Western Illinois University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. WIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 6 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Our most recent data shows that 330 of the 7,490 students enrolled at WIU were GI Bill® students, of which 62 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,652. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
[Read full report on veteran student life at WIU]](/colleges/western-illinois-university/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #11, McKendree University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. Lebanon, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
McKendree not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #18 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Among the 2,200 students enrolled at McKendree, 69 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 41 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,814. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at McKendree University]](/colleges/mckendree-university/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #12, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Of the 16,769 students enrolled at Northern Illinois University, 480 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 207 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,822. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Read More…
With a ranking of #13, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
EIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #19 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.According to our most recent data, Eastern Illinois University supports 8,626 students, and 184 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 46 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,730. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Full EIU Veteran Student Life Report
Northeastern Illinois University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking, coming in at #14. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Northeastern Illinois University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Our most recent data shows that 147 of the 7,119 students enrolled at Northeastern Illinois University were GI Bill® students, of which 83 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,460. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Northeastern Illinois University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Read More…
Olivet Nazarene University landed the #15 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. This small school is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Olivet Nazarene not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.According to our most recent data, Olivet Nazarene supports 3,764 students, and 57 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 35 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $12,334. In addition to receiving other benefits, 11 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Dominican University ranked #16 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. Dominican U is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
Dominican U also made our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #13.Of the 3,189 students enrolled at Dominican U, 37 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 17 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,038. To help with additional expenses, 2 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Dominican U does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Augustana College ranked #17 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 17 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Augustana, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Of the 2,389 students enrolled at Augustana, 28 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 14 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,990. During this same period, 4 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Augustana does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 veteran student life at Augustana]](/colleges/augustana-college-illinois/student-life/veterans/)
Roosevelt University landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. Roosevelt University is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 10 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Roosevelt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #21 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.According to our most recent data, Roosevelt supports 4,680 students, and 95 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 43 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,071. In addition to receiving other benefits, 20 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Full Roosevelt University Veteran Student Life Report
Illinois College landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. Located in Jacksonville, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 10 degrees to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2020-2021.
Illinois College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #20 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Among the 1,154 students enrolled at Illinois College, 31 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 19 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $17,406. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
Full Illinois College Veteran Student Life Report
Knox College landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. Knox College is a small school located in Galesburg, Illinois that handed out 20 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Knox not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Among the 1,154 students enrolled at Knox College, 15 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 6 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,371. To help with additional expenses, 1 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Knox College Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #21, Lake Forest College did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s list. This small school is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Lake Forest also took the #6 spot in our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 11 of the 1,583 students enrolled at Lake Forest were GI Bill® students, of which 7 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,079. On top of their other funding sources, 1 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Lake Forest]](/colleges/lake-forest-college/student-life/veterans/)
Wheaton College Illinois landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Economics for a Bachelor’s ranking. Wheaton College Illinois is a small school located in Wheaton, Illinois that handed out 35 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Wheaton College Illinois did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Economics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.Our most recent data shows that 56 of the 2,908 students enrolled at Wheaton College Illinois were GI Bill® students, of which 45 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $20,675. In addition to receiving other benefits, 29 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.
Read More…
Focus on a Specific Degree Level
Switch to a More General Major
Switch to a Similar Major
Switch to a More Focused Major
Switch to a Different Ranking Method
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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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.
college factual
