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2022 Best Value Colleges for Geography & Cartography (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

13 Ranked Colleges
242 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 8,936 people earned their degree in geography and cartography, making the major the 107th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, geography and cartography graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,126 and had an average of $23,577 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 242 geography and cartography graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,000 and $19,500 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 13 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geography and cartography. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geography and cartography 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 geography and cartography 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 Geography & Cartography Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 13 Best Value Colleges for Geography & Cartography (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s geography degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $7,934 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at UChicago

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 1 ’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $6,452 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Northwestern University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s geography degrees to 54 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $13,351 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UIUC.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. SIUE is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 38 ’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $13,705 for illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Geography & Cartography Report

#5

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois

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 Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Charleston, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s geography degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at EIU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,560 for illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend EIU.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at Eastern Illinois University

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Northern Illinois University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 ’s geography degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k list, NIU has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,346 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Full Northern Illinois University Geography & Cartography Report

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 31 ’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State is $19,080 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at Illinois State

#8

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Augustana College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Rock Island, Illinois. It awarded 17 ’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

Augustana did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana is $21,453 for illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Augustana Geography & Cartography Report

Northeastern Illinois University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 8 degrees to qualified ’s geography students in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,180 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Northeastern Illinois University.

Full Northeastern Illinois University Geography & Cartography Report

#10

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

With a ranking of #10, Elmhurst University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s geography degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Elmhurst, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,703 for illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Elmhurst University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 about Geography & Cartography at Elmhurst

#11

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

Western Illinois University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. WIU is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 11 ’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #11 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,912 for Illinois Geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend WIU.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at Western Illinois University

#12

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #12, Chicago State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. CSU is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2 ’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

CSU also took the #13 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Chicago State University is $10,023 for illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at Chicago State University

#13

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geography Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s geography degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $28,075 for illinois geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend DePaul University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Geography & Cartography 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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Couleur.

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