2022 Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,475 people earned their degree in urban studies, making the major the 210th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, urban studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $37,971 and had an average of $24,376 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 46 urban studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $18,750 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 40 urban studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in urban studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality urban studies 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 urban studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Urban Studies 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 Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree urban studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$10,648 Average Net Price

$38,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s urban studies degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree urban studies students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Urban Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $10,648 for illinois bachelor’s degree urban studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Urban Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago

#2

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$18,440 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wheaton College Illinois. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Wheaton, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Wheaton College Illinois also took the #1 spot in our “Best Urban Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wheaton College Illinois is $18,440 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Urban Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Urban Studies at Wheaton College Illinois

#3

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$16,903 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elmhurst University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s urban studies degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Urban Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst University is $16,903 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Urban Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Urban Studies at Elmhurst

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies (Income $0-$30k)

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 Andrew Bossi.

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