Federal data
Highest earning associate's liberal arts programs in Illinois
Illinois liberal arts programs, ranked by median earnings one year after completion, from the College Scorecard field-of-study file (September 18, 2026). Only programs with at least 30 counted graduates in the earnings sample are shown, and at least 5 programs must qualify for this list to exist.
| Rank | School | City | Sector | Median earnings, 1 year after | Graduates counted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | Public, 2-year | $34,909 | 71 |
| 2 | Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | Public, 2-year | $34,164 | 191 |
| 3 | College of Lake County | Grayslake | Public, 2-year | $33,413 | 265 |
| 4 | City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College | Chicago | Public, 2-year | $32,568 | 142 |
| 5 | City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | Chicago | Public, 2-year | $32,380 | 157 |
| 6 | Morton College | Cicero | Public, 2-year | $31,829 | 66 |
| 7 | City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College | Chicago | Public, 2-year | $31,322 | 270 |
| 8 | Heartland Community College | Normal | Public, 2-year | $31,250 | 154 |
| 9 | Kaskaskia College | Centralia | Public, 2-year | $30,605 | 42 |
| 10 | Black Hawk College | Moline | Public, 2-year | $30,390 | 70 |
| 11 | Illinois Central College | East Peoria | Public, 2-year | $29,845 | 56 |
| 12 | City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College | Chicago | Public, 2-year | $29,168 | 462 |
| 13 | College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public, 2-year | $28,678 | 261 |
| 14 | South Suburban College | South Holland | Public, 2-year | $28,465 | 46 |
| 15 | Danville Area Community College | Danville | Public, 2-year | $28,045 | 56 |
| 16 | City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | Chicago | Public, 2-year | $27,643 | 103 |
| 17 | William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public, 2-year | $27,619 | 200 |
| 18 | Rock Valley College | Rockford | Public, 2-year | $27,601 | 168 |
| 19 | Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | Public, 2-year | $27,597 | 124 |
| 20 | Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | Public, 2-year | $27,529 | 75 |
| 21 | Triton College | River Grove | Public, 2-year | $27,342 | 95 |
| 22 | Joliet Junior College | Joliet | Public, 2-year | $27,296 | 170 |
| 23 | Parkland College | Champaign | Public, 2-year | $26,912 | 67 |
| 24 | Richland Community College | Decatur | Public, 2-year | $26,712 | 35 |
| 25 | City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College | Chicago | Public, 2-year | $26,232 | 117 |
Earnings cover federally aided graduates only, as published by College Scorecard.
How to read this. A smaller program can show a high or low figure from just a few graduates, and this earnings figure only ever covers students who received federal aid, so it does not describe every graduate.