---
title: Illinois State University — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Normal, IL
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Illinois State University

Normal, IL · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $62,117 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $44,007 – $86,157 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $15,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 65% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $34,309 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 82% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.25× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $34,117 | derived |

**65% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $15,750 (≈ 25% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $20,419 to $97,556 across 67 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Master's Degree | $97,556 | $29,000 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $78,303 | $23,515 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,002 | $22,043 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $65,576 | $19,757 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,829 | $19,500 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Master's Degree | $62,000 | $16,818 |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,390 | $17,750 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Master's Degree | $59,889 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $57,294 | $20,000 |
| Mathematics. | Master's Degree | $56,035 | not reported |
| Insurance. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,880 | $19,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,480 | $20,299 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,886 | $16,750 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,516 | $17,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,313 | $18,625 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,383 | $20,009 |
| Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,075 | $16,000 |
| Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,027 | $23,927 |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,855 | $19,119 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $49,521 | $18,000 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,334 | $19,750 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $49,163 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $48,096 | not reported |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,259 | not reported |
| Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,402 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,387 | $19,472 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,992 | $15,000 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,929 | $21,500 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,522 | $22,588 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $44,041 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Master's Degree | $43,893 | $19,775 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,480 | $19,500 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,248 | $20,084 |
| Agriculture, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,426 | $15,750 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,050 | $15,000 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,489 | $24,375 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $39,997 | $13,000 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,193 | $20,833 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $38,991 | $15,000 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,648 | $23,750 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,618 | $21,500 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,389 | $19,653 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,331 | not reported |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,645 | $19,500 |
| Social Work. | Master's Degree | $37,608 | $31,382 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,173 | $23,000 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,922 | $21,500 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,805 | $19,000 |
| Apparel and Textiles. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,345 | $19,375 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,294 | $20,875 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,835 | $19,236 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,567 | $22,500 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,527 | $20,772 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,733 | $20,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,519 | $17,750 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,380 | $20,331 |
| Journalism. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,908 | $20,750 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,827 | $20,989 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,674 | $20,500 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,554 | $24,890 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,881 | $20,750 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,695 | $19,700 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,754 | $20,500 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,765 | $20,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,472 | $21,500 |
| Music. | Master's Degree | $23,383 | $31,482 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,419 | $21,875 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Illinois State University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?145813

---

Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/illinois-state-university-il.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`