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

# Western Illinois University

Macomb, 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 | $54,163 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $37,122 – $76,551 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $19,762 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $12,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 45% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $28,254 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 76% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.36× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $26,163 | derived |

**45% 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 $19,762 (≈ 37% 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 $14,453 to $68,346 across 50 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $68,346 | $36,730 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,966 | $20,559 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $59,427 | $21,230 |
| Educational/Instructional Media Design. | Master's Degree | $56,853 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $56,058 | $24,242 |
| Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,220 | $30,059 |
| Construction Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $51,827 | $24,656 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $48,961 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $47,822 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,347 | $24,312 |
| Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. | Master's Degree | $46,154 | $27,407 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Master's Degree | $45,795 | not reported |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $44,893 | $36,796 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Master's Degree | $44,428 | $34,698 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,348 | $26,250 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,063 | $23,627 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,248 | not reported |
| Agriculture, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,735 | $17,062 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,660 | not reported |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,583 | $21,875 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Master's Degree | $38,988 | $28,530 |
| Student Counseling and Personnel Services. | Master's Degree | $38,145 | $31,211 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,130 | $24,859 |
| Special Education and Teaching. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,193 | $22,896 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,077 | $39,000 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,956 | $25,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,104 | $28,170 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,994 | $27,000 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Master's Degree | $35,765 | not reported |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,243 | $28,500 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,206 | $24,820 |
| Fire Protection. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,038 | $20,931 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,020 | $25,314 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,623 | not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,318 | $22,446 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,654 | $28,369 |
| Graphic Communications. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,608 | not reported |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,055 | $21,032 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,908 | $30,875 |
| Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,838 | $27,000 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,447 | $29,125 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,839 | $27,250 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,129 | $27,000 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,747 | not reported |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,046 | $27,000 |
| Museology/Museum Studies. | Master's Degree | $25,771 | not reported |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,062 | $27,161 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,234 | $27,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $17,096 | not reported |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $14,453 | not reported |

## 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 Western Illinois University by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?149772

---

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