ILLINOIS — Federal Data, September 2026
The Best Trade Schools in Illinois, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
4 accredited institutions in Illinois report enough federal data to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The Illinois RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 4 ranked trade schools in Illinois, the median graduate needs 4.4 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $11,815, against median earnings of $34,497 one year after completion.
That puts Illinois slower than the national median of 3.6 months measured across the 153 institutions in our national ranking. The best performer in the state is Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, at 1.9 months.
Only schools that are currently operating, accredited, predominantly certificate or associate granting, and reporting both debt and earnings on at least four trade programs appear here. That is why this list is short: most institutions do not publish enough for a fair comparison.
ILLINOIS At A Glance
What the federal data says about trade schools in Illinois
The Ranking
4 trade schools in Illinois, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lincoln Land Community CollegeSpringfield, IL | Public | 1.9 | $6,328 | $48,725 | 48% | 4 |
| 2 | Midwest Technical Institute-IllinoisSpringfield, IL | for-profit | 3.6 | $9,500 | $31,905 | 69% | 5 |
| 3 | Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose ParkMelrose Park, IL | for-profit | 5.2 | $14,130 | $37,089 | 68% | 5 |
| 4 | Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career CollegeRockford, IL | for-profit | 7.0 | $15,605 | $29,770 | 66% | 6 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers; earnings are median earnings one year after completion; both are medians across the school’s trade programs. Completion is the institution’s published rate.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback schools in Illinois, one by one
Lincoln Land Community College
Springfield, IL
Lincoln Land Community College is a public institution in Springfield. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $6,328 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $48,725 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.9 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 2.5 months faster than the Illinois state median of 4.4. It reports a 48% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Ground Transportation.
Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois
Springfield, IL
Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois is a private for-profit institution in Springfield. Across its 5 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $9,500 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $31,905 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.6 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.8 months faster than the Illinois state median of 4.4. It reports a 69% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Ground Transportation.
Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park
Melrose Park, IL
Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park is a private for-profit institution in Melrose Park. Across its 5 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $14,130 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $37,089 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 5.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.8 months slower than the Illinois state median of 4.4. It reports a 68% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Precision Metal Working.
Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College
Rockford, IL
Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College is a private for-profit institution in Rockford. Across its 6 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $15,605 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $29,770 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 7.0 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 2.6 months slower than the Illinois state median of 4.4. It reports a 66% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation and Refrigeration Maintenance Technology/Technician (HAC, HACR, HVAC, HVACR).
Read It Carefully
Why this list is short, and what it does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. Most trade schools in Illinois are missing because the Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, not because they scored badly. A small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all.
The measure is also a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing within a state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
By Trade
Or narrow it down to one trade in Illinois
For ILLINOIS School Operators
Want to know how your school ranks, program by program?
We run this analysis for individual schools against their own federal data and show them where they sit against both the Illinois median and the national one. Where the answer is good, it is the strongest recruitment argument a school owns.
Book Your Free Enrollment AuditBy application only — reserved for trade and vocational school operators enrolling 50+ students a year.