LPN Schools in Illinois, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn

24 accredited institutions in Illinois report enough federal data on this program 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 Ranking

U.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.

Across the 24 ranked programs in Illinois, the median graduate needs 3.5 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $11,939, against median earnings of $40,779 one year after completion.

That is faster than the national median of 4.3 months for this field, measured across the 650 institutions in our national LPN schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Illinois Eastern Community Colleges in Olney, at 1.6 months.

Every figure on this page is recalculated on Illinois institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.

At A Glance

What the federal data says about LPN schools in Illinois

3.5 mo

state median to cover the debt

$11,939

median debt at completion

$40,779

median earnings, one year out

48%

median completion rate

The Ranking

24 LPN schools in Illinois, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt

Lower is better.

#	School	Type	Award	Months	Debt	Earnings	Completion
1	Illinois Eastern Community CollegesOlney, IL	Public	Certificate	1.6	$7,500	$56,008	63%
2	Lake Land CollegeMattoon, IL	Public	Certificate	2.2	$7,750	$41,756	58%
3	Ambria College of NursingHoffman Estates, IL	for-profit	Certificate	2.2	$11,878	$64,712	n/a
4	Shawnee Community CollegeUllin, IL	Public	Certificate	2.5	$11,162	$54,323	60%
5	Illinois Central CollegeEast Peoria, IL	Public	Certificate	2.7	$12,700	$55,604	49%
6	Verve CollegeOak Brook, IL	for-profit	Certificate	2.8	$14,933	$63,593	n/a
7	Illinois Valley Community CollegeOglesby, IL	Public	Certificate	2.9	$7,058	$29,115	42%
8	William Rainey Harper CollegePalatine, IL	Public	Certificate	2.9	$8,750	$36,528	48%
9	Capital Area Career CenterSpringfield, IL	Public	Certificate	3.0	$12,918	$52,517	100%
10	City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X CollegeChicago, IL	Public	Certificate	3.1	$9,500	$36,493	18%
11	Black Hawk CollegeMoline, IL	Public	Certificate	3.3	$12,467	$45,993	40%
12	Lincoln Land Community CollegeSpringfield, IL	Public	Certificate	3.4	$8,422	$29,851	48%
13	Rock Valley CollegeRockford, IL	Public	Certificate	3.5	$8,018	$27,497	37%
14	John A Logan CollegeCarterville, IL	Public	Certificate	3.6	$12,000	$39,802	46%
15	Danville Area Community CollegeDanville, IL	Public	Certificate	4.1	$9,126	$26,484	45%
16	College of DuPageGlen Ellyn, IL	Public	Certificate	4.2	$11,000	$31,086	25%
17	Career Center of Southern IllinoisRed Bud, IL	Public	Certificate	4.4	$16,978	$45,941	57%
18	CAAN Academy of NursingMatteson, IL	nonprofit	Certificate	4.8	$22,398	$55,822	100%
19	Prairie State CollegeChicago Heights, IL	Public	Certificate	5.0	$12,554	$30,067	21%
20	Southwestern Illinois CollegeBelleville, IL	Public	Certificate	5.1	$9,500	$22,351	36%
21	Sauk Valley Community CollegeDixon, IL	Public	Certificate	5.2	$15,742	$36,277	49%
22	Rasmussen University-IllinoisRockford, IL	for-profit	Certificate	5.6	$21,274	$45,271	43%
23	MDT College of Health SciencesChicago, IL	for-profit	Certificate	5.7	$26,250	$54,894	50%
24	Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career CollegeRockford, IL	for-profit	Certificate	9.6	$31,527	$39,339	66%

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 in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.

The Top Five, In Detail

The five fastest payback programs in Illinois, one by one

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

Olney, IL

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges is a public institution in Olney. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,500 and report median earnings of $56,008 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 1.6 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.9 months faster than the Illinois state median of 3.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 63% completion rate.

Lake Land College

Mattoon, IL

Lake Land College is a public institution in Mattoon. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $7,750 and report median earnings of $41,756 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.2 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.3 months faster than the Illinois state median of 3.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 58% completion rate.

Ambria College of Nursing

Hoffman Estates, IL

Ambria College of Nursing is a private for-profit institution in Hoffman Estates. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,878 and report median earnings of $64,712 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 1.3 months faster than the Illinois state median of 3.5. The award measured here is a certificate.

Shawnee Community College

Ullin, IL

Shawnee Community College is a public institution in Ullin. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $11,162 and report median earnings of $54,323 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.5 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 1.0 months faster than the Illinois state median of 3.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 60% completion rate.

Illinois Central College

East Peoria, IL

Illinois Central College is a public institution in East Peoria. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,700 and report median earnings of $55,604 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.7 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.8 months faster than the Illinois state median of 3.5. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 49% completion rate.

Read It Carefully

What this ranking does not measure

Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.

The measure is 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 inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.

Other States

The same program, another state

Other Programs in Illinois

Comparing a different trade in Illinois

CDL Schools in Illinois4 schools · median 1.7 moCosmetology Schools in Illinois44 schools · median 7.2 moCulinary Schools in Illinois4 schools · median 5.7 moDental Assistant Schools in Illinois9 schools · median 3.5 moElectrical Trade Schools in Illinois3 schools · median 4.5 moMedical Assistant Schools in Illinois15 schools · median 4.4 moWelding Schools in Illinois6 schools · median 3.5 moAll trades in Illinoisthe state ranking, every trade together

For ILLINOIS School Operators

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