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Most Popular Nursing Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Nursing Schools in Illinois

31 Colleges
$71,879 Avg Salary
$21,916 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Nursing School for You

In 2020-2021, nursing students earned 6,634 degrees and certificates from an Illinois school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 31 schools in Illinois to see which ones were the most popular programs for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Nursing program at each school on the list.

Check out the nursing programs at these schools if you want to attend one of the most popular in Illinois.

Our 2023 rankings named Chamberlain University - Illinois the most popular school in Illinois for nursing students. Located in the suburb of Addison, Chamberlain - Illinois is a private for-profit school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Chamberlain University - Illinois

#2

Rush University

Chicago, IL

The excellent programs at Rush University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Illinois. Located in the large city of Chicago, Rush University is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

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#3

DePaul University

Chicago, IL

The excellent programs at DePaul University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best nursing schools in Illinois. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

Full Nursing at DePaul University Report

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means University of Illinois at Chicago is a great place for nursing students. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Nursing at University of Illinois at Chicago Report

#5

Bradley University

Peoria, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bradley University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Nursing Schools in Illinois list. Bradley is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Peoria.

Full Nursing at Bradley University Report

Benedictine University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the suburb of Lisle, Benedictine U is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

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#7

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

With a ranking of #7, Lewis University did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Nursing at Lewis University Report

Illinois State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Nursing Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular nursing programs. Located in the large suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a large student population.

Read full report on Nursing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

With a ranking of #9, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for nursing students. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

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Best Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Nursing Colleges in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 1,113
Ohio 2,563
Indiana 1,819
Wisconsin 972

One of 29 majors within the area of study, nursing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Nursing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Medicine 28,629
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 24,774
Public Health 19,473
Health & Medical Administrative Services 17,335
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 16,952

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Aleksahgabrielle.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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