Public · Community college

City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College

Chicago, Illinois · Large city

11%
Transfer rate: $7,886
Avg net price: 27%
Grad / completion: $37,962
Median earnings

City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College is a public certificate-granting institution in Chicago, Illinois (large city setting), enrolling 2,789 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicMidsize · 2,789 undergradsLarge cityOtherCold wintersSnowy

About Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. The first known permanent settler in Chicago was a trader, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and he established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago". Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $670.5 billion according to September 2017 estimates. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large city
Highest degree offered: Associate
Nearest big city: 10 miles to Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore: 8 miles
Nearest airport: 3 miles to Chicago Midway (MDW) · major hub

How City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College compares

Graduation rate27%

Higher than 10% · #113 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention63%

Higher than 29%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$37,962

Higher than 60% · #43 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$7,886

Cheaper than 79% · #35 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$4,500

Lower than 98%

Student–faculty ratio31 : 1

Lower than 4%

Undergraduate enrollment2,789

Larger than 85%

Percentiles compare City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women1,59957%
Men1,19043%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White14%
Black12%
Hispanic71%
Asian0.8%
Other or multiracial1.9%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 2,789
Student–faculty ratio: 31 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 19%
First-generation students: 61%
Students over 25: 42%
Median family income: $20,264
Avg faculty salary (academic year): $110,601

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 657 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Illinois99%
Other U.S. states1.2%

Most first-years stay in state — City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Cost

In-state tuition: $4,590
Out-of-state tuition: $15,150
Room & board: —
Books & supplies: $1,920
Total cost of attendance: $14,086
Average net price: $7,886

Outcomes

Graduated: 27%
First-year retention: 63%
Transferred to another college: 11%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $31,509
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $37,962
Median debt at graduation: $4,500
Students with federal loans: 0%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 33%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: Free
Athletics: Other
Varsity athletes: 66 (41 men · 25 women)

Varsity sports (2)

Soccer38

Basketball28

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 1
Property offenses (2022–2024): 6

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

2.3reported offenses a year

0.3 violent a year2.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary

1.3

Motor vehicle theft

0.7

Aggravated assault

0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k

$6,925

$30–48k

$7,224

$48–75k

$10,110

$75–110k

$11,415

$110k+

—

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

25%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$2,071

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 25% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,071. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 426 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years): $37,962
Typical debt at graduation: $4,500
Debt vs. one year's pay: 12%
Out-earn a HS grad: 42%

Typical debt would take roughly 1.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women

$37,050

Men

$40,033

Men out-earn women by $2,983 (8%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high: 85°F
Winter low: 19°F
Annual rain: 34.4″
Annual snow: 38.8″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Midway AP, IL US station (2.5 mi from campus).

What City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College graduates study — and earn

Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersCert.

548 grads— 1 yr$94k 5 yr— debt

548—$93,573—Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesAssoc.

181 grads$33k 1 yr— 5 yr$7k debt

181$32,568—$6,750 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesCert.

159 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

159———Precision Metal WorkingCert.

137 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

137———Biological and Physical SciencesAssoc.

92 grads$33k 1 yr— 5 yr$8k debt

92$33,115—$8,250 Human Development, Family Studies, and Related ServicesCert.

89 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

89———Computer/Information Technology Administration and ManagementCert.

17 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

17———Criminal Justice and CorrectionsCert.

17 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

17———Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business ServicesCert.

16 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

16———Industrial Production Technologies/TechniciansCert.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Mental and Social Health Services and Allied ProfessionsCert.

14 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

14———Electrical and Power Transmission InstallersAssoc.

9 grads— 1 yr— 5 yr— debt

9———

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College side by side →

Parkland College

Public

Champaign, Illinois · Small city · 76 mi to Springfield

Students: 3,348
Tuition: $4k
Transfer: 26%
Earnings: $38k

City Colleges of Chicago-Harry S Truman College

Public

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Students: 2,505
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 17%
Earnings: $36k

Black Hawk College

Public

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Students: 2,354
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 19%
Earnings: $37k

City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College

Public

Chicago, Illinois · Large city · 1 mi to Chicago

Students: 4,207
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 13%
Earnings: $37k

Kaskaskia College

Public

Centralia, Illinois · Fringe rural · 55 mi to St. Louis

Students: 1,920
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $39k

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

Public

Olney, Illinois · Remote town · 59 mi to Evansville

Students: 1,634
Tuition: $5k
Transfer: 16%
Earnings: $38k

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Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.