Public · Community college

College of DuPage

Glen Ellyn, Illinois · Large suburb

27%
Transfer rate
$7,401
Avg net price
25%
Grad / completion
$46,909
Median earnings

College of DuPage is a public associate-granting institution in Glen Ellyn, Illinois (large suburb setting), enrolling 16,114 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

PublicLarge · 16,114 undergradsLarge suburbNJCAA Division IIICold winters

About Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lombard, had its genesis in an 1833 claim by two brothers from the Finger Lakes region of New York, Morgan and Ralph Babcock. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Associate
Nearest big city
23 miles to Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore
23 miles
Nearest airport
13 miles to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · major hub

How College of DuPage compares

Graduation rate25%

Higher than 8% · #115 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention66%

Higher than 34%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$46,909

Higher than 87% · #12 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$7,401

Cheaper than 81% · #32 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$10,410

Lower than 44%

Student–faculty ratio22 : 1

Lower than 21%

Undergraduate enrollment16,114

Larger than 99%

Percentiles compare College of DuPage 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

16,114undergrads
  • Women8,71654%
  • Men7,39846%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White42%
  • Black8.7%
  • Hispanic29%
  • Asian10%
  • Other or multiracial10%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
16,114
Student–faculty ratio
22 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
20%
First-generation students
43%
Students over 25
30%
Median family income
$28,618
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$120,573
Endowment
$19,599,087

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 3,284 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois97%
  • Other U.S. states0.6%
  • International2.1%

Most first-years stay in state — College of DuPage draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

2% came from outside the U.S. 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
$4,560
Out-of-state tuition
$12,750
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,410
Total cost of attendance
$15,554
Average net price
$7,401

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated
25%
First-year retention
66%
Transferred to another college
27%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$38,925
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$46,909
Median debt at graduation
$10,410
Students with federal loans
10%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
37%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
25%
Low-income (Pell)
8%
First-generation
8%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
$20
Athletics
NJCAA Division III
Varsity athletes
469 (335 men · 134 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (13)

Football91
Track and Field (Outdoor)76
Track and Field (Indoor)57
Baseball38
Soccer36
Volleyball33
Cross Country30
Lacrosse27
Basketball24
Softball19
Other Sports17
Tennis12
Golf9

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

Campus safety

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

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 5 campuses (26,224 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

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

0.7reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Fondling
0.3
Burglary
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
$4,032
$30–48k
$4,390
$48–75k
$8,431
$75–110k
$12,717
$110k+
$15,308

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.

17%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,999
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 17% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,999. 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 2,099 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)
$46,909
Typical debt at graduation
$10,410
Debt vs. one year's pay
22%
Out-earn a HS grad
54%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.2 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
$43,103
Men
$52,444

Men out-earn women by $9,341 (22%) 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
84°F
Winter low
15°F
Annual rain
40.2″
Annual snow
24.3″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Lisle-Morton Arboretum, IL US station (2 mi from campus).

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 College of DuPage

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare College of DuPage side by side →

Colleges near College of DuPage

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.