Public · University

Northeastern Illinois University

Chicago, Illinois · Large city

74.6%
Admit rate
$14,109
Avg net price
22%
Graduation rate
$52,234
Median earnings

Northeastern Illinois University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Chicago, Illinois (large city setting), enrolling 3,982 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

PublicMidsize · 3,982 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 75% admitCold 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
Graduate
Nearest big city
8 miles to Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore
3 miles
Nearest airport
10 miles to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · major hub

How Northeastern Illinois University compares

Selectivity74.6%

More selective than 55% · #27 most selective of 58 in Illinois

Graduation rate22%

Higher than 7% · #54 of 58 in Illinois

First-year retention52%

Higher than 7%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$52,234

Higher than 45% · #48 of 66 in Illinois

Average net price$14,109

Cheaper than 76% · #15 cheapest of 57 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$14,600

Lower than 92%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment3,982

Larger than 74%

Percentiles compare Northeastern Illinois University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

5,490students
  • Undergraduate3,98273%
  • Graduate1,50827%

Undergraduates by gender

3,982undergrads
  • Women2,41361%
  • Men1,56939%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White16%
  • Black12%
  • Hispanic52%
  • Asian7.7%
  • Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
3,982
Graduate enrollment
1,508
Student–faculty ratio
9 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
56%
First-generation students
51%
Students over 25
37%
Median family income
$21,900
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$83,385
Endowment
$14,961,160

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 553 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois98%
  • Other U.S. states1.4%
  • International0.7%

Most first-years stay in state — Northeastern Illinois University draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

1% 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.

Admissions

Admission rate
74.6%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$12,383
Out-of-state tuition
$22,726
Room & board
$10,390
Books & supplies
$1,920
Total cost of attendance
$26,960
Average net price
$14,109

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 (within 6 years)
22%
Graduated on time (4 years)
7%
First-year retention
52%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$43,801
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$52,234
Median debt at graduation
$14,600
Students with federal loans
19%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
51%

About 15% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
7%
Low-income (Pell)
41%
First-generation
42%

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
Yes
Dorm capacity
426
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
11%
Housing charge (year)
$7,936
Application fee
$30

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%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.9 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
9
Property offenses (2022–2024)
7

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (5,734 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.

5.3reported offenses a year
3.0 violent a year2.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
2.0
Rape
1.7
Fondling
0.7
Aggravated assault
0.7
Motor vehicle theft
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
$13,709
$30–48k
$12,824
$48–75k
$15,077
$75–110k
$20,464
$110k+
$25,001

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.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$75,549

$15,077/year × about 5.0 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

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.

82%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,722
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 82% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,722. 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 498 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)
$52,234
Typical debt at graduation
$14,600
Debt vs. one year's pay
28%
Out-earn a HS grad
60%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 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
$48,482
Men
$59,025

Men out-earn women by $10,543 (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
81°F
Winter low
20°F
Annual rain
37.9″
Annual snow
38.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.34.5JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Northerly IS, IL US station (10.3 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 Northeastern Illinois University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Northeastern Illinois University side by side →

Colleges near Northeastern Illinois University

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.