Public · Community college
Oakton College
Des Plaines, Illinois · Small city
- 25%
- Transfer rate
- $5,183
- Avg net price
- 37%
- Grad / completion
- $47,852
- Median earnings
Oakton College is a public certificate-granting institution in Des Plaines, Illinois (small city setting), enrolling 6,072 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Des Plaines, Illinois
Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. When French explorers and missionaries arrived in the 1600s in what was then the Illinois Country of New France, they named the waterway La Rivière des Plaines (English translation: "Plains River") as they felt that trees on the river resembled European plane trees. According to the city's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the major employers in the city are Rivers Casino (Des Plaines), Universal Oil Products, Oakton Community College, Sysco Food Services, Juno Lighting, Holy Family Medical Center, Wheels Inc. (passenger car and truck leasing), and LSG Sky Chefs. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 18 miles to Chicago, IL
- To Great Lakes shore
- 8 miles
- Nearest airport
- 6 miles to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · major hub
How Oakton College compares
Higher than 22% · #101 of 122 in Illinois
Higher than 42%
Higher than 88% · #11 of 113 in Illinois
Cheaper than 90% · #18 cheapest of 123 in Illinois
Lower than 97%
Lower than 62%
Larger than 93%
Percentiles compare Oakton 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
- Women3,25654%
- Men2,81646%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White39%
- Black8.0%
- Hispanic22%
- Asian22%
- Other or multiracial10%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 6,072
- Student–faculty ratio
- 14 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 19%
- First-generation students
- 43%
- Students over 25
- 32%
- Median family income
- $21,708
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $96,030
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 748 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Illinois95%
- Other U.S. states0.8%
- International3.7%
Most first-years stay in state — Oakton College draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.
4% 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
- $3,985
- Out-of-state tuition
- $12,462
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $1,410
- Total cost of attendance
- $11,431
- Average net price
- $5,183
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
- 37%
- First-year retention
- 69%
- Transferred to another college
- 25%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $38,528
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $47,852
- Median debt at graduation
- $5,250
- Students with federal loans
- 0%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 55%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- $25
- Athletics
- NJCAA Division II
- Varsity athletes
- 137 (84 men · 53 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 (7)
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)
- 0
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 1
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (8,329 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
Modest institutional aid: 13% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,817. 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 449 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)
- $47,852
- Typical debt at graduation
- $5,250
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 11%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 51%
Typical debt would take roughly 1.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $4,801 (10%) 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
- 18°F
- Annual rain
- 32.3″
- Annual snow
- 38.4″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Palwaukee AP, IL US station (4.3 mi from campus).
What Oakton College graduates study — and earn
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 Oakton College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Oakton College side by side →
Elgin Community College
Elgin, Illinois · Midsize city · 37 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 6,648
- Tuition
- $3k
- Transfer
- 18%
- Earnings
- $46k
McHenry County College
Crystal Lake, Illinois · Fringe rural · 37 mi to Rockford
- Students
- 4,691
- Tuition
- $4k
- Transfer
- 20%
- Earnings
- $45k
Triton College
River Grove, Illinois · Large suburb · 11 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 6,902
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 15%
- Earnings
- $42k
City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College
Chicago, Illinois · Large city · 10 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 4,372
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 15%
- Earnings
- $42k
College of Lake County
Grayslake, Illinois · Large suburb · 38 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 9,420
- Tuition
- $5k
- Transfer
- 16%
- Earnings
- $43k
Morton College
Cicero, Illinois · Large suburb · 8 mi to Chicago
- Students
- 2,640
- Tuition
- $6k
- Transfer
- 17%
- Earnings
- $42k
Colleges near Oakton College
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Glenview, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 13 students
Rosel School of Cosmetology
Niles, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 55 students
Chicago Professional Center
Prospect Heights, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 95 students
Americare Technical School
Park Ridge, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 25 students
Cosmetology Concepts Niles
Niles, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 31 students
Illinois Media School
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 32 students
Northwest Suburban College
Rollng Meadows, IL · Private nonprofit · Certificate
Worsham College of Mortuary Science
Wheeling, IL · Private for-profit · Associate · 183 students
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.