Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

Illinois Eastern Community Colleges graduates $14,437 in nursing debt—actually below both state and national averages—but there's a significant catch. Starting salaries of $59,329 trail the Illinois median by $7,000, placing this program squarely in the middle of the pack statewide (40th percentile) despite ranking near the bottom nationally. More troubling, earnings slip to $57,322 by year four, while nurses from top Illinois community colleges like Moraine Valley and College of Lake County maintain salaries above $72,000.

The debt load itself won't cripple anyone—at 24% of first-year earnings, it's manageable. But the earnings gap compounds over time. That $7,000 annual shortfall compared to the state median represents roughly $28,000 in lost income over four years, far exceeding the modest debt savings. And unlike nurses at higher-performing programs who see stable or growing earnings, graduates here appear to lose ground.

For families in the Olney area where relocation costs matter, this program offers an affordable entry point to nursing. But students with access to programs in Illinois' larger metro areas—particularly the suburban Chicago community colleges—will likely see substantially better returns on their investment, even accounting for slightly higher debt.