Best Online Colleges in Illinois

Benefits of Studying Online in Illinois

Illinois is an exciting and richly diverse state to consider for an online schooling experience. The 6th largest state in the US, the Prairie State is home to more than 12.8 million people and is the 25th largest in terms of overall area. Nicknamed the Land of Lincoln and the Garden State, Springfield serves as the state capitol and the largest city is, of course, Chicago. Aside from being an excellent place to explore both professionally and recreationally, Illinois also provides one of the best job markets available in the US.

Employment Stats

As of October 2022, Illinois was home the 5th most employed population in the US, with 6,086,300 people making up the state’s workforce. This accounted for roughly 3.9% of all employed people in the nation, and that proportion has grown 3.26% since 2021’s total of 5,894,400. That growth rate – 3.26% – is enough to make Illinois the 20th fastest growing state in terms of job availability year-on-year. On top of that, the total difference in employed persons between Illinois and the nation’s median state was 4,109,000, which is 208% more than the median.

In terms of job opportunities, Illinois beat out Pennsylvania for the 5th spot by a mere 77 jobs. The Prairie State reported 6,010,000 employed workers as compared to Illinois’ 6,086,300. However, the state was able to finish ahead of Pennsylvania by a comfortable margin of 1.28%. That being said, Illinois still lagged behind the leader, New York, by a very wide gap (-3,448,000 or -36.2%). In fact, Illinois was even 66% behind New York’s total of 9,534,000 employed people.

Job Opportunities

In addition to job quantity, Illinois also boasts a diverse selection of job pathways. The state offers 774 different occupations, placing Illinois in the 7th slot nationally. Although that’s not the highest ranking, the 774 job types still offer 7.2% more opportunities than the national median of 722 occupations. This means Illinois might just be the perfect destination if you’re seeking something a bit more rare or specialized.

To no surprise, Illinois sports some of the nation’s very best universities, many of which are located in the windy city of Chicago. The University of Chicago is a top-tier university and is often considered one of the best research universities in the world. Similarly, Northwestern University ranks among the top 15 universities in the US, and is a great place to study if you’re looking to get into business, law, engineering or communications. Finally, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a great choice for students looking to study anything from sociology to anthropology to economics.

Ultimately, the job market in Illinois is both healthy and rapidly growing. It’s a great place to consider studying online due its richness in terms of job opportunities as well as cultural differences. The state is large enough to make you feel at home while still being small enough to guarantee solid job prospects and plenty of personal growth opportunities after graduation.

*All data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023)