2026 Best Value General Agriculture Schools in Illinois
[General Agriculture](/majors/agriculture-ag-operations/general-agriculture/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 11 schools to find the best return on investment for general agriculture students.
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2026 Best Value General Agriculture Schools in Illinois
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the general agriculture degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value General Agriculture Schools
For return on investment in general agriculture, no school beat Kaskaskia College this year. Kaskaskia College is a moderately-sized public school located in the rural area of Centralia. Students from in state pay about $4,800 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $12,570. Students borrow a median of $7,875 to complete the general agriculture program here. General Agriculture graduates of Kaskaskia College earn a median of $45,658 early in their careers. Set against $7,875 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff.
Western Illinois University is a great value for students pursuing a degree in general agriculture, landing the #2 spot this year. Located in the town of Macomb, Western Illinois University is a moderately-sized public university. Students from in state pay about $14,572 in tuition and fees. General Agriculture graduates carry a median of $18,969 in student loans. Early-career general agriculture graduates make about $48,509. That is a strong return on a $18,969 median debt. Western Illinois University admits about 71% of applicants.
A rank of #3 makes Illinois State University one of the best values for general agriculture. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State University is a very large public university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $14,410, with out-of-state students paying around $26,058. Typical student debt for general agriculture graduates is $18,750. Soon after graduation, general agriculture degree recipients from Illinois State University generally make around $47,295. That is a strong return on a $18,750 median debt. The acceptance rate is 88%.
More General Agriculture Rankings
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 11 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
