2026 Best Value Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling Schools in Illinois
[Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling](/majors/health-care-professions/mental-social-health-services/marriage-and-family-therapy-counseling/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong marriage and family therapy/counseling education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 5 schools to find the best return on investment for marriage and family therapy/counseling students.
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2026 Best Value Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling Schools in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in marriage and family therapy/counseling, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling Schools
Leading the list is Northeastern Illinois University, our #1 best value for marriage and family therapy/counseling in Illinois. Set in the city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a moderately-sized public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $12,383, compared with $22,726 for out-of-state students. Marriage And Family Therapy/counseling graduates carry a median of $17,600 in student loans. Early-career marriage and family therapy/counseling graduates make about $50,825. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Northeastern Illinois University admits about 75% of applicants.
A rank of #2 makes Wheaton College Illinois one of the best values for marriage and family therapy/counseling. Set in the suburb of Wheaton, Wheaton College Illinois is a mid-sized private not-for-profit institution. In-state tuition and fees average $45,546. Marriage And Family Therapy/counseling graduates carry a median of $23,292 in student loans. Early-career marriage and family therapy/counseling graduates make about $43,719. Set against $23,292 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. The acceptance rate is 87%.
The strong cost-to-outcome balance at Northwestern University earned it the #3 place for marriage and family therapy/counseling. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $68,322. Marriage And Family Therapy/counseling graduates carry a median of $16,616 in student loans. Soon after graduation, marriage and family therapy/counseling degree recipients from Northwestern University generally make around $67,518. That is a strong return on a $16,616 median debt. The acceptance rate is 8%.
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Notes and References
This ranking is produced 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 · 5 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 3 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.
