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2026 Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in Illinois

[Critical Care Nursing](/majors/health-care-professions/nursing/critical-care-nursing/) 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 2 schools to find the best return on investment for critical care nursing students.

What’s on this page:

• Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in Illinois

2026 Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools in Illinois

If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the critical care nursing degrees they offer, see the list below.

Best Value Critical Care Nursing Schools

1

Lewis University
Romeoville, IL

$39,200 In-State Tuition & Fees

$27,000 Avg Student Debt

$66,099 Median Earnings (10yr)

For return on investment in critical care nursing, no school beat Lewis University this year. Set in the suburb of Romeoville, Lewis University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $39,200. Typical student debt for critical care nursing graduates is $27,000. Soon after graduation, critical care nursing degree recipients from Lewis University generally make around $90,066. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 71% of applicants are accepted.

2

Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL

$53,710 In-State Tuition & Fees

$27,000 Avg Student Debt

$71,530 Median Earnings (10yr)

Loyola University Chicago came in at #2 on our 2026 list of the best value critical care nursing schools. Loyola University Chicago is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $53,710. Typical student debt for critical care nursing graduates is $27,000. Early-career critical care nursing graduates make about $111,912. That is a strong return on a $27,000 median debt. Roughly 82% of applicants are accepted.

View All Critical Care Nursing Rankings >

Notes and References

This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 2 schools evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 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.