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Trade-School ROI in Illinois
A Illinois-specific cut of our national dataset: which trades pay back the most per tuition dollar, what schools cost, and where you can get paid to train instead of paying — all from official U.S. federal data. Free to cite with attribution to Explore Top Colleges. National report & full CSV →
Paid apprenticeship programs in Illinois
503
earn while you train
Trade-school net price range
$6,093–$14,685
/yr, depending on trade
Trades tracked in Illinois
20
state × trade rows
Best-value trades in Illinois
Ranked by median graduate earnings (10 yrs after entry) per $1,000 of annual net price — a school-level value measure. Methodology.
| Trade | Value ($/$1k tuition) | Median net price/yr | Median earnings | Paid apprenticeships |
|---|
| EMT & Paramedic | $6,241 | $6,201 | $38,699 | 6 |
| Radiologic Technology | $6,241 | $6,201 | $38,699 | 2 |
| Plumbing | $6,240 | $6,093 | $38,022 | 48 |
| HVAC | $6,206 | $6,252 | $38,801 | 52 |
| Diesel Mechanics | $6,194 | $6,252 | $38,725 | 14 |
Get paid to train instead — in Illinois
- 105 registered electrician apprenticeship programs — vs a median $7,401/yr to attend electrician school in Illinois.
- 62 registered machining & cnc apprenticeship programs — vs a median $6,426/yr to attend machining & cnc school in Illinois.
- 52 registered hvac apprenticeship programs — vs a median $6,252/yr to attend hvac school in Illinois.
- 48 registered plumbing apprenticeship programs — vs a median $6,093/yr to attend plumbing school in Illinois.
See all Illinois trade schools & apprenticeships →
Compiled by Ikan Media Inc. from public federal data (U.S. Dept of Education College Scorecard, U.S. DOL apprenticeship.gov, CareerOneStop). Independent site, not affiliated with any government agency. Free to cite with attribution. Data as of 2026-07-21.
Full national dataset ·
methodology.