College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Chicago State University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do Chicago State University graduates earn?

The reported median is $56,486 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $53,116 as its benchmark; the difference is $3,370 per year.

Access is Chicago State University's strongest , while the return data are less favorable. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 35th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $56,486 four years after completion, in the 37th percentile. That median is $3,370 above the peer median of $53,116, the middle value for comparable institutions with the same type and size.

Graduates earn about $4,699 less than expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model expectation for similar students, sits in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Of that gap, the model attributes $1,555 to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market), a share that subtracts from expected earnings. It attributes $3,144 to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts from expected earnings.

Program choice leaves a wide modeled earnings range, with Nursing well above the lower end. The downside earnings scenario is $47,854, whereas the upside scenario is $81,723; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix rather than observed groups.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $92,024 in Nursing, $59,296 in Teacher Education, and $57,691 in Criminal Justice. Those program results show why the modeled range is broad.

Further study shapes how to read four-year earnings at Chicago State University. An estimated 29.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

The earnings measure covers completers who are working and not enrolled, so it does not include those continuing their education.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$56,486
Rank for difference from expectations
37th percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
Chicago State University reported median
$56,486
Peer schools comparable schools · $3,370 below Chicago State University
$53,116
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $4,699 above Chicago State University
$61,185

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. How the model works.

How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $47,854 to $81,723, around the reported median of $56,486. Compare the lower scenario with Chicago State University borrowing and monthly payments to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion
Planning rangeReported median
Lower estimate
$47,854
Median · reported
$56,486
Higher estimate
$81,723

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

Why the downside matters explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do Chicago State University graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls value added.

Chicago State University graduates’ reported earnings are $4,699 below that expectation, the 37th percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending Chicago State University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$1,555
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$3,144
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$4,699

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Which fields at Chicago State University report the highest earnings?

Among the larger programs, Nursing sits well above the rest in median earnings four years after completion. Its median was $92,024, and it awarded 26 degrees in one academic year.

Teacher Education was at $59,296 four years after completion, with 13 degrees awarded, placing it in a more moderate range. Criminal Justice recorded median earnings of $57,691 four years after completion and awarded 35 degrees.

Business Administration and Management had median earnings of $53,181 and 35 degrees awarded. The figures show a clear spread between the higher-earning field and the more moderate-earning fields among these programs.

Program earnings vary widely across Chicago State University’s largest bachelor’s fields, making field choice especially consequential. Psychology awarded 42 degrees, with median earnings of $47,168 four years after completion.

Business Administration and Management awarded 35 degrees and had median earnings of $53,181. Criminal Justice awarded 35 degrees and had median earnings of $57,691.

Nursing awarded 26 degrees and had median earnings of $92,024. Teacher Education awarded 13 degrees and had median earnings of $59,296.

The fields shown here range from lower-earning Psychology to much higher-earning Nursing.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$92,024
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
$59,296
Criminal Justice and Corrections
$57,691
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$53,181
Sociology
$51,485
Psychology, General
$47,168
Biology, General
$46,898

Explore Chicago State University program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Field choice matters in earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix: the downside scenario is $47,854, the typical scenario is $56,486, and the upside scenario is $81,723. Nursing is the highest-earning program at $92,024 four years after completion, whereas Psychology, the lowest-earning among the largest programs with published earnings, is at $47,168. The spread shows variation by field.

Graduate earnings sit below the national middle, although Chicago State University stands above comparable institutions. For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $56,486 four years after completion.

Azimuth lists the figure in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 465 completers. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $53,116, and the university’s figure is above it by $3,370.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix range from $47,854 in the downside scenario to $81,723 in the upside scenario, with the typical scenario matching the observed median earnings. Graduates earn about $4,699 less than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 29.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.