Northeastern Illinois University Earnings: $61K (2026)

How much do Northeastern Illinois University graduates earn?

The reported median is $60,607 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $3,306 per year.

Graduates earn about $5,868 more than expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 73rd percentile, and Azimuth places the university at the 58th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $60,607, in the 53rd percentile nationally. That is $3,306 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $4,862. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,006. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,416.

Program choice matters here: earnings scenarios range from $50,365 in the downside case to $75,629 in the upside case four years after completion. These are scenarios from the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

At the higher end, Computer Science completers earn a median of $88,917 four years after completion; Business Administration and Management completers earn $69,226; and Marketing completers earn $69,011. Those field-level figures show the range behind the earnings scenarios.

An estimated 29.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Since four-year earnings include completers who are working and not enrolled, this estimate matters when reading the earnings figure as a snapshot rather than a measure of every completer.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $60,607
Rank for difference from expectations: 74th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

Northeastern Illinois University reported median: $60,607
Peer schools comparable schools · $3,306 below Northeastern Illinois University: $57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $5,868 below Northeastern Illinois University: $54,739

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?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $50,365
Median · reported: $60,607
Higher estimate: $75,629

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 Northeastern Illinois 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.

Northeastern Illinois University graduates’ reported earnings are $5,868 above that expectation, the 74th 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 Northeastern Illinois University caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at Northeastern Illinois University report the highest earnings?

The largest programs at Northeastern Illinois University show a clear split between a high-earning technical field and several moderate-earning service and education fields. Computer Science is both the biggest program, at 111 degrees awarded, and the best-paid, with graduates earning a median of $88,917 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #116 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The next largest programs earn considerably less.

Teacher Education awards 109 degrees and posts median earnings of $52,176, ranking #63 in its field. Liberal Arts and General Studies follows with 106 degrees and earnings of $55,569, placing #55 nationally.

Social Work and Psychology round out the largest programs, with earnings of $53,848 and $54,301 respectively. The spread between the top program and the rest is substantial.

Northeastern Illinois University has 17 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, with 22 programs reporting earnings data. The strongest national ranks are in Human Resources Management and Services and Business/Commerce, both inside the top #50 in their fields.

The largest program is Computer Science, with 111 degrees awarded and median earnings of $88,917 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #116 nationally and #9 in Illinois.

Teacher Education is nearly as large at 109 degrees awarded, with a stronger national rank of #63 and median earnings of $52,176. Liberal Arts and General Studies rounds out the top three at 106 degrees awarded and median earnings of $55,569.

Further analysis

Field-level earnings differ across the program mix. The downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios are $50,365, $60,607, and $75,629.

Computer Science anchors the higher end with median earnings of $88,917 four years after completion; Teacher Education is the lowest-earning among the largest programs at $52,176. The spread shows variation by field behind the scenarios.

The earnings picture centers on a median of $60,607 four years after completion for Northeastern Illinois University graduates. Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 1,859 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

Graduates earn about $5,868 more than the model expects for similar students. This is earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix provide typical, downside, and upside outcomes rather than results for observed groups. An estimated 29.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The above-expected result and the earnings scenarios give context beyond the schoolwide median alone.

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.