College Azimuth

Career outcomes brief

Western Illinois University Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated

How much do Western Illinois University graduates earn?

The reported median is $57,453 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $57,301 as its benchmark; the difference is $152 per year.

Affordability is the stronger at Western Illinois University; return figures are mixed. Azimuth puts its return pillar in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,221 less than expects for similar students. Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 43rd percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,628. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,849.

Median earnings four years after completion are $57,453, in the 41st percentile. They are $152 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301. Earnings are above peers but below the model expectation.

Program choice accounts for a broad spread in modeled earnings at Western Illinois University. Four years after completion, the downside earnings scenario is $45,278 and the upside scenario is $75,147.

At the higher end, Computer and Information Sciences completers earn a median of $92,824, Nursing completers earn $86,694, and Construction Management completers earn $85,974. These program figures show why the modeled range is wide.

At Western Illinois University, an estimated 25.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover completers who are working and not enrolled, so this estimate matters when reading the earnings figure.

Median earnings · four years after completion
$57,453
Rank for difference from expectations
43rd percentile
Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks
Western Illinois University reported median
$57,453
Peer schools comparable schools · $152 below Western Illinois University
$57,301
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $3,221 above Western Illinois University
$60,674

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 $45,278 to $75,147, around the reported median of $57,453. Compare the lower scenario with Western Illinois 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
$45,278
Median · reported
$57,453
Higher estimate
$75,147

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 Western 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.

Western Illinois University graduates’ reported earnings are $3,221 below that expectation, the 43rd 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 Western Illinois 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.
+$4,628
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,849
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$3,221

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

Which fields at Western Illinois University report the highest earnings?

At Western Illinois University, four-year earnings differ sharply across fields, so program choice matters when reading return. Computer and Information Sciences has median earnings of $92,824 four years after completion, alongside 18 degrees awarded.

Nursing follows at $86,694 with 28 degrees awarded. These are the higher-earning fields in this selection.

The picture is more moderate elsewhere. Business Administration and Management records median earnings of $70,021 four years after completion and 73 degrees awarded, whereas Psychology records $44,683 with 70 degrees awarded.

The contrast shows that the university’s larger fields do not carry the same earnings pattern.

Security & Protective Services accounts for 17.8% of bachelor's degrees awarded, making it the largest program family. Earnings data are published for 32 bachelor's programs, so outcomes differ substantially by field.

Criminal Justice is the largest program, with 199 degrees awarded and median earnings of $63,125 four years after completion. Liberal Arts and General Studies awarded 131 degrees, with median earnings of $55,944 four years after completion.

Business Administration and Management awarded 73 degrees and shows median earnings of $70,021 at the same point.

Highest reported four-year program earnings
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$92,824
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$86,694
Construction Management
$85,974
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General
$75,922
Accounting and Related Services
$71,059
Human Resources Management and Services
$70,157
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$70,021
Finance and Financial Management Services
$69,716

Explore Western Illinois University program cohorts and field ranks for more context.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $45,278 in the downside scenario to $57,453 in the typical scenario and $75,147 in the upside scenario, showing variation by field. Computer and Information Sciences has median earnings of $92,824 four years after completion, while Psychology has $44,683.

Western Illinois University graduates have median earnings of $57,453 four years after completion, among completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that median in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using an earnings cohort of 2,834 completers.

Graduates earn about $3,221 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix place typical earnings at $57,453, with a downside scenario of $45,278 and an upside scenario of $75,147.

An estimated 25.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The lower earnings percentile and the model result point in the same direction.

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.