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CDL / truck driving schools in Illinois
Illinois has 19 accredited campuses awarding cdl credentials. If you finish and work as a tractor-trailer truck driver in Illinois, expect to start around $39,710–$48,550 and reach a median of $60,320 with experience; the top quarter earn $75,600 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Illinois). Graduates of these Illinois programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $33,907 in their first year, against $38,603 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers earn in Illinois
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 84,200 employed in Illinois. National median: $58,640.
Campuses in Illinois, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: CantonChicagoDanvilleDecaturDixonEast PeoriaElginFairfieldFreeportGodfreyHarrisburgInaMount CarmelOglesbyQuincySpringfieldUllin
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | Public | 32 | $40,454 | $2,952 | 41% | not reported |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | Public | 141 | $37,427 | $5,500 | 48% | not reported |
| Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois | Springfield | for-profit | 32 | $30,388 | $6,333 | 69% | $33,634 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College | Chicago | Public | 64 | $21,132 | not reported | 21% | not reported |
| Highland Community College | Freeport | Public | 122 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | Public | 107 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Southeastern Illinois College | Harrisburg | Public | 66 | not reported | not reported | 55% | not reported |
| Shawnee Community College | Ullin | Public | 53 | not reported | not reported | 60% | not reported |
| Spoon River College | Canton | Public | 50 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Danville Area Community College | Danville | Public | 49 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | Public | 38 | not reported | not reported | 60% | not reported |
| Sauk Valley Community College | Dixon | Public | 36 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | Public | 28 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | Public | 28 | not reported | not reported | 63% | not reported |
| Wabash Valley College | Mount Carmel | Public | 24 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Frontier Community College | Fairfield | Public | 7 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 44% | not reported |
| Progressive Truck Driving School | Chicago | — | — | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.