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Dental hygiene programs in Illinois
Illinois has 11 accredited campuses awarding dental hygiene credentials. If you finish and work as a dental hygienist in Illinois, expect to start around $74,280–$79,400 and reach a median of $96,670 with experience; the top quarter earn $101,800 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 $46,549 in their first year, against $51,231 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What dental hygienists earn in Illinois
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 8,970 employed in Illinois. National median: $98,100.
Campuses in Illinois, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: ChampaignChicagoChicago HeightsEast PeoriaGalesburgGlen EllynGodfreyGrayslakeMattoonPalatineRockford
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public | 24 | $61,058 | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | Public | 20 | $55,123 | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | Public | 11 | $53,602 | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | Public | 35 | $48,414 | not reported | 21% | not reported |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | Public | 30 | $44,685 | not reported | 44% | not reported |
| Parkland College | Champaign | Public | 30 | $44,336 | $12,600 | 32% | not reported |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | Public | 26 | $44,054 | $8,000 | 58% | not reported |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | Public | 27 | $42,721 | $6,587 | 50% | not reported |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 28 | not reported | $17,225 | 25% | not reported |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | Chicago | Public | 25 | not reported | not reported | 18% | not reported |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 49% | 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.