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EMT & paramedic training in Illinois
Illinois has 34 accredited campuses awarding emt / paramedic credentials. If you finish and work as an emergency medical technician in Illinois, expect to start around $36,420–$39,430 and reach a median of $42,260 with experience; the top quarter earn $49,640 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 $45,482 in their first year, against $44,770 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What emergency medical technicians earn in Illinois
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 7,840 employed in Illinois. National median: $44,470.
Campuses in Illinois, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: BellevilleCantonCartervilleCentraliaChampaignChicagoChicago HeightsCrystal LakeDecaturDes PlainesEast PeoriaElginFairfieldFreeportGalesburgGlen EllynGodfreyGrayslakeInaJolietKankakeeMaltaMattoonMolineNormalOglesbyPalatinePalos HillsQuincyRiver GroveRockfordSouth HollandSpringfieldSugar Grove
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | Public | 206 | $64,729 | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | Public | 85 | $52,333 | not reported | 41% | not reported |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | Public | 330 | $50,259 | $9,550 | 40% | not reported |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College | Chicago | Public | 152 | $49,736 | $9,572 | 18% | not reported |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | Public | 31 | $47,430 | $12,000 | 21% | not reported |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | Public | 64 | $46,381 | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | Public | 61 | $44,584 | $8,550 | 37% | not reported |
| Parkland College | Champaign | Public | 74 | $42,320 | $9,407 | 32% | not reported |
| Kankakee Community College | Kankakee | Public | 27 | $41,029 | not reported | 32% | not reported |
| Triton College | River Grove | Public | 61 | $40,312 | not reported | 29% | not reported |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | Public | 88 | $37,124 | not reported | 21% | not reported |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 274 | not reported | $7,000 | 25% | not reported |
| Oakton College | Des Plaines | Public | 132 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Heartland Community College | Normal | Public | 99 | not reported | not reported | 54% | not reported |
| Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | Public | 85 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public | 58 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | Public | 53 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| South Suburban College | South Holland | Public | 52 | not reported | not reported | 28% | not reported |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | Public | 46 | not reported | $5,500 | 48% | not reported |
| John A Logan College | Carterville | Public | 38 | not reported | not reported | 46% | not reported |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | Public | 32 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | Public | 31 | not reported | not reported | 58% | not reported |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | Public | 28 | not reported | not reported | 63% | not reported |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | Public | 19 | not reported | not reported | 60% | not reported |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | Public | 16 | not reported | not reported | 44% | not reported |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | Public | 11 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Frontier Community College | Fairfield | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Spoon River College | Canton | Public | 8 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Black Hawk College | Moline | Public | 5 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | Public | 3 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Highland Community College | Freeport | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | Public | 1 | not reported | not reported | 37% | 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.