Best Healthcare Social Worker programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Provide individuals, families, and groups with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses. Services include advising family caregivers.
37 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,628 people a year. The job pays a median of $64,270 in Illinois across about 4,910 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
3 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Social Workmain feeder CIP 44.0701In Illinois → | 2,620 | 99.7% | 36 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1503In Illinois → | 6 | 0.2% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 3 | Social Work, Othermain feeder CIP 44.0799In Illinois → | 2 | 0.1% | 1 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 37 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aurora University Aurora, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 745 | Social Work | $38,382 | 60% | $18,431 | 81% |
| 2 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 294 | Social Work | — | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 3 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 257 | Social Work | $36,815 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 4 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 205 | Social Work | — | 62% | — | 77% |
| 5 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 173 | Social Work | — | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 6 | Chamberlain University - Illinois Addison, IL Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 150 | Social Work | — | 42% | $29,024 | 83% |
| 7 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 112 | Social Work | $39,178 | 22% | — | 75% |
| 8 | Dominican University River Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 86 | Social Work | — | 55% | $16,176 | 90% |
| 9 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 78 | Social Work | $34,664 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 10 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 76 | Social Work | $39,041 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 11 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Social Work | — | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 12 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 49 | Social Work | — | 67% | $15,591 | 65% |
| 13 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Social Work | $36,974 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 14 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Social Work | $44,133 | 22% | — | 48% |
| 15 | National Louis University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Social Work | $37,205 | 30% | $18,904 | 95% |
| 16 | City Colleges of Chicago - Kennedy - King College Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Social Work | — | 31% | — | — |
| 17 | Erikson Institute Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | Social Work | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Social Work | $39,641 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 19 | Trinity Christian College Palos Heights, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Social Work | — | 58% | $15,126 | 85% |
| 20 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Social Work | $38,707 | 53% | — | 86% |
| 21 | Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Social Work | $31,720 | 61% | $20,903 | 56% |
| 22 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Social Work | — | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 23 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Social Work | — | 15% | — | 43% |
| 24 | Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Social Work | — | 36% | — | — |
| 25 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Social Work | $36,017 | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
All 37 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora University | Aurora | Private not-for-profit | 745 | 1 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 294 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 257 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 205 | 1 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 173 | 1 |
| Chamberlain University - Illinois | Addison | Private for-profit | 150 | 1 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public | 112 | 1 |
| Dominican University | River Forest | Private not-for-profit | 86 | 1 |
| Southern Illinois University - Carbondale | Carbondale | Public | 78 | 1 |
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 76 | 1 |
| Lewis University | Romeoville | Private not-for-profit | 50 | 1 |
| University of St Francis | Joliet | Private not-for-profit | 49 | 2 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Governors State University | University Park | Public | 41 | 1 |
| National Louis University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 1 |
What healthcare social workers earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $67,880. Illinois pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Healthcare Social Workers page.
How to become a Healthcare Social Worker
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 7 majors mapped to Healthcare Social Workers7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 30.5301Thanatology
- 44.0701Social Work
- 44.0703Forensic Social Work
- 44.0799Social Work, Other
- 51.1503Clinical/Medical Social Work
- 51.1511Medical Family Therapy/Therapist
- 51.1512Hospice and Palliative Care
Common questions
Answers for people weighing healthcare social workers programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Healthcare Social Worker?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 2,620 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 99.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Healthcare Social Worker?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. Together they graduate about 2,628 people a year in Illinois.
How much do healthcare social workers earn in Illinois?+
The median is $64,270 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.3% below the U.S. median of $67,880. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for healthcare social workers growing?+
BLS projects a +7.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 18,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
37 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do healthcare social workers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Social Worker, Hospice Social Worker, Medical Social Worker, Clinical Social Worker among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1022.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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