Best Preschool Teacher programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual.
42 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,991 people a year. The job pays a median of $40,910 in Illinois across about 22,420 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.
8 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 | Early Childhood Education and Teachingmain feeder CIP 13.1210In Illinois → | 1,347 | 67.7% | 29 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1401In Illinois → | 216 | 10.8% | 15 | $36,305 | $26,250 |
| 3 | CIP 19.0708In Illinois → | 177 | 8.9% | 4 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
| 4 | CIP 19.0706In Illinois → | 95 | 4.8% | 4 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
| 5 | CIP 13.1209In Illinois → | 68 | 3.4% | 3 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 6 | Bilingual and Multilingual Educationmain feeder CIP 13.0201In Illinois → | 52 | 2.6% | 7 | $56,738 | $19,664 |
| 7 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levelsmain feeder CIP 13.1206In Illinois → | 35 | 1.8% | 4 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 8 | CIP 13.1499In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $36,305 | $26,250 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 23 of the 42 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Louis University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 521 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $40,484 | 30% | $18,904 | 95% |
| 2 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 149 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $44,898 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 3 | Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 116 | Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor | — | 61% | $20,903 | 56% |
| 4 | Erikson Institute Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 114 | Child Development | — | — | — | — |
| 5 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 94 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $41,130 | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 6 | College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 89 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 25% | — | — |
| 7 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 75 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $44,214 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 8 | Joliet Junior College Joliet, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 68 | Child Care and Support Services Management | — | 21% | — | — |
| 9 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 59 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $48,038 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 10 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 56 | Bilingual and Multilingual Education | — | 35% | $21,085 | 97% |
| 11 | William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 54 | Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor | — | 48% | — | — |
| 12 | Elgin Community College Elgin, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 51 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 41% | — | — |
| 13 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 47 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $45,235 | 22% | — | 48% |
| 14 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 46 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $60,917 | 62% | — | 77% |
| 15 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 45 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $41,938 | 22% | — | 75% |
| 16 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 45 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $38,830 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 17 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 42 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $43,326 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 38 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $39,496 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 19 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 35 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | $48,105 | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 20 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 33 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $46,377 | 57% | $12,935 | 84% |
| 21 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching | $41,582 | 47% | — | 65% |
| 22 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 20 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 15% | — | 43% |
| 23 | Concordia University - Chicago River Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 20 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $44,618 | 36% | $17,620 | 93% |
| 24 | Wheaton College Wheaton, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor | — | 85% | $23,461 | 87% |
| 25 | Rockford University Rockford, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $38,867 | 47% | $23,077 | 93% |
All 42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Louis University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 521 | 2 |
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 149 | 2 |
| Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais | Private not-for-profit | 116 | 4 |
| Erikson Institute | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 114 | 2 |
| Lewis University | Romeoville | Private not-for-profit | 94 | 1 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 89 | 2 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 75 | 1 |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | Public | 68 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 59 | 2 |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 56 | 2 |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public | 54 | 1 |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | Public | 51 | 1 |
| Governors State University | University Park | Public | 47 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 46 | 2 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public | 45 | 2 |
What preschool teachers earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $38,140. Illinois pays above 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 Preschool Teachers page.
How to become a Preschool Teacher
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
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 12 majors mapped to Preschool Teachers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.0201Bilingual and Multilingual Education
- 13.1206Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
- 13.1207Montessori Teacher Education
- 13.1208Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education(no graduates reported)
- 13.1209Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching
- 13.1210Early Childhood Education and Teaching
- 13.1212International Teaching and Learning
- 13.1401Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
- 13.1402Teaching French as a Second or Foreign Language(no graduates reported)
- 13.1499Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Other
- 19.0706Child Development
- 19.0708Child Care and Support Services Management
Common questions
Answers for people weighing preschool teachers programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Preschool Teacher?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Early Childhood Education and Teaching, which awarded 1,347 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 67.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Preschool Teacher?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 8 programs to this occupation. The largest are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Human Development, Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Bilingual. Together they graduate about 1,991 people a year in Illinois.
How much do preschool teachers earn in Illinois?+
The median is $40,910 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.3% above the U.S. median of $38,140. 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 preschool teachers growing?+
BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 65,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
42 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 8 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 preschool teachers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Montessori Preschool Teacher, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher (Pre-K Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2011.
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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