Best Software Developer programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs.
82 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 14,705 people a year. The job pays a median of $132,110 in Illinois across about 56,310 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.
18 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 | CIP 11.0701In Illinois → | 5,709 | 38.8% | 42 | $70,374 | $23,250 |
| 2 | CIP 11.0103In Illinois → | 4,799 | 32.6% | 28 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 3 | CIP 11.0401In Illinois → | 1,234 | 8.4% | 21 | $57,313 | $25,833 |
| 4 | CIP 14.0901In Illinois → | 682 | 4.6% | 10 | $78,333 | $24,098 |
| 5 | CIP 30.7001In Illinois → | 610 | 4.1% | 10 | — | — |
| 6 | CIP 11.0201In Illinois → | 556 | 3.8% | 25 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 7 | CIP 11.0202In Illinois → | 297 | 2.0% | 11 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 8 | CIP 30.0801In Illinois → | 289 | 2.0% | 9 | $89,651 | $23,175 |
| 9 | CIP 14.0903In Illinois → | 245 | 1.7% | 5 | $78,333 | $24,098 |
| 10 | CIP 11.0102In Illinois → | 151 | 1.0% | 3 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 11 | CIP 11.0104In Illinois → | 99 | 0.7% | 2 | $57,986 | $24,286 |
| 12 | CIP 11.0902In Illinois → | 24 | 0.2% | 1 | $43,901 | $22,822 |
| 13 | CIP 11.0203In Illinois → | 4 | 0.0% | 2 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 14 | CIP 11.0804In Illinois → | 2 | 0.0% | 1 | $33,504 | $27,000 |
| 15 | CIP 11.0204In Illinois → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 16 | CIP 11.0205In Illinois → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $46,719 | $20,729 |
| 17 | CIP 15.1204In Illinois → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $48,829 | $21,696 |
| 18 | CIP 30.1601In Illinois → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | — | — |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 24 of the 82 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeVry University - Illinois Lisle, IL Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4,092 | Information Technology | — | 37% | $32,381 | 98% |
| 2 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 5 feeder programs | 2,973 | Computer Science | $124,530 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 1,404 | Computer Science | $86,005 | 75% | $19,899 | 55% |
| 4 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 9 feeder programs | 833 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General | $72,234 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 5 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 4 feeder programs | 824 | Computer Science | $78,040 | 62% | — | 77% |
| 6 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 679 | Computer Science | $99,981 | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 7 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 485 | Computer Science | $60,726 | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 8 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 454 | Computer Science | $117,578 | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 9 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 358 | Computer Science | $77,257 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 10 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 292 | Computer Science | $72,657 | 53% | — | 86% |
| 11 | College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 204 | Computer Programming, Specific Applications | — | 25% | — | — |
| 12 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 185 | Computer Science | $52,115 | 22% | — | 48% |
| 13 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 148 | Data Science, General | — | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
| 14 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 129 | Computer Science | $70,053 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 15 | College of Lake County Grayslake, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 128 | Information Technology | — | 37% | — | — |
| 16 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs | 121 | Computer Science | — | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 17 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 109 | Computer Science | $41,976 | 35% | $21,085 | 97% |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 102 | Computer Science | $76,106 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 19 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 101 | Computer Science | $62,831 | 22% | — | 75% |
| 20 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 100 | Computer Science | $81,363 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 21 | Judson University Elgin, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 90 | Informatics | — | 60% | $25,200 | 48% |
| 22 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 75 | Computer Science | — | 15% | — | 43% |
| 23 | Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 48 | Computer Programming/Programmer, General | — | 40% | — | — |
| 24 | Oakton College Des Plaines, IL Public · 5 feeder programs | 48 | Information Science/Studies | — | 37% | — | — |
| 25 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 40 | Computer Science | $45,889 | 57% | $12,935 | 84% |
All 82 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeVry University - Illinois | Lisle | Private for-profit | 4,092 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 2,973 | 5 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 1,404 | 7 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 833 | 9 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 824 | 4 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 679 | 5 |
| Lewis University | Romeoville | Private not-for-profit | 485 | 4 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 454 | 1 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 358 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Springfield | Springfield | Public | 292 | 2 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public | 204 | 2 |
| Governors State University | University Park | Public | 185 | 2 |
| Bradley University | Peoria | Private not-for-profit | 148 | 4 |
| Southern Illinois University - Carbondale | Carbondale | Public | 129 | 3 |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | Public | 128 | 2 |
What software developers earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $135,980. 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 Software Developers page.
How to become a Software Developer
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational 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 20 majors mapped to Software Developers20 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 11.0102Artificial Intelligence
- 11.0103Information Technology
- 11.0104Informatics
- 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
- 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
- 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
- 11.0204Computer Game Programming
- 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
- 11.0401Information Science/Studies
- 11.0701Computer Science
- 11.0804Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulation
- 11.0902Cloud Computing
- 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
- 14.0903Computer Software Engineering
- 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician
- 30.0801Mathematics and Computer Science
- 30.1601Accounting and Computer Science
- 30.3901Economics and Computer Science
- 30.4801Linguistics and Computer Science
- 30.7001Data Science, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing software developers programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Software Developer?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 5,709 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 38.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Software Developer?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 18 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Information Science/Studies, Computer Engineering, plus 7 more. Together they graduate about 14,705 people a year in Illinois.
How much do software developers earn in Illinois?+
The median is $132,110 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.8% below the U.S. median of $135,980. 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 software developers growing?+
BLS projects a +15.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 115,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
82 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 18 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 software developers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Developer, Software Engineer, Software Architect, Software Developer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1252.
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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