Best Special Education Teacher, Secondary School programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.
33 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 945 people a year. The job pays a median of $79,890 in Illinois across about 9,490 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.
6 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 13.1001In Illinois → | 908 | 96.1% | 29 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 2 | CIP 13.1009In Illinois → | 20 | 2.1% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 3 | CIP 13.1007In Illinois → | 8 | 0.8% | 2 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1005In Illinois → | 6 | 0.6% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 5 | CIP 13.1011In Illinois → | 2 | 0.2% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1014In Illinois → | 1 | 0.1% | 1 | $44,139 | $26,675 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 10 of the 33 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 214 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $48,358 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 2 | National Louis University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 165 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 30% | $18,904 | 95% |
| 3 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 70 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 4 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $46,578 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 5 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 22% | — | 75% |
| 6 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $51,922 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 7 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 38 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $43,955 | 47% | — | 65% |
| 8 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 35% | $21,085 | 97% |
| 9 | Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 61% | $20,903 | 56% |
| 10 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $46,729 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 11 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $45,831 | 67% | $17,632 | 71% |
| 12 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 62% | — | 77% |
| 13 | Dominican University River Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 55% | $16,176 | 90% |
| 14 | Concordia University - Chicago River Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 36% | $17,620 | 93% |
| 15 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 16 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 15% | — | 43% |
| 17 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 57% | $12,935 | 84% |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $44,205 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 19 | Trinity Christian College Palos Heights, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $48,840 | 58% | $15,126 | 85% |
| 20 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $45,323 | 67% | $15,591 | 65% |
| 21 | Rockford University Rockford, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 47% | $23,077 | 93% |
| 22 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Special Education and Teaching, General | $44,429 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 23 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities | — | 22% | — | 48% |
| 24 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 25 | Aurora University Aurora, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Special Education and Teaching, General | — | 60% | $18,431 | 81% |
All 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 214 | 3 |
| National Louis University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 165 | 1 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 70 | 1 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 57 | 1 |
| Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago | Public | 55 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 42 | 1 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | Public | 38 | 1 |
| Roosevelt University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 34 | 1 |
| Olivet Nazarene University | Bourbonnais | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| Western Illinois University | Macomb | Public | 25 | 1 |
| Lewis University | Romeoville | Private not-for-profit | 23 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Dominican University | River Forest | Private not-for-profit | 19 | 1 |
| Concordia University - Chicago | River Forest | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 1 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
What special education teachers, secondary school earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $74,260. Illinois pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: Illinois employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
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 Special Education Teachers, Secondary School page.
How to become a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School
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 13 majors mapped to Special Education Teachers, Secondary School13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1001Special Education and Teaching, General
- 13.1003Education/Teaching of Individuals with Hearing Impairments Including Deafness
- 13.1005Education/Teaching of Individuals with Emotional Disturbances
- 13.1006Education/Teaching of Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities
- 13.1007Education/Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities
- 13.1008Education/Teaching of Individuals with Orthopedic and Other Physical Health Impairments
- 13.1009Education/Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness
- 13.1011Education/Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities
- 13.1012Education/Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments
- 13.1013Education/Teaching of Individuals with Autism
- 13.1014Education/Teaching of Individuals Who are Developmentally Delayed
- 13.1016Education/Teaching of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries
- 13.1019Education/Teaching of Individuals in Secondary Special Education Programs
Common questions
Answers for people weighing special education teachers, secondary school programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Special Education and Teaching, General, which awarded 908 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 96.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Special Education and Teaching. Together they graduate about 945 people a year in Illinois.
How much do special education teachers, secondary school earn in Illinois?+
The median is $79,890 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.6% above the U.S. median of $74,260. 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 special education teachers, secondary school growing?+
BLS projects a -1.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 11,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
33 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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 special education teachers, secondary school work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Learning Support Teacher, SPED Teacher (Special Education Teacher), HS SPED Teacher (High School Special Education Teacher), SPED Resource Teacher (Special Education Resource Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2058.
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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