Which Illinois anthropology program has the lowest debt?

UIUC reports the lowest median federal debt, $21,650, with first-year pay of $16,197.

How much do anthropology graduates earn in Illinois?

The median across 7 Illinois anthropology bachelor's programs is $25,913 in the first year after graduating and $50,288 five years after.

How many anthropology bachelor's programs are in Illinois?

7 Illinois programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Anthropology (Bachelor's) Programs in Illinois, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

7 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Anthropology

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Illinois anthropology bachelor's program pays its graduates $25,913 in their first year, $1,877 less than the national median. Northwestern University reports the highest first-year pay ($33,208), and UIUC the lowest median debt ($21,650).

Median first-year pay$25,913National $27,790

Median pay after 5 years$50,288National $45,049

Median federal debt$25,000National $22,962

Debt-to-earnings107%National 81%

All 7 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Northwestern UniversityEvanston · private nonprofit	$33,208	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
2	UICChicago · public	$30,648	$43,747	$24,348	79%
3	Loyola ChicagoChicago · private nonprofit	$26,977	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
4	Illinois StateNormal · public	$25,913	$51,516	$25,333	98%
5	Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville · public	$23,379	Not reported	$25,000	107%
6	DePaul UniversityChicago · private nonprofit	$18,950	Not reported	$26,533	140%
7	UIUCChampaign · public	$16,197	$52,379	$21,650	134%

Northwestern University and Loyola Chicago report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay. One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Illinois anthropology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Illinois medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Northwestern University$33,208
UIC$30,648
Loyola Chicago$26,977
Illinois State$25,913
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville$23,379

Lowest median debt

UIUC$21,650
UIC$24,348
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville$25,000
Illinois State$25,333
DePaul University$26,533

Lowest debt for the pay

UIC79%
Illinois State98%
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville107%
UIUC134%
DePaul University140%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to anthropology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists

$82,330

Median pay in Illinois. 4,700 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $59,550Top 10%: $143,890

Forensic Science Technicians

$124,790

Median pay in Illinois. 370 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $65,780Top 10%: $148,790

Anthropologists and Archeologists

$59,560

Median pay in Illinois. 140 people work in this job in Illinois. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,280Top 10%: $90,660

Common questions

Northwestern University in Evanston reports the highest median first-year pay, $33,208.

Anthropology (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked166 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Illinois rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the anthropology bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024