Career Training Path › Welding schools › Illinois
Welding schools in Illinois
Illinois has 42 accredited campuses awarding welding credentials. If you finish and work as a welder in Illinois, expect to start around $38,890–$46,500 and reach a median of $51,320 with experience; the top quarter earn $61,520 or more (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025, Illinois). Graduates of these Illinois programs — every graduate, whatever job they took — earned a median of $30,774 in their first year, against $34,154 nationally; that is the figure used to rank campuses below.
What welders, cutters, solderers and brazers earn in Illinois
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; 16,260 employed in Illinois. National median: $53,750.
Campuses in Illinois, ranked by what their graduates earned
Cities: BellevilleCantonCartervilleCentraliaChicagoChicago HeightsCiceroCrystal LakeDanvilleDecaturDixonEast PeoriaElginFreeportGalesburgGlen EllynGodfreyGrayslakeHarrisburgInaJolietKankakeeLisleMaltaMattoonMelrose ParkMolineNormalOglesbyOlneyPalatinePalos HillsQuincyRiver GroveRobinsonRockfordSpringfieldSugar GroveUllinWillowbrook
| Campus | City | Type | Grads / yr | Earnings, yr 1 | Program debt | Completion | Cost / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | Public community college | 159 | $39,135 | $5,500 | 37% | not reported |
| Universal Technical Institute of Illinois Inc | Lisle | for-profit career college | 104 | $35,637 | $9,500 | 63% | $31,301 |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park | Melrose Park | for-profit career college | 41 | $34,981 | $9,987 | 69% | $29,496 |
| ETI School of Skilled Trades | Willowbrook | for-profit career school | 93 | $31,164 | $9,500 | 80% | $26,842 |
| Sauk Valley Community College | Dixon | Public community college | 62 | $30,774 | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois | Springfield | for-profit career college | 189 | $28,998 | $9,500 | 69% | $33,634 |
| Stautzenberger College-Rockford Career College | Rockford | for-profit career college | 32 | $28,058 | $13,000 | 66% | not reported |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | Public community college | 143 | $24,110 | not reported | 44% | not reported |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | Public community college | 160 | not reported | not reported | 63% | not reported |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | Public community college | 136 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | Public community college | 95 | not reported | not reported | 58% | not reported |
| Heartland Community College | Normal | Public community college | 89 | not reported | not reported | 54% | not reported |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | Public community college | 88 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| William Rainey Harper College | Palatine | Public community college | 77 | not reported | not reported | 48% | not reported |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | Public community college | 61 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | Public community college | 60 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Shawnee Community College | Ullin | Public community college | 60 | not reported | not reported | 60% | not reported |
| John A Logan College | Carterville | Public community college | 58 | not reported | not reported | 46% | not reported |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | Public community college | 52 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | Public community college | 52 | not reported | not reported | 21% | not reported |
| Spoon River College | Canton | Public community college | 52 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Black Hawk College | Moline | Public community college | 45 | not reported | not reported | 40% | not reported |
| Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | Public community college | 45 | not reported | not reported | 39% | not reported |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | Public community college | 41 | not reported | not reported | 37% | not reported |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | Public community college | 39 | not reported | not reported | 41% | not reported |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | Public community college | 37 | not reported | not reported | 42% | not reported |
| Kankakee Community College | Kankakee | Public community college | 37 | not reported | not reported | 32% | not reported |
| Triton College | River Grove | Public community college | 34 | not reported | not reported | 29% | not reported |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | Public community college | 31 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | Public community college | 30 | not reported | not reported | 25% | not reported |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | Public community college | 28 | not reported | not reported | 49% | not reported |
| Highland Community College | Freeport | Public community college | 27 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Olney Central College | Olney | Public community college | 26 | not reported | not reported | 63% | not reported |
| Lincoln Trail College | Robinson | Public community college | 24 | not reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | Public community college | 18 | not reported | not reported | 50% | not reported |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | Public community college | 12 | not reported | not reported | 60% | not reported |
| Southeastern Illinois College | Harrisburg | Public community college | 12 | not reported | not reported | 55% | not reported |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | Public community college | 8 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | Public community college | 8 | not reported | not reported | 21% | not reported |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | Chicago | Public community college | 7 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
| Danville Area Community College | Danville | Public community college | 7 | not reported | not reported | 45% | not reported |
| Morton College | Cicero | Public community college | 4 | not reported | not reported | 31% | not reported |
Earnings are median wages and self-employment income reported to the IRS (W-2 and Schedule SE) for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled, measured in the calendar year after finishing. They are pay only: health insurance, retirement contributions and other benefits are not included.
Ranked by median earnings of this program's graduates one year after completion (College Scorecard field-of-study, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2022-23 Completions survey; College Scorecard June 2026; Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP), September 2026); campuses without a reported figure follow, by credentials awarded. "Program debt" is the median federal loan debt for graduates of this program at this campus. Completion is the campus-wide 150%-of-time rate. "Not reported" means the federal file suppresses the value for privacy.