With an annual budget of $122,626,354 and 236 graduates in 2016, Oakton Community College in Des Plaines spent $519,438 per graduate in 2016, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of data tracking the performance and spending at 48 Illinois community colleges.
Harper College in Palatine spent $251,808 per graduate and Elgin Community College spent $149,148 per graduate.
Community colleges, also called junior colleges, technical colleges or city colleges, are primarily two-year public institutions. They grant certificates, diplomas and associate’s degrees.
Illinois schools enrolled 304,173 students in 2016, and 17,242 graduated. Taxpayers spent $2.926 billion to operate these schools – or $169,718 per graduate.
Three community colleges in Chicago spent per graduate of all Illinois two-year schools during the 2016 academic year.
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Illinois community college spending
| School | City | Enrollment | Annual graduates | Annual budget | Spending per graduate |
| Olive Harvey | Chicago | 2,979 | 30 | $69,244,625 | $2,324,425 |
| Malcolm X | Chicago | 6,183 | 62 | $67,623,666 | $1,093,703 |
| Wilbur Wright | Chicago | 10,155 | 102 | $94,573,272 | $931,298 |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | 4,484 | 67 | $54,100,884 | $804,355 |
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | 15,383 | 308 | $204,990,988 | $666,291 |
| Harry Truman | Chicago | 8,998 | 135 | $77,012,101 | $570,587 |
| Oakton Community College | Des Plaines | 9,443 | 236 | $122,626,354 | $519,438 |
| Morton College | Cicero | 4,397 | 110 | $47,511,296 | $432,216 |
| Heartland Community College | Normal | 5,282 | 158 | $62,300,256 | $393,161 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | 26,901 | 942 | $303,194,043 | $322,021 |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | 7,699 | 346 | $110,465,549 | $318,845 |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | 14,768 | 517 | $160,568,282 | $310,649 |
| Harold Wash. | Chicago | 8,486 | 212 | $65,097,850 | $306,848 |
| Kennedy-King | Chicago | 3,472 | 260 | $75,357,058 | $289,390 |
| South Suburban College | South Holland | 3,703 | 74 | $19,242,032 | $259,817 |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | 3,206 | 144 | $37,405,462 | $259,274 |
| Harper College | Palatine | 14,142 | 707 | $178,053,210 | $251,808 |
| Kankakee Community College | Kankakee | 3,078 | 185 | $43,881,169 | $237,607 |
| Richard J. Daley | Chicago | 7,407 | 333 | $74,768,190 | $224,317 |
| Moraine Valley Community College | Palos Hills | 15,021 | 676 | $137,110,312 | $202,842 |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | 9,515 | 571 | $103,596,576 | $181,462 |
| John A. Logan College | Carterville | 4,424 | 310 | $54,479,492 | $175,922 |
| Lincoln Land Community College | Springfield | 5,744 | 431 | $73,445,971 | $170,487 |
| Richland Community College | Decatur | 2,839 | 227 | $34,477,308 | $151,802 |
| Elgin Community College | Elgin | 9,918 | 793 | $118,340,291 | $149,148 |
| Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | 10,081 | 655 | $69,025,735 | $105,340 |
| Danville Area Community College | Danville | 2,666 | 267 | $27,934,614 | $104,781 |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | 3,775 | 208 | $21,354,760 | $102,853 |
| Illinois Central College | East Peoria | 9,290 | 604 | $58,460,436 | $96,813 |
| Shawnee Community College | Ullin | 1,824 | 137 | $13,053,051 | $95,417 |
| Highland Community College | Freeport | 1,857 | 149 | $13,894,858 | $93,530 |
| Rend Lake College | Ina | 2,489 | 473 | $42,549,851 | $89,975 |
| Black Hawk College | Moline | 5,613 | 393 | $34,898,907 | $88,822 |
| Southeastern Illinois College | Harrisburg | 1,820 | 246 | $20,865,715 | $84,924 |
| Triton College | River Grove | 11,386 | 285 | $24,049,000 | $84,486 |
| Parkland College | Champaign | 7,569 | 378 | $28,380,134 | $74,990 |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | 3,665 | 550 | $38,857,931 | $70,683 |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | 1,968 | 226 | $15,535,726 | $68,645 |
| Spoon River College | Canton | 1,560 | 289 | $18,768,999 | $65,035 |
| McHenry County College | Crystal Lake | 6,371 | 478 | $27,966,936 | $58,530 |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | 5,107 | 638 | $34,674,000 | $54,316 |
| Lewis & Clark Community College | Godfrey | 7,272 | 800 | $33,420,083 | $41,779 |
| Sauk Valley Community College | Dixon | 1,892 | 246 | $7,530,480 | $30,617 |
| Carl Sandburg College | Galesburg | 1,927 | 164 | $2,072,245 | $12,651 |
| Olney Central College | Olney | 1,198 | 216 | $900,000 | $4,174 |
| Lincoln Trail College | Robinson | 934 | 229 | $900,000 | $3,933 |
| Frontier Community College | Fairfield | 1,952 | 595 | $900,000 | $1,512 |
| Wabash Valley College | Mount Carmel | 4,330 | 1,083 | $900,000 | $831 |
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