Best Child Development Schools Near Belleville, IL (2026)

Belleville, Illinois has 2 accredited schools offering child development programs. Belleville has a population of about 41,722. Median household income is $60,529 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 28.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, the top-earning child development-related role is Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education at a median $62,150 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


Closest Child Development Schools to Belleville

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer child development programs near Belleville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Belleville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Belleville. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score β€” U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, IL 144.5 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
90.0 BOC Score
Graduation rate 86%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $81,054
Avg net price $14,355/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 95%
  • Programs offered: 177

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Illinois State University

Normal, IL 147.7 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Accredited
71.9 BOC Score
Acceptance rate 88%
Graduation rate 65%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $62,117
Avg net price $19,398/yr
Tuition
In‑state$16,144
Out‑of‑state$28,210
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 81%
  • Programs offered: 112

Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning CommissionIPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#3

Bradley University

Peoria, IL 152.0 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
74.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $66,852
Avg net price $22,719/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 84%
  • Programs offered: 97

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, IL 214.1 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
54.0 BOC Score
Graduation rate 63%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $53,213
Avg net price $20,729/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 69%
  • Programs offered: 85

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, IL 244.8 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
65.0 BOC Score
Graduation rate 64%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $57,808
Avg net price $13,391/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 70%
  • Programs offered: 92

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

University of Illinois Chicago

Chicago, IL 262.6 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
79.6 BOC Score
Graduation rate 70%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $68,740
Avg net price $10,974/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 79%
  • Programs offered: 140

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#7

Erikson Institute

Chicago, IL 264.2 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 3

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

Rockford University

Rockford, IL 264.4 miles from Belleville
  • 4 year
38.4 BOC Score
Graduation rate 57%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $54,794
Avg net price $22,436/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 68%
  • Programs offered: 28

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Illinois schools on the Illinois child development page.


Child Development Wages Near Belleville

Belleville is part of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area (BLS area code 41180). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Illinois statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education $37,020 St. Louis, MO-IL $38,927
Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare $49,960 St. Louis, MO-IL $52,534
Child, Family, and School Social Workers $51,080 St. Louis, MO-IL $53,712
Childcare Workers $33,320 St. Louis, MO-IL $35,037
Special Education Teachers, Preschool $50,920 St. Louis, MO-IL $53,544
Social and Human Service Assistants $45,430 St. Louis, MO-IL $47,771
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education $62,150 St. Louis, MO-IL $65,352
Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other $52,720 St. Louis, MO-IL $55,436

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


Belleville at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Population 41,722 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income $60,529 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ 28.0% Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 95.1 (below U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Belleville-Area Cities With Child Development Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited child development schools are near Belleville, IL?

Our directory has 2 accredited schools offering child development programs near Belleville. The closest is Saint Louis Community College in Bridgeton, MO (29.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Maryville University of Saint Louis (29.5 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying child development roles near Belleville?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying child development-related roles near Belleville are: Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education ($62,150), Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other ($52,720), Child, Family, and School Social Workers ($51,080). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Illinois statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in O’Fallon instead of Belleville?

O’Fallon, IL is 6.8 miles from Belleville and has its own set of local child development programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Belleville an affordable place to study child development?

Belleville’s median household income of $60,529 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Belleville while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Illinois public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Learn More About Child Development Programs

Other Programs Available in Belleville

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Belleville:

Data verified: September 5, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.