BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Military History Schools Near Decatur, IL (2026)
Updated September 7, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Decatur, Illinois is home to about 70,368 residents. Median household income is $50,809 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 21.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Illinois, the top-earning military history-related role is Historians at a median $89,670 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Military History Schools to Decatur
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer military history programs near Decatur, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Decatur city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
Decatur is part of the Decatur, IL metro area (BLS area code 19500). 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)
Historians
$89,670
IL statewide
$101,437
History Teachers, Postsecondary
$83,940
IL statewide
$94,955
Curators
$63,060
IL statewide
$71,335
Archivists
$59,340
IL statewide
$67,127
Museum Technicians and Conservators
$56,720
IL statewide
$64,163
Editors
$76,060
IL statewide
$86,041
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
$58,550
Decatur, IL
$66,233
Writers and Authors
$68,220
IL statewide
$77,172
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.
Decatur at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
70,368
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$50,809
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
21.3%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
88.4 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Decatur-Area Cities With Military History Programs
What are the highest-paying military history roles near Decatur?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying military history-related roles near Decatur are: Historians ($89,670), History Teachers, Postsecondary ($83,940), Editors ($76,060). 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 Springfield instead of Decatur?
Springfield, IL is 38.7 miles from Decatur and has its own set of local military history programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Decatur an affordable place to study military history?
Decatur’s median household income of $50,809 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Decatur 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.
Data verified: September 7, 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.