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Best Illinois Religiously Affiliated Private Schools (2026)

For the 2026 school year, there are 885 religiously affiliated private schools serving 189,517 students in Illinois (54% of all schools).
The average tuition cost is $9,209, which is lower than the Illinois private school average tuition cost of $12,493.
The most common religiously affiliated schools are Catholic (48% of schools), Christian (16% of schools) and Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (13% of schools).

Top-Ranked Illinois Private Schools by Religious Affiliation (2026)

Religious Affiliation
# Schools
# Students
% Minority
7
236
-
46
4,946
30%
4
509
47%
429
127,648
31%
139
19,431
32%
1
43
100%
2
113
19%
20
4,894
67%
37
6,304
9%
5
260
3%
3
161
53%
14
3,054
25%
13
634
33%

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