Chicago, IL (population: 2,878,948) has eight event management schools within a 500-mile radius of its city center. University of Wisconsin-Madison, the highest ranked school in this group with an event management program, has a total student population of 41,654. It is the 23rd highest ranked school in the USA and the highest in the state of Wisconsin.
Event Management students from Chicago schools who go on to become event managers, event planners, management specialists, organizational management specialists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 6,116,380 people working as management employees alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $102,900. Also, Emergency management specialists make on average $56,900 per year and there are about 13,060 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan area alone, there are 130 employed emergency management specialists earning an average salary of $62,370. Management employees in this area earn $108,870/yr and there are 203,380 employed.
Chicago lies in Cook county, which is one of the 49 counties in Illinois. Overall, the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan area has 3,669,800 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1% unemployment rate, $24/hr average worker wage, and a $48,910 average annual salary. Thus, about 55 out of every 1000 jobs in Chicago are held by management employees, and 0/1000 are held by emergency management specialists.
Of the 8 event management schools with a 500-mile radius of Chicago, only 6 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Saint Louis University-Main Campus comes out as the most expensive ($31,255/yr) for event management students, with Washtenaw Community College as the lowest, reported at only $6,422/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Chicago |
| Berwyn | IL | 49,477 | 1 | 23.6937 | 4 | 5.7 miles |
| Oak Park | IL | 49,270 | 1 | 1.32863 | 0 | 6.6 miles |
| River Forest | IL | - | 2 | 45.0836 | 173 | 8.0 miles |
| River Grove | IL | - | 1 | 11.7006 | 67 | 10.0 miles |
| Blue Island | IL | - | 2 | 31.6013 | 8 | 12.6 miles |
| Palos Heights | IL | - | 1 | 26.9291 | 61 | 13.3 miles |
| Skokie | IL | 66,692 | 6 | 22.9614 | 40 | 14.2 miles |
| Evanston | IL | 78,672 | 5 | 24.133 | 202 | 14.5 miles |
| Villa Park | IL | - | 2 | 31.4324 | 7 | 16.3 miles |
| Oak Forest | IL | - | 1 | 38.4537 | 3 | 16.7 miles |
| South Holland | IL | - | 1 | 10.1002 | 61 | 17.0 miles |
| Addison | IL | - | 1 | 11.9746 | 2 | 17.1 miles |
| Lombard | IL | 43,240 | 3 | 11.1886 | 2 | 17.1 miles |
| Des Plaines | IL | 57,512 | 1 | 11.0092 | 69 | 17.3 miles |
| Calumet City | IL | - | 1 | 19.3758 | 27 | 17.4 miles |
| Downers Grove | IL | 49,475 | 1 | 0.403237 | 10 | 17.7 miles |
| Glenview | IL | 46,461 | 0 | - | 0 | 18.1 miles |
| Hammond | IN | 75,871 | 5 | 27.9021 | 191 | 18.1 miles |
| Orland Park | IL | 55,957 | 1 | 26.0399 | 11 | 18.2 miles |
| Tinley Park | IL | 60,149 | 0 | - | 0 | 19.7 miles |
| Glen Ellyn | IL | - | 1 | 13.8242 | 100 | 20.1 miles |
| Woodridge | IL | - | 1 | 16.3637 | 24 | 20.2 miles |
| Lisle | IL | - | 2 | 24.7595 | 107 | 20.5 miles |
| Mount Prospect | IL | 52,994 | 2 | 36.9644 | 21 | 20.8 miles |
| Glendale Heights | IL | - | 1 | 27.7281 | 3 | 21.3 miles |
| Bolingbrook | IL | 72,318 | 0 | - | 0 | 22.8 miles |
| Arlington Heights | IL | 73,268 | 1 | 24.4091 | 3 | 23.2 miles |
| Chicago Heights | IL | - | 1 | 9.7858 | 55 | 23.2 miles |
| Carol Stream | IL | 40,639 | 0 | - | 0 | 23.8 miles |
| Gary | IN | 94,891 | 2 | 28.0598 | 98 | 24.2 miles |