Chicago Heights, IL has ten occupational therapy assistant schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. University of Illinois at Chicago, the highest ranked school in this group with an occupational therapy assistant program, has a total student population of 26,840. It is the 161st highest ranked school in the USA and the 5th highest in the state of Illinois (#1 is Northwestern University).
Occupational Therapy Assistant students from Chicago Heights schools who go on to become occupational therapy assistants, medical assistants, medical office assistants, registered occupational therapists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 26,680 people working as occupational therapist assistants alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $50,830. Also, Occupational therapist aides make on average $28,890 per year and there are about 8,040 of them employed in the US today. In fact, in the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet Metropolitan area alone, there are 390 employed occupational therapist aides earning an average salary of $34,130. Occupational therapist assistants in this area earn $51,820/yr and there are 820 employed.
Chicago Heights 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 0 out of every 1000 jobs in Chicago Heights are held by occupational therapist assistants, and 0/1000 are held by occupational therapist aides.
Of the 10 occupational therapy assistant schools with a 100-mile radius of Chicago Heights, only 2 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Brown Mackie College-South Bend comes out as the most expensive ($18,433/yr) for occupational therapy assistant students, with City Colleges of Chicago-Wilbur Wright College as the lowest, reported at only $5,604/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Chicago Heights |
| University Park | IL | - | 2 | 26.7847 | 216 | 5.2 miles |
| South Holland | IL | - | 1 | 10.1002 | 61 | 6.7 miles |
| Oak Forest | IL | - | 1 | 38.4537 | 3 | 8.7 miles |
| Calumet City | IL | - | 1 | 19.3758 | 27 | 9.4 miles |
| Tinley Park | IL | 60,149 | 0 | - | 0 | 9.6 miles |
| Blue Island | IL | - | 2 | 31.6013 | 8 | 10.7 miles |
| Hammond | IN | 75,871 | 5 | 27.9021 | 191 | 10.9 miles |
| Orland Park | IL | 55,957 | 1 | 26.0399 | 11 | 13.2 miles |
| Palos Heights | IL | - | 1 | 26.9291 | 61 | 14.0 miles |
| Merrillville | IN | - | 6 | 21.0265 | 49 | 15.8 miles |
| Gary | IN | 94,891 | 2 | 28.0598 | 98 | 16.6 miles |
| Hobart | IN | - | 1 | 7.66406 | 4 | 19.8 miles |
| Chicago | IL | 2,878,948 | 79 | 18.4208 | 1,944 | 23.2 miles |
| Berwyn | IL | 49,477 | 1 | 23.6937 | 4 | 24.4 miles |
| Joliet | IL | 153,577 | 4 | 31.5356 | 154 | 25.1 miles |
| Romeoville | IL | - | 1 | 29.2285 | 116 | 25.4 miles |
| Bolingbrook | IL | 72,318 | 0 | - | 0 | 26.6 miles |
| Bourbonnais | IL | - | 1 | 28.6851 | 105 | 26.8 miles |
| Woodridge | IL | - | 1 | 16.3637 | 24 | 27.2 miles |
| Oak Park | IL | 49,270 | 1 | 1.32863 | 0 | 27.7 miles |
| Downers Grove | IL | 49,475 | 1 | 0.403237 | 10 | 28.4 miles |
| River Forest | IL | - | 2 | 45.0836 | 173 | 28.6 miles |
| Kankakee | IL | - | 1 | 13.4446 | 50 | 29.2 miles |
| Valparaiso | IN | - | 2 | 49.1256 | 121 | 29.9 miles |
| Lisle | IL | - | 2 | 24.7595 | 107 | 30.5 miles |
| River Grove | IL | - | 1 | 11.7006 | 67 | 30.8 miles |
| Lombard | IL | 43,240 | 3 | 11.1886 | 2 | 31.7 miles |
| Naperville | IL | 146,177 | 1 | 64.8467 | 83 | 31.9 miles |
| Villa Park | IL | - | 2 | 31.4324 | 7 | 32.2 miles |
| Glen Ellyn | IL | - | 1 | 13.8242 | 100 | 34.0 miles |