Naperville, IL (population: 146,177) has fifteen 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 Naperville 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.
Naperville lies in DuPage 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 Naperville are held by occupational therapist assistants, and 0/1000 are held by occupational therapist aides.
Of the 15 occupational therapy assistant schools with a 100-mile radius of Naperville, only 5 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 Naperville |
| Lisle | IL | - | 2 | 24.7595 | 107 | 4.8 miles |
| Woodridge | IL | - | 1 | 16.3637 | 24 | 5.2 miles |
| Bolingbrook | IL | 72,318 | 0 | - | 0 | 5.5 miles |
| Downers Grove | IL | 49,475 | 1 | 0.403237 | 10 | 7.3 miles |
| Romeoville | IL | - | 1 | 29.2285 | 116 | 8.4 miles |
| Glen Ellyn | IL | - | 1 | 13.8242 | 100 | 9.2 miles |
| Lombard | IL | 43,240 | 3 | 11.1886 | 2 | 10.5 miles |
| Carol Stream | IL | 40,639 | 0 | - | 0 | 11.1 miles |
| Glendale Heights | IL | - | 1 | 27.7281 | 3 | 11.7 miles |
| Villa Park | IL | - | 2 | 31.4324 | 7 | 12.2 miles |
| Addison | IL | - | 1 | 11.9746 | 2 | 14.5 miles |
| Sugar Grove | IL | - | 1 | 14.036 | 67 | 15.2 miles |
| Joliet | IL | 153,577 | 4 | 31.5356 | 154 | 16.0 miles |
| Hanover Park | IL | - | 1 | 22.3828 | 2 | 16.6 miles |
| Orland Park | IL | 55,957 | 1 | 26.0399 | 11 | 18.6 miles |
| Schaumburg | IL | 71,386 | 3 | 11.8364 | 30 | 19.0 miles |
| Palos Heights | IL | - | 1 | 26.9291 | 61 | 19.3 miles |
| Berwyn | IL | 49,477 | 1 | 23.6937 | 4 | 19.4 miles |
| River Forest | IL | - | 2 | 45.0836 | 173 | 19.8 miles |
| River Grove | IL | - | 1 | 11.7006 | 67 | 19.8 miles |
| Oak Park | IL | 49,270 | 1 | 1.32863 | 0 | 20.6 miles |
| Elgin | IL | 111,179 | 3 | 24.5629 | 139 | 20.7 miles |
| Hoffman Estates | IL | 54,568 | 1 | 19.0736 | 10 | 20.8 miles |
| Tinley Park | IL | 60,149 | 0 | - | 0 | 22.4 miles |
| Des Plaines | IL | 57,512 | 1 | 11.0092 | 69 | 22.7 miles |
| Oak Forest | IL | - | 1 | 38.4537 | 3 | 23.6 miles |
| Mount Prospect | IL | 52,994 | 2 | 36.9644 | 21 | 24.0 miles |
| West Dundee | IL | - | 1 | 23.2604 | 5 | 24.4 miles |
| Arlington Heights | IL | 73,268 | 1 | 24.4091 | 3 | 24.4 miles |
| Chicago | IL | 2,878,948 | 79 | 18.4208 | 1,944 | 24.9 miles |