Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Apr. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	ESI
Entity Registrant Name	ITT EDUCATIONAL SERVICES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000922475
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		23,552,426
Entity Public Float			$ 387,786,692