Which colleges are most affordable for Illinois residents ? The answer may surprise you.
These rankings of the most affordable colleges for Illinois residents are based on the estimated net price for a "typical" middle class family living in the state of Illinois.
Note: Net price is the actual cost of the school paid by the student and family, after factoring in merit and grant aid from the college federal programs and work study.The net prices displayed in these rankings are College Raptor's estimates.
“Typical” middle class family values used in the Net Price estimates on this page are:
| Rank | Institution | Typical Net Price | Sticker Price | % Savings | Undergraduates | Est. Median SAT | Acceptance Rate | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Ozarks | 7900 | 47200 | 0.8331 | 1,454 | 1135 | 0.1199 | |
| 2 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38500 | 0.7358 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 3 | Cornell University | 11800 | 93100 | 0.8735 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 4 | Sul Ross State University | 12100 | 37300 | 0.6758 | 1,441 | 1000 | 0.9562 | |
| 5 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 12200 | 41900 | 0.7083 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 6 | California State University-Fresno | 12400 | 19600 | 0.3666 | 21,430 | 995 | 0.9638 | |
| 7 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.737 | |
| 8 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 12700 | 34600 | 0.6336 | 8,975 | 1065 | 0.9721 | |
| 9 | Louisiana Tech University | 13000 | 36900 | 0.6476 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 9 | West Virginia University | 13000 | 57700 | 0.7745 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 11 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 13200 | 54500 | 0.7577 | 12,498 | 1010 | 0.8896 | |
| 11 | Northern Illinois University | 13200 | 29000 | 0.5435 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 13 | Middle Tennessee State University | 13400 | 23200 | 0.4223 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 14 | North Carolina A & T State University | 13700 | 17900 | 0.2353 | 12,216 | 1040 | 0.4617 | |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 49300 | 0.7221 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 16 | Fort Valley State University | 13800 | 39100 | 0.6472 | 2,558 | 890 | 0.628 | |
| 16 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 13800 | 64500 | 0.786 | 15,375 | 1179 | 0.866 | |
| 16 | Utah State University | 13800 | 20800 | 0.3369 | 25,920 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 19 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 13900 | 25700 | 0.4586 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 14200 | 27800 | 0.4903 | 6,270 | 1180 | 0.8726 | |
| 21 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 14300 | 28100 | 0.4911 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 22 | Texas State University | 14500 | 24500 | 0.4075 | 36,268 | 1100 | 0.8908 | |
| 23 | Oklahoma Panhandle State University | 14600 | 21200 | 0.3119 | 1,071 | 985 | 0.9707 | |
| 24 | California State University-Chico | 14900 | 23500 | 0.3656 | 13,392 | 1117 | 0.9158 | |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | 14900 | 20500 | 0.2735 | 4,721 | 1110 | 0.7782 | |
| 26 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15100 | 37700 | 0.6009 | 5,241 | 1075 | 0.8613 | |
| 27 | Alabama A & M University | 16700 | 44800 | 0.6266 | 5,845 | 920 | 0.6622 | |
| 27 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 16700 | 39000 | 0.5705 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 29 | Sam Houston State University | 16800 | 23000 | 0.2697 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 30 | Arkansas State University | 17000 | 28100 | 0.3952 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.7959 | |
| 31 | University of Arkansas | 17800 | 27700 | 0.3585 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 32 | University of Rhode Island | 17900 | 46400 | 0.6137 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 33 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 34 | Unity Environmental University | 18500 | 41600 | 0.5548 | 5,655 | 0 | 0.818 | |
| 35 | Stetson University | 20300 | 79100 | 0.7437 | 2,349 | 1114 | 0.716 | |
| 36 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 20600 | 31100 | 0.3359 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 36 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20600 | 38200 | 0.4606 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 38 | South Dakota State University | 22100 | 25200 | 0.1243 | 10,728 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 39 | Buena Vista University | 22500 | 59100 | 0.6195 | 810 | 1124 | 0.7761 | |
| 40 | Murray State University | 22900 | 27600 | 0.1682 | 8,281 | 1124 | 0.8568 | |
| 41 | Montana State University | 23100 | 31500 | 0.2667 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 42 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | 23300 | 51600 | 0.5486 | 1,894 | 1055 | 0.8401 | |
| 43 | The University of Findlay | 24600 | 50600 | 0.5134 | 3,954 | 1124 | 0.8615 | |
| 44 | Washington State University | 24800 | 38700 | 0.3595 | 21,455 | 1131 | 0.8664 | |
| 45 | Wilson College | 24900 | 44400 | 0.4404 | 1,180 | 1040 | 0.9532 | |
| 46 | Dordt University | 25200 | 52500 | 0.5197 | 1,695 | 1170 | 0.7116 | |
| 47 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 25700 | 26900 | 0.0445 | 20,584 | 1134 | 0.9053 | |
| 47 | University of Minnesota-Crookston | 25700 | 28600 | 0.1009 | 2,612 | 1095 | 0.8786 | |
| 49 | Michigan State University | 25800 | 28900 | 0.1089 | 41,234 | 1223 | 0.848 | |
| 50 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 25900 | 59900 | 0.5675 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 51 | Iowa State University | 26200 | 42800 | 0.3878 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 52 | Tuskegee University | 26500 | 42100 | 0.371 | 2,400 | 1113 | 0.3143 | |
| 53 | University of Idaho | 27000 | 45200 | 0.4023 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 54 | University of Arizona | 27200 | 38500 | 0.2932 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 55 | North Dakota State University | 27800 | 30400 | 0.0835 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 56 | Mississippi State University | 28200 | 32300 | 0.1279 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 57 | Kansas State University | 29200 | 31400 | 0.0717 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 58 | Huntington University | 29500 | 44300 | 0.3342 | 1,589 | 1055 | 0.7564 | |
| 59 | Centenary University | 30800 | 63600 | 0.5156 | 951 | 965 | 0.9675 | |
| 59 | Texas A&M University-Commerce | 30800 | 36500 | 0.1561 | 9,666 | 1040 | 0.7498 | |
| 61 | Angelo State University | 31800 | 35400 | 0.1027 | 9,779 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 62 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32500 | 35100 | 0.0742 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 63 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32800 | 43100 | 0.2392 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 63 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4004 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 65 | Tarleton State University | 33300 | 33300 | 0 | 15,130 | 1095 | 0.5256 | |
| 66 | Delaware Valley University | 35300 | 83300 | 0.5762 | 1,768 | 1180 | 0.9326 | |
| 67 | Abilene Christian University | 35700 | 60700 | 0.4115 | 3,233 | 1129 | 0.6604 | |
| 67 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 35700 | 42800 | 0.1648 | 22,351 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 69 | Andrews University | 35800 | 62100 | 0.4235 | 1,312 | 1196 | 0.874 | |
| 70 | Tennessee Technological University | 36400 | 38500 | 0.0554 | 8,838 | 1159 | 0.8316 | |
| 71 | University of Connecticut | 37300 | 43900 | 0.1505 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 72 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66500 | 0.4373 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 73 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 37500 | 41600 | 0.0993 | 5,386 | 995 | 0.9092 | |
| 74 | Texas Tech University | 38700 | 41000 | 0.0561 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 75 | University of Wyoming | 40200 | 45300 | 0.1134 | 8,130 | 1159 | 0.9688 | |
| 76 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53400 | 0.1948 | 31,133 | 1456 | 0.448 | |
| 77 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45600 | 0.0548 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 78 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2745 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 79 | University of Maine | 45200 | 45200 | 0 | 9,601 | 1178 | 0.9664 | |
| 80 | University of Georgia | 45900 | 51600 | 0.1108 | 31,514 | 1336 | 0.3719 | |
| 81 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 61300 | 0.2229 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 82 | University of Mount Olive | 48300 | 50400 | 0.0424 | 1,937 | 1020 | 0.7775 | |
| 83 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0514 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 84 | University of Kentucky | 48900 | 56600 | 0.1362 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 85 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53300 | 61000 | 0.1267 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 86 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53700 | 64200 | 0.1635 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 87 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 54000 | 56100 | 0.038 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 88 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54100 | 59200 | 0.0867 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 89 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.0921 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 90 | Auburn University | 58700 | 58700 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 91 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 59100 | 61200 | 0.0349 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 92 | Clemson University | 61500 | 63700 | 0.0335 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
Join thousands of students and parents learning about finding the right college, admissions secrets, scholarships, financial aid, and more.