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 | 6600 | 38400 | 0.8291 | 1,454 | 1135 | 0.1199 | |
| 2 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38100 | 0.7328 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 3 | California State University-Fresno | 11300 | 19600 | 0.4226 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 4 | Cornell University | 11700 | 93100 | 0.8745 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | 11800 | 20500 | 0.4246 | 4,880 | 1124 | 0.8172 | |
| 6 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11900 | 25700 | 0.5363 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 7 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 8 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 12800 | 26500 | 0.5164 | 12,507 | 1010 | 0.8897 | |
| 8 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 10 | Sul Ross State University | 12900 | 27100 | 0.5246 | 1,890 | 1020 | 0.9871 | |
| 11 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 13400 | 25700 | 0.4786 | 20,584 | 1134 | 0.9053 | |
| 12 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 12 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 34500 | 0.606 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 14 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.485 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 15 | Utah State University | 13800 | 20800 | 0.3369 | 25,706 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 16 | University of Idaho | 14100 | 25800 | 0.4543 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 17 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 14200 | 22900 | 0.381 | 6,045 | 1193 | 0.8938 | |
| 18 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 19 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14600 | 26500 | 0.4478 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 20 | Murray State University | 15000 | 27000 | 0.4443 | 7,851 | 1115 | 0.8568 | |
| 21 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15600 | 38800 | 0.5992 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8609 | |
| 21 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15600 | 31000 | 0.4964 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 23 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 15900 | 38500 | 0.5862 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 24 | Oklahoma Panhandle State University | 16300 | 16700 | 0.024 | 1,021 | 985 | 0.683 | |
| 25 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 26 | Sam Houston State University | 17000 | 27000 | 0.3705 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 27 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5397 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 28 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 18200 | 18200 | 0 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 29 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 30 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19300 | 29900 | 0.3558 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 31 | Iowa State University | 20000 | 24200 | 0.1732 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 32 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20200 | 45200 | 0.5537 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 33 | Stetson University | 20700 | 79100 | 0.7387 | 2,349 | 1179 | 0.716 | |
| 33 | University of Wyoming | 20700 | 27900 | 0.2594 | 8,130 | 1179 | 0.9688 | |
| 35 | University of Maryland-College Park | 20900 | 27300 | 0.2346 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 36 | North Dakota State University | 21000 | 25700 | 0.1847 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 37 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 38 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 39 | South Dakota State University | 22100 | 25200 | 0.1249 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 40 | California State University-Chico | 22300 | 31000 | 0.2803 | 13,792 | 1075 | 0.9272 | |
| 41 | Buena Vista University | 22500 | 59100 | 0.6197 | 1,436 | 1124 | 0.7761 | |
| 42 | Washington State University | 23800 | 38700 | 0.3863 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 43 | University of Kentucky | 23900 | 36400 | 0.3448 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 44 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 45 | Abilene Christian University | 24300 | 59000 | 0.5877 | 3,263 | 1189 | 0.6603 | |
| 46 | Unity Environmental University | 24500 | 29900 | 0.1809 | 6,507 | 0 | 0.818 | |
| 47 | Wilson College | 24900 | 44400 | 0.4406 | 1,379 | 1055 | 0.9211 | |
| 48 | Tennessee Technological University | 25000 | 33700 | 0.257 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 49 | University of Minnesota-Crookston | 25700 | 28600 | 0.1015 | 2,612 | 1095 | 0.8786 | |
| 50 | Michigan State University | 25800 | 28900 | 0.1089 | 41,234 | 1279 | 0.848 | |
| 51 | The University of Findlay | 26100 | 50600 | 0.4838 | 4,062 | 1124 | 0.8337 | |
| 52 | Dordt University | 26200 | 52500 | 0.5007 | 1,716 | 1205 | 0.6847 | |
| 53 | Tuskegee University | 26300 | 42100 | 0.3757 | 2,659 | 1090 | 0.4868 | |
| 54 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 55 | Kansas State University | 27000 | 31400 | 0.1414 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 56 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 57 | Fort Valley State University | 27300 | 45200 | 0.3959 | 2,699 | 1025 | 0.6587 | |
| 58 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 27800 | 31100 | 0.1046 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 59 | Texas State University | 28000 | 28000 | 0 | 36,236 | 1100 | 0.8932 | |
| 60 | Alabama A & M University | 28200 | 37700 | 0.2518 | 6,370 | 915 | 0.5795 | |
| 61 | Oregon State University | 28900 | 36700 | 0.2143 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 62 | Huntington University | 29400 | 44300 | 0.3362 | 1,588 | 1055 | 0.7564 | |
| 63 | East Texas A&M University | 29500 | 36500 | 0.1917 | 9,992 | 1045 | 0.9224 | |
| 64 | Montana State University | 29600 | 31900 | 0.072 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 65 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 30000 | 42200 | 0.2889 | 15,375 | 1103 | 0.866 | |
| 66 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 31500 | 41200 | 0.2357 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 67 | Angelo State University | 31700 | 35400 | 0.1031 | 9,702 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 68 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 68 | Centenary University | 32200 | 63600 | 0.4936 | 936 | 1070 | 0.8308 | |
| 70 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | 32400 | 42700 | 0.241 | 1,988 | 1080 | 0.8402 | |
| 71 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4007 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 72 | Tarleton State University | 33300 | 33300 | 0 | 15,254 | 1080 | 0.8955 | |
| 73 | Auburn University | 33700 | 34100 | 0.0117 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 74 | University of Vermont | 34500 | 66300 | 0.4788 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 75 | Andrews University | 35000 | 70100 | 0.5008 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 76 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 77 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2804 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 78 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 36500 | 41600 | 0.1237 | 5,386 | 1050 | 0.9092 | |
| 79 | University of Connecticut | 37300 | 53600 | 0.3043 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 80 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38600 | 53100 | 0.2729 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 81 | Delaware Valley University | 39200 | 66900 | 0.4141 | 1,768 | 1208 | 0.9321 | |
| 82 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 83 | Arkansas State University | 40500 | 41000 | 0.0122 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.8226 | |
| 84 | Middle Tennessee State University | 41400 | 46000 | 0.0999 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 85 | University of Mount Olive | 42300 | 50400 | 0.1617 | 1,944 | 1075 | 0.7575 | |
| 86 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 42700 | 56200 | 0.2403 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 87 | University of Florida | 43200 | 45700 | 0.0548 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 88 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0517 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 89 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53300 | 61000 | 0.127 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 90 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54000 | 59200 | 0.087 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 91 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 92 | Clemson University | 61500 | 63700 | 0.0338 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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