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 | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 5 | Fort Valley State University | 12400 | 29700 | 0.5823 | 2,699 | 1025 | 0.6587 | |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 7 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 8 | Sul Ross State University | 12900 | 27100 | 0.5246 | 1,890 | 1020 | 0.9871 | |
| 9 | East Texas A&M University | 13200 | 30000 | 0.5601 | 9,992 | 1045 | 0.9224 | |
| 10 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 11 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.4854 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 12 | Utah State University | 13800 | 20800 | 0.3369 | 25,706 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 13 | University of Idaho | 14100 | 25800 | 0.4543 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 14200 | 27800 | 0.4903 | 6,045 | 1193 | 0.8938 | |
| 15 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 16 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15100 | 37700 | 0.6009 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8609 | |
| 17 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3962 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 18 | Oklahoma Panhandle State University | 16200 | 16700 | 0.03 | 1,021 | 985 | 0.683 | |
| 19 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 20 | Sam Houston State University | 17000 | 27000 | 0.3705 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 21 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 17200 | 25700 | 0.3307 | 20,584 | 1134 | 0.9053 | |
| 22 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5379 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 23 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 18200 | 18200 | 0 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 24 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 25 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19400 | 29900 | 0.3535 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 25 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 27 | University of Arizona | 19600 | 30900 | 0.3663 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 28 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 45200 | 0.5559 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 29 | Alabama A & M University | 20300 | 28200 | 0.2798 | 6,370 | 915 | 0.5795 | |
| 30 | University of Wyoming | 20600 | 27900 | 0.264 | 8,130 | 1179 | 0.9688 | |
| 31 | Stetson University | 20700 | 79100 | 0.7387 | 2,349 | 1179 | 0.716 | |
| 31 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 33 | University of Maryland-College Park | 20900 | 27300 | 0.2346 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 34 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 35 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | 21600 | 24000 | 0.1032 | 4,880 | 1124 | 0.8172 | |
| 36 | South Dakota State University | 21900 | 25200 | 0.1301 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 37 | California State University-Chico | 22300 | 31000 | 0.2803 | 13,792 | 1075 | 0.9272 | |
| 37 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 39 | Buena Vista University | 22400 | 59100 | 0.6212 | 1,436 | 1124 | 0.7761 | |
| 40 | Murray State University | 22800 | 27600 | 0.1734 | 7,851 | 1115 | 0.8568 | |
| 41 | Abilene Christian University | 24300 | 59000 | 0.5877 | 3,263 | 1189 | 0.6603 | |
| 42 | Unity Environmental University | 24500 | 29900 | 0.1809 | 6,507 | 0 | 0.818 | |
| 43 | Wilson College | 24800 | 44400 | 0.442 | 1,379 | 1055 | 0.9211 | |
| 44 | Tennessee Technological University | 24900 | 33700 | 0.2609 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 45 | University of Minnesota-Crookston | 25600 | 28600 | 0.106 | 2,612 | 1095 | 0.8786 | |
| 46 | Iowa State University | 26000 | 42800 | 0.3912 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 47 | The University of Findlay | 26100 | 50600 | 0.4838 | 4,062 | 1124 | 0.8337 | |
| 48 | Dordt University | 26200 | 52500 | 0.5007 | 1,716 | 1205 | 0.6847 | |
| 48 | Tuskegee University | 26200 | 42100 | 0.3781 | 2,659 | 1090 | 0.4868 | |
| 50 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 51 | North Dakota State University | 27700 | 30400 | 0.0882 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 52 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 27800 | 31100 | 0.1056 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 53 | Texas State University | 28000 | 28000 | 0 | 36,236 | 1100 | 0.8932 | |
| 54 | Huntington University | 29300 | 44300 | 0.3384 | 1,588 | 1055 | 0.7564 | |
| 55 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 30000 | 42200 | 0.2889 | 15,375 | 1103 | 0.866 | |
| 56 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 30400 | 39200 | 0.2248 | 12,507 | 1010 | 0.8897 | |
| 57 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 31500 | 41200 | 0.2357 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 57 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 59 | Angelo State University | 31600 | 35400 | 0.1068 | 9,702 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 60 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32100 | 36700 | 0.1249 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 61 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 61 | Centenary University | 32200 | 63600 | 0.4936 | 936 | 1070 | 0.8308 | |
| 63 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | 32400 | 42700 | 0.241 | 1,988 | 1080 | 0.8402 | |
| 64 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4031 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 65 | Tarleton State University | 33300 | 33300 | 0 | 15,254 | 1080 | 0.8955 | |
| 66 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 33900 | 41000 | 0.1738 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 67 | University of Vermont | 34500 | 66300 | 0.4799 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 68 | Andrews University | 35000 | 70100 | 0.5008 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 69 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 70 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 71 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 36400 | 41600 | 0.1268 | 5,386 | 1050 | 0.9092 | |
| 72 | University of Connecticut | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3062 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 73 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38400 | 53100 | 0.2767 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 74 | Delaware Valley University | 39200 | 66900 | 0.4141 | 1,768 | 1208 | 0.9321 | |
| 75 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 76 | Arkansas State University | 40500 | 41000 | 0.0122 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.8226 | |
| 77 | Washington State University | 40600 | 56300 | 0.28 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 78 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 79 | Middle Tennessee State University | 41400 | 46000 | 0.0999 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 80 | University of Mount Olive | 42100 | 50400 | 0.1643 | 1,944 | 1075 | 0.7575 | |
| 81 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 82 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2752 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 83 | Michigan State University | 47200 | 56200 | 0.1601 | 41,234 | 1279 | 0.848 | |
| 84 | University of Delaware | 48400 | 61300 | 0.211 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 85 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48500 | 51200 | 0.0543 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 86 | University of Kentucky | 49000 | 58000 | 0.1559 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 87 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 88 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 52900 | 61200 | 0.1353 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 89 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 90 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 91 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 92 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.0358 | 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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