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 | United States Coast Guard Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,081 | 1294 | 0.2432 | |
| 1 | United States Naval Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,465 | 1302 | 0.0936 | |
| 3 | Princeton University | 5300 | 82400 | 0.9353 | 5,813 | 1535 | 0.0462 | |
| 4 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 5 | University of Pennsylvania | 8100 | 92900 | 0.913 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,580 | 1542 | 0.0455 | |
| 7 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8400 | 98000 | 0.9146 | 9,164 | 1494 | 0.2965 | |
| 8 | Rice University | 8600 | 89100 | 0.9038 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 8 | United States Merchant Marine Academy | 8600 | 8600 | 0 | 947 | 1230 | 0.3247 | |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9007 | 7,824 | 1528 | 0.1166 | |
| 11 | Washington University in St Louis | 9400 | 96200 | 0.9024 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 12 | Wellesley College | 10400 | 91300 | 0.8862 | 2,407 | 1500 | 0.1405 | |
| 13 | University of Notre Dame | 10600 | 86200 | 0.8775 | 8,880 | 1471 | 0.1127 | |
| 14 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 11000 | 31800 | 0.6544 | 27,082 | 1099 | 0.8459 | |
| 15 | Middlebury College | 11300 | 89900 | 0.8746 | 2,760 | 1499 | 0.1075 | |
| 16 | Brown University | 11600 | 94000 | 0.8763 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 17 | California State University-Sacramento | 11700 | 30700 | 0.6186 | 28,226 | 1015 | 0.9343 | |
| 18 | Cornell University | 11900 | 93100 | 0.8724 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 19 | Indiana State University | 12200 | 25900 | 0.5298 | 6,224 | 1140 | 0.8077 | |
| 19 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 12200 | 21000 | 0.4192 | 1,407 | 1120 | 0.7207 | |
| 21 | California State University-Fresno | 12300 | 45900 | 0.7327 | 21,430 | 995 | 0.9638 | |
| 21 | University of North Alabama | 12300 | 28200 | 0.5642 | 8,078 | 1124 | 0.7054 | |
| 23 | University of Central Florida | 12600 | 25300 | 0.5014 | 59,649 | 1280 | 0.4471 | |
| 24 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 12700 | 34600 | 0.6336 | 8,975 | 1065 | 0.9721 | |
| 25 | Louisiana Tech University | 13000 | 36900 | 0.6476 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 26 | Northern Illinois University | 13200 | 29000 | 0.5437 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 26 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 13200 | 38800 | 0.659 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 28 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 29 | Mount Holyoke College | 13400 | 89900 | 0.8512 | 2,178 | 1449 | 0.3603 | |
| 30 | Portland State University | 13500 | 43100 | 0.6876 | 15,414 | 1112 | 0.9087 | |
| 30 | University of Houston | 13500 | 23100 | 0.4157 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 32 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 49300 | 0.7221 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 33 | Utah State University | 13800 | 20800 | 0.3369 | 25,920 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 34 | University of Illinois Chicago | 14100 | 30400 | 0.5355 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 35 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 14400 | 28000 | 0.4854 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 36 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 14800 | 64500 | 0.7705 | 15,375 | 1179 | 0.866 | |
| 37 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 22,695 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 38 | University of Maine at Augusta | 15100 | 44900 | 0.6639 | 4,250 | 0 | 0.0683 | |
| 39 | Ball State University | 15500 | 22400 | 0.3085 | 15,189 | 1170 | 0.855 | |
| 40 | University of Memphis | 15600 | 29900 | 0.4779 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 41 | Lehigh University | 15700 | 89600 | 0.8252 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 42 | Keene State College | 16200 | 51200 | 0.6841 | 2,744 | 1020 | 0.9033 | |
| 43 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5555 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 43 | University of Florida | 16300 | 22500 | 0.2755 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 45 | University of Southern Mississippi | 16500 | 23100 | 0.2857 | 10,193 | 1181 | 0.9912 | |
| 46 | North Carolina State University | 16600 | 28500 | 0.4168 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 47 | Bennington College | 17300 | 89500 | 0.8068 | 797 | 1360 | 0.4453 | |
| 47 | University of Rhode Island | 17300 | 33900 | 0.4898 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 49 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 17500 | 46700 | 0.6255 | 3,525 | 1070 | 0.8175 | |
| 50 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,269 | 1499 | 0.1147 | |
| 50 | Morgan State University | 17600 | 37200 | 0.5269 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 52 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 30400 | 0.4118 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 53 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 18100 | 35300 | 0.4868 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 54 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 18200 | 41200 | 0.5589 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.737 | |
| 54 | Prairie View A & M University | 18200 | 25400 | 0.2835 | 8,836 | 970 | 0.7794 | |
| 56 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 18400 | 30600 | 0.3971 | 38,093 | 1302 | 0.7821 | |
| 57 | Connecticut College | 19400 | 115500 | 0.8318 | 1,990 | 1287 | 0.3704 | |
| 58 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19500 | 29300 | 0.3339 | 1,984 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 59 | La Roche University | 19700 | 66200 | 0.7028 | 755 | 1069 | 0.7016 | |
| 59 | Texas Tech University | 19700 | 27900 | 0.2942 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 61 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75800 | 0.7365 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 62 | University of New Orleans | 20100 | 30200 | 0.3343 | 5,476 | 1050 | 0.6677 | |
| 63 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 20600 | 34400 | 0.4011 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 63 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 20600 | 31100 | 0.3364 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 65 | North Dakota State University | 21100 | 25700 | 0.1808 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 66 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 21400 | 42700 | 0.499 | 13,179 | 1110 | 0.8883 | |
| 67 | Webb Institute | 21500 | 73700 | 0.7085 | 106 | 1475 | 0.1404 | |
| 68 | Tufts University | 21900 | 98900 | 0.7783 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 69 | Marywood University | 22200 | 79900 | 0.7224 | 1,834 | 1160 | 0.6058 | |
| 69 | South Dakota State University | 22200 | 25200 | 0.121 | 10,728 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 71 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 23000 | 27500 | 0.1618 | 17,771 | 1044 | 0.7933 | |
| 72 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23400 | 35000 | 0.3315 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 73 | Hampshire College | 23900 | 101500 | 0.7642 | 844 | 1254 | 0.7528 | |
| 74 | Judson University | 24300 | 49100 | 0.5056 | 793 | 985 | 0.6233 | |
| 74 | Norwich University | 24300 | 88400 | 0.7253 | 2,642 | 1182 | 0.7361 | |
| 76 | Miami University-Oxford | 24800 | 28400 | 0.1267 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 77 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 25000 | 56100 | 0.5541 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 78 | University of Kansas | 25300 | 39900 | 0.3651 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 79 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 25900 | 59900 | 0.5675 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 80 | Mount Mary University | 26100 | 57200 | 0.5439 | 749 | 1005 | 0.6634 | |
| 81 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 26200 | 88300 | 0.7033 | 1,794 | 1313 | 0.6399 | |
| 82 | SUNY Maritime College | 26600 | 46800 | 0.432 | 1,286 | 1215 | 0.7242 | |
| 83 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 29600 | 0.0996 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 84 | University of Idaho | 27100 | 45200 | 0.4001 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 85 | Thomas Jefferson University | 27700 | 67700 | 0.5907 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8098 | |
| 86 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6654 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 87 | Drury University | 28700 | 52900 | 0.4573 | 1,391 | 1228 | 0.5758 | |
| 88 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 33700 | 0.1337 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 89 | Kent State University at Kent | 30000 | 37500 | 0.2 | 20,841 | 1105 | 0.8634 | |
| 90 | Maine Maritime Academy | 30400 | 33400 | 0.0899 | 945 | 1180 | 0.5606 | |
| 91 | Kean University | 31600 | 39600 | 0.2021 | 11,758 | 1035 | 0.759 | |
| 92 | Ithaca College | 32200 | 72500 | 0.5557 | 4,268 | 1314 | 0.6901 | |
| 93 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32300 | 36700 | 0.1187 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 94 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32700 | 43100 | 0.2415 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 95 | Anderson University | 33200 | 52500 | 0.3678 | 3,405 | 1209 | 0.5471 | |
| 96 | Lawrence Technological University | 33300 | 82500 | 0.5961 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.7403 | |
| 96 | University of Oregon | 33300 | 38600 | 0.1384 | 20,622 | 1250 | 0.883 | |
| 98 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design | 33600 | 57400 | 0.414 | 885 | 1143 | 0.628 | |
| 99 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 34100 | 58500 | 0.4179 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 100 | Chatham University | 35100 | 63900 | 0.451 | 1,555 | 1197 | 0.6196 | |
| 101 | Delaware Valley University | 35300 | 83300 | 0.5762 | 1,768 | 1180 | 0.9326 | |
| 102 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 35700 | 42800 | 0.1647 | 22,351 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 103 | Andrews University | 35800 | 62100 | 0.4235 | 1,312 | 1196 | 0.874 | |
| 104 | North Carolina A & T State University | 36200 | 36600 | 0.0109 | 12,216 | 1040 | 0.4617 | |
| 105 | Auburn University | 36400 | 38000 | 0.0421 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 105 | Mississippi State University | 36400 | 50500 | 0.2784 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 107 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66500 | 0.4373 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 108 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,391 | 1223 | 0.7645 | |
| 109 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38800 | 53400 | 0.2735 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 110 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 39700 | 39700 | 0 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 111 | Stony Brook University | 40000 | 53000 | 0.2462 | 18,263 | 1404 | 0.4904 | |
| 112 | Temple University | 40700 | 55300 | 0.2642 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 113 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41500 | 57000 | 0.2721 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.7819 | |
| 114 | California College of the Arts | 42500 | 87600 | 0.5147 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 115 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42600 | 54700 | 0.2212 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 116 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53400 | 0.1948 | 31,133 | 1456 | 0.448 | |
| 117 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 44000 | 57100 | 0.2287 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 118 | Florida Atlantic University | 44400 | 44400 | 0 | 24,942 | 1130 | 0.6613 | |
| 119 | The University of Texas at Austin | 45300 | 45300 | 0 | 43,165 | 1348 | 0.2664 | |
| 120 | University of Georgia | 45900 | 51600 | 0.1108 | 31,514 | 1336 | 0.3719 | |
| 121 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86200 | 0.4651 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 122 | University at Buffalo | 46800 | 46800 | 0 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 123 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 61300 | 0.223 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 124 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48300 | 60000 | 0.1949 | 31,112 | 1114 | 0.8129 | |
| 125 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48700 | 51200 | 0.0498 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 126 | Drexel University | 48900 | 83800 | 0.4164 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 126 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48900 | 92100 | 0.4693 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 126 | University of Kentucky | 48900 | 56600 | 0.1355 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 129 | Woodbury University | 50700 | 69500 | 0.2704 | 825 | 1087 | 0.7287 | |
| 130 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84700 | 0.398 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 131 | University of Utah | 51700 | 53700 | 0.0382 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 132 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53400 | 53400 | 0 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 133 | University of San Francisco | 53600 | 84800 | 0.3678 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
| 134 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53800 | 64200 | 0.1619 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 135 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 54100 | 56100 | 0.0365 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 136 | University of Colorado Boulder | 55200 | 56600 | 0.0247 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 137 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 58100 | 66100 | 0.121 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 138 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.0921 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 139 | Howard University | 58300 | 76900 | 0.2418 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 140 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 59100 | 61200 | 0.0335 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 141 | Maryland Institute College of Art | 60700 | 71200 | 0.1476 | 1,324 | 1174 | 0.7729 | |
| 142 | Clemson University | 61600 | 63700 | 0.0322 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 143 | University of California-Berkeley | 70600 | 75900 | 0.0698 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 144 | The Catholic University of America | 76300 | 82500 | 0.0751 | 3,177 | 1155 | 0.8278 | |
| 145 | Otis College of Art and Design | 79200 | 79800 | 0.0075 | 1,224 | 1235 | 0.8176 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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