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 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 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 | 9300 | 102300 | 0.909 | 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 | Utah State University | 11500 | 28500 | 0.5964 | 25,920 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 17 | Brown University | 11600 | 94000 | 0.8763 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 18 | Cornell University | 11800 | 93100 | 0.8735 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 19 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 20 | Indiana State University | 12200 | 25900 | 0.5298 | 6,224 | 1140 | 0.8077 | |
| 21 | California State University-Fresno | 12300 | 45900 | 0.7327 | 21,430 | 995 | 0.9638 | |
| 22 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.737 | |
| 23 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 12700 | 34600 | 0.6336 | 8,975 | 1065 | 0.9721 | |
| 24 | Northern Illinois University | 13200 | 29000 | 0.5435 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 24 | University of North Alabama | 13200 | 30800 | 0.5707 | 8,078 | 1124 | 0.7054 | |
| 26 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 27 | Mount Holyoke College | 13400 | 89900 | 0.8512 | 2,178 | 1449 | 0.3603 | |
| 27 | Portland State University | 13400 | 26100 | 0.4849 | 15,414 | 1112 | 0.9087 | |
| 29 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 34500 | 0.6058 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 30 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 51900 | 0.7365 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 31 | University of Illinois Chicago | 14000 | 30400 | 0.5387 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 32 | Louisiana Tech University | 14300 | 36900 | 0.6124 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 32 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 14300 | 28100 | 0.4911 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 34 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14400 | 26500 | 0.4563 | 22,351 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 35 | University of Georgia | 14800 | 26600 | 0.4446 | 31,514 | 1336 | 0.3719 | |
| 35 | 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 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 41 | University of Memphis | 15700 | 29900 | 0.4745 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 42 | Keene State College | 16200 | 51200 | 0.684 | 2,744 | 1020 | 0.9033 | |
| 43 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5555 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 44 | University of Kansas | 16600 | 37100 | 0.5511 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 45 | California State University-Sacramento | 16700 | 27600 | 0.3952 | 28,226 | 1015 | 0.9343 | |
| 46 | Bennington College | 17200 | 89500 | 0.8078 | 797 | 1360 | 0.4453 | |
| 47 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 17500 | 46700 | 0.6255 | 3,525 | 1070 | 0.8175 | |
| 48 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,269 | 1499 | 0.1147 | |
| 49 | Prairie View A & M University | 17700 | 39600 | 0.5528 | 8,836 | 970 | 0.7794 | |
| 50 | University of Arkansas | 17800 | 27700 | 0.3585 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 51 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 30400 | 0.4118 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 51 | University of Rhode Island | 17900 | 46400 | 0.6137 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 53 | Morgan State University | 18000 | 19700 | 0.0864 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 54 | University of Colorado Boulder | 18300 | 30600 | 0.4019 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 55 | Connecticut College | 19300 | 115500 | 0.8326 | 1,990 | 1287 | 0.3704 | |
| 56 | The University of Texas at Austin | 19400 | 27600 | 0.2966 | 43,165 | 1348 | 0.2664 | |
| 57 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19600 | 78700 | 0.751 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 58 | La Roche University | 19700 | 66200 | 0.7028 | 755 | 1069 | 0.7016 | |
| 59 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75800 | 0.7365 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 60 | University of New Orleans | 20100 | 30200 | 0.3343 | 5,476 | 1050 | 0.6677 | |
| 61 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20200 | 45200 | 0.5537 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 62 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 20600 | 34400 | 0.4011 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 62 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 20600 | 31100 | 0.3359 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 64 | North Dakota State University | 21000 | 25700 | 0.1841 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 65 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 21200 | 53000 | 0.6006 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 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 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 69 | Tufts University | 21900 | 98900 | 0.7783 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 70 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 22100 | 59900 | 0.6309 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 70 | South Dakota State University | 22100 | 25200 | 0.1243 | 10,728 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 72 | Marywood University | 22200 | 79900 | 0.7224 | 1,834 | 1160 | 0.6058 | |
| 73 | SUNY Maritime College | 22300 | 46800 | 0.524 | 1,286 | 1215 | 0.7242 | |
| 74 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 23200 | 40000 | 0.4199 | 1,984 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 75 | Hampshire College | 23700 | 101500 | 0.7662 | 844 | 1254 | 0.7528 | |
| 76 | Judson University | 24200 | 49100 | 0.5067 | 793 | 985 | 0.6233 | |
| 76 | University at Buffalo | 24200 | 34000 | 0.2883 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 78 | Norwich University | 24300 | 88400 | 0.7253 | 2,642 | 1182 | 0.7361 | |
| 79 | University of Southern Mississippi | 24400 | 26500 | 0.0792 | 10,193 | 1181 | 0.9912 | |
| 80 | Miami University-Oxford | 24800 | 28400 | 0.1267 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 81 | Temple University | 24900 | 36400 | 0.3162 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 82 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 25000 | 56100 | 0.5541 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 83 | Drury University | 25200 | 52900 | 0.5235 | 1,391 | 1228 | 0.5758 | |
| 84 | Mount Mary University | 26000 | 57200 | 0.5448 | 749 | 1005 | 0.6634 | |
| 85 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 26100 | 88300 | 0.7044 | 1,794 | 1313 | 0.6399 | |
| 86 | University of Idaho | 27000 | 45200 | 0.4023 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 87 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 27500 | 43800 | 0.3725 | 17,771 | 1044 | 0.7933 | |
| 88 | Thomas Jefferson University | 27600 | 67700 | 0.5922 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8098 | |
| 89 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6654 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 90 | University of Utah | 28900 | 32000 | 0.098 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 91 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 33700 | 0.1337 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 92 | Kent State University at Kent | 30000 | 37500 | 0.2 | 20,841 | 1105 | 0.8634 | |
| 93 | Kean University | 31500 | 39600 | 0.2046 | 11,758 | 1035 | 0.759 | |
| 94 | Ithaca College | 32100 | 72500 | 0.5571 | 4,268 | 1314 | 0.6901 | |
| 95 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32200 | 36700 | 0.121 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 96 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 32600 | 40200 | 0.1892 | 1,407 | 1120 | 0.7207 | |
| 97 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32800 | 43100 | 0.2392 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 97 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4004 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 99 | Anderson University | 33200 | 52500 | 0.3678 | 3,405 | 1209 | 0.5471 | |
| 99 | University of Oregon | 33200 | 38600 | 0.1406 | 20,622 | 1250 | 0.883 | |
| 101 | Lawrence Technological University | 33300 | 82500 | 0.5961 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.7403 | |
| 102 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design | 33600 | 57400 | 0.4137 | 885 | 1143 | 0.628 | |
| 103 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 34100 | 58500 | 0.4177 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 104 | Chatham University | 35100 | 63900 | 0.451 | 1,555 | 1197 | 0.6196 | |
| 105 | Delaware Valley University | 35300 | 83300 | 0.5762 | 1,768 | 1180 | 0.9326 | |
| 106 | Andrews University | 35800 | 62100 | 0.4235 | 1,312 | 1196 | 0.874 | |
| 107 | North Carolina A & T State University | 36200 | 36600 | 0.0109 | 12,216 | 1040 | 0.4617 | |
| 108 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2801 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 109 | Auburn University | 36400 | 38000 | 0.0421 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 110 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,391 | 1223 | 0.7645 | |
| 111 | Texas Tech University | 38700 | 41000 | 0.0561 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 111 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38700 | 53400 | 0.2754 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 113 | University of Central Florida | 39600 | 39600 | 0 | 59,649 | 1280 | 0.4471 | |
| 114 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 39700 | 39700 | 0 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 115 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2478 | 18,263 | 1404 | 0.4904 | |
| 116 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41400 | 57000 | 0.2738 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.7819 | |
| 117 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 41500 | 47200 | 0.1206 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 118 | California College of the Arts | 42500 | 87600 | 0.5147 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 119 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42600 | 54700 | 0.2212 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 120 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53400 | 0.1948 | 31,133 | 1456 | 0.448 | |
| 121 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45600 | 0.0548 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 122 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2302 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 123 | Florida Atlantic University | 44400 | 44400 | 0 | 24,942 | 1130 | 0.6613 | |
| 124 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86200 | 0.4651 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 125 | Maine Maritime Academy | 47200 | 49800 | 0.0522 | 945 | 1180 | 0.5606 | |
| 126 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48300 | 60000 | 0.1949 | 31,112 | 1114 | 0.8129 | |
| 127 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0514 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 128 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48700 | 92100 | 0.4715 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 129 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83800 | 0.4176 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 130 | University of Kentucky | 48900 | 56600 | 0.1357 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 131 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84700 | 0.398 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 132 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53400 | 53400 | 0 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 133 | Howard University | 53500 | 76900 | 0.3042 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 134 | University of San Francisco | 53600 | 84800 | 0.3678 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
| 135 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53700 | 64200 | 0.1635 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 136 | Woodbury University | 53800 | 69500 | 0.2258 | 825 | 1087 | 0.7287 | |
| 137 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 54000 | 56100 | 0.038 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 138 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 58100 | 66100 | 0.121 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 139 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.0921 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 140 | Maryland Institute College of Art | 60700 | 71200 | 0.1476 | 1,324 | 1174 | 0.7729 | |
| 141 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 60800 | 63000 | 0.0339 | 38,093 | 1302 | 0.7821 | |
| 142 | Clemson University | 61500 | 63700 | 0.0335 | 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 | 76400 | 82500 | 0.0739 | 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.
Join thousands of students and parents learning about finding the right college, admissions secrets, scholarships, financial aid, and more.