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 | 1,063 | 1319 | 0.206 | |
| 1 | United States Naval Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,474 | 1305 | 0.0927 | |
| 3 | Princeton University | 3900 | 82600 | 0.9528 | 5,916 | 1528 | 0.0442 | |
| 4 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 4900 | 40700 | 0.8787 | 35,358 | 1448 | 0.1642 | |
| 5 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,667 | 1507 | 0.0475 | |
| 6 | United States Merchant Marine Academy | 7400 | 8600 | 0.1395 | 962 | 1214 | 0.3424 | |
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,561 | 1542 | 0.0456 | |
| 8 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 9 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9006 | 7,728 | 1528 | 0.1107 | |
| 10 | Mount Holyoke College | 9500 | 89900 | 0.8946 | 2,135 | 1419 | 0.3841 | |
| 11 | Wellesley College | 9700 | 91300 | 0.8939 | 2,366 | 1499 | 0.1479 | |
| 12 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,807 | 1528 | 0.0801 | |
| 13 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38100 | 0.7328 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 | |
| 14 | Washington University in St Louis | 10700 | 102300 | 0.8957 | 8,153 | 1512 | 0.1192 | |
| 15 | University of Notre Dame | 10800 | 86200 | 0.8752 | 8,950 | 1497 | 0.0938 | |
| 16 | California State University-Fresno | 11400 | 19600 | 0.4221 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 16 | Indiana State University | 11400 | 25900 | 0.5607 | 6,352 | 1015 | 0.9157 | |
| 18 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,138 | 1528 | 0.0838 | |
| 19 | California State University-Sacramento | 11700 | 30700 | 0.6186 | 28,619 | 1015 | 0.9357 | |
| 20 | Florida Atlantic University | 11800 | 25800 | 0.5433 | 25,626 | 1150 | 0.5497 | |
| 21 | University of Central Florida | 12000 | 25300 | 0.525 | 60,083 | 1289 | 0.428 | |
| 21 | University of Pennsylvania | 12000 | 92900 | 0.8708 | 9,989 | 1535 | 0.0492 | |
| 23 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,421 | 1054 | 0.9444 | |
| 24 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0 | 25,312 | 1134 | 0.7395 | |
| 25 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.485 | 32,824 | 1348 | 0.3425 | |
| 25 | University of Houston | 13700 | 22000 | 0.3766 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 61700 | 0.7784 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 28 | Utah State University | 13800 | 20800 | 0.3369 | 26,629 | 1168 | 0.9212 | |
| 29 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,951 | 1500 | 0.0634 | |
| 29 | Middlebury College | 13900 | 89900 | 0.8454 | 2,640 | 1499 | 0.1277 | |
| 31 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 12,118 | 1070 | 0.7164 | |
| 32 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14500 | 26500 | 0.4515 | 23,003 | 1164 | 0.7367 | |
| 33 | University of Maine at Augusta | 15200 | 30600 | 0.5036 | 4,313 | 0 | 0 | |
| 34 | Lehigh University | 15500 | 89600 | 0.8275 | 5,986 | 1436 | 0.2896 | |
| 35 | Ball State University | 15700 | 22400 | 0.2995 | 15,950 | 1185 | 0.8625 | |
| 36 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 15800 | 38500 | 0.5888 | 38,572 | 1455 | 0.3659 | |
| 37 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 16000 | 22300 | 0.2822 | 26,213 | 1209 | 0.7778 | |
| 38 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 16900 | 26300 | 0.3574 | 19,787 | 1197 | 0.8807 | |
| 39 | Bennington College | 17100 | 89500 | 0.8095 | 708 | 1402 | 0.3721 | |
| 39 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 17100 | 29500 | 0.4201 | 3,758 | 0 | 0.7236 | |
| 41 | Keene State College | 17500 | 41400 | 0.5775 | 2,640 | 1064 | 0.8982 | |
| 42 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,223 | 1499 | 0.1005 | |
| 42 | Prairie View A & M University | 17600 | 25400 | 0.3071 | 9,022 | 960 | 0.7836 | |
| 44 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 45 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 18200 | 18200 | 0 | 35,248 | 1289 | 0.6939 | |
| 46 | Texas Tech University | 18300 | 27100 | 0.3253 | 34,021 | 1195 | 0.6906 | |
| 47 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 18400 | 30600 | 0.3971 | 38,463 | 1324 | 0.7589 | |
| 48 | Connecticut College | 19200 | 95300 | 0.7982 | 1,953 | 1284 | 0.3923 | |
| 48 | University of New Orleans | 19200 | 27200 | 0.2941 | 5,419 | 1040 | 0.7431 | |
| 48 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 51 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19300 | 29900 | 0.3538 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 52 | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi | 19500 | 30400 | 0.3584 | 2,881 | 1040 | 0.89 | |
| 53 | Norwich University | 19600 | 73800 | 0.7342 | 2,626 | 1186 | 0.7444 | |
| 54 | Olivet Nazarene University | 19700 | 79300 | 0.7523 | 2,704 | 1104 | 0.5586 | |
| 54 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19700 | 78600 | 0.7492 | 17,848 | 1470 | 0.1565 | |
| 56 | University of Colorado Boulder | 19800 | 31900 | 0.3784 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7809 | |
| 56 | University of Illinois Chicago | 19800 | 30100 | 0.3427 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 58 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 59 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 45200 | 0.5559 | 31,536 | 1366 | 0.5457 | |
| 60 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 20300 | 29300 | 0.3067 | 1,984 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 61 | University of Maryland-College Park | 20900 | 27300 | 0.2346 | 31,875 | 1456 | 0.4503 | |
| 62 | University of Memphis | 21000 | 29600 | 0.2909 | 15,538 | 1080 | 0.7878 | |
| 63 | Louisiana Tech University | 21300 | 26100 | 0.1841 | 11,071 | 1189 | 0.9073 | |
| 64 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 21400 | 35300 | 0.3934 | 5,986 | 1110 | 0.8916 | |
| 64 | Webb Institute | 21400 | 89600 | 0.7608 | 104 | 1465 | 0.2484 | |
| 66 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,031 | 1497 | 0.1082 | |
| 67 | La Roche University | 21700 | 72600 | 0.7014 | 1,972 | 990 | 0.6638 | |
| 68 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 | |
| 69 | South Dakota State University | 21900 | 25200 | 0.1305 | 10,883 | 1115 | 0.9618 | |
| 70 | Mount Mary University | 22300 | 57200 | 0.6102 | 616 | 1069 | 0.831 | |
| 71 | University of Southern Mississippi | 23100 | 23100 | 0 | 10,371 | 1181 | 0.926 | |
| 72 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23200 | 34500 | 0.3279 | 8,513 | 1160 | 0.9261 | |
| 72 | Drury University | 23200 | 52900 | 0.5613 | 1,453 | 1209 | 0.6575 | |
| 74 | University of Kentucky | 23700 | 36400 | 0.3479 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 75 | Judson University | 24100 | 49100 | 0.5087 | 697 | 1010 | 0.8905 | |
| 75 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 24,019 | 1404 | 0.5989 | |
| 77 | University of Kansas | 24200 | 37600 | 0.3583 | 22,544 | 1176 | 0.9258 | |
| 78 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,405 | 1284 | 0.74 | |
| 79 | University of Arizona | 24400 | 38100 | 0.3597 | 43,294 | 1186 | 0.8351 | |
| 80 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 21,192 | 1309 | 0.8059 | |
| 81 | Temple University | 24800 | 36100 | 0.3132 | 21,031 | 1172 | 0.8622 | |
| 82 | Kent State University at Kent | 25200 | 28400 | 0.1157 | 21,144 | 1104 | 0.7603 | |
| 82 | Marywood University | 25200 | 67700 | 0.6275 | 1,936 | 1144 | 0.7878 | |
| 84 | Iowa State University | 26000 | 42800 | 0.3914 | 26,346 | 1212 | 0.8793 | |
| 85 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,616 | 1410 | 0.4818 | |
| 86 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 26300 | 36800 | 0.2855 | 15,273 | 1115 | 0.8089 | |
| 87 | Georgia Southern University | 26500 | 26800 | 0.0112 | 25,595 | 1045 | 0.695 | |
| 88 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.0793 | 29,252 | 1179 | 0.7388 | |
| 89 | University of Idaho | 26700 | 45200 | 0.4089 | 9,656 | 1104 | 0.7476 | |
| 89 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 26700 | 31800 | 0.1605 | 27,963 | 1090 | 0.8395 | |
| 91 | University of North Alabama | 27400 | 37300 | 0.2655 | 8,078 | 1124 | 0.7054 | |
| 92 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 27500 | 43800 | 0.3725 | 18,028 | 1059 | 0.7996 | |
| 93 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 27600 | 88300 | 0.6873 | 1,862 | 1296 | 0.667 | |
| 94 | North Dakota State University | 27700 | 30400 | 0.0886 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 95 | Syracuse University | 27900 | 83100 | 0.6641 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 96 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 29800 | 42200 | 0.2937 | 15,735 | 1069 | 0.8797 | |
| 97 | Mississippi State University | 30100 | 34400 | 0.1246 | 19,093 | 1205 | 0.8363 | |
| 98 | Ithaca College | 30800 | 72500 | 0.575 | 4,205 | 1328 | 0.7015 | |
| 99 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 30900 | 43100 | 0.2833 | 22,313 | 1341 | 0.2996 | |
| 100 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 31100 | 40200 | 0.2265 | 1,511 | 1120 | 0.9202 | |
| 101 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 21,028 | 1450 | 0.1334 | |
| 102 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 103 | SUNY Maritime College | 31700 | 41600 | 0.2378 | 1,401 | 1164 | 0.785 | |
| 104 | Lawrence Technological University | 32200 | 71900 | 0.552 | 2,661 | 1149 | 0.8101 | |
| 105 | Portland State University | 32300 | 43100 | 0.2502 | 14,932 | 1174 | 0.8586 | |
| 105 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 107 | Morgan State University | 32500 | 41900 | 0.2245 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 108 | Samford University | 32600 | 64600 | 0.4955 | 4,210 | 1199 | 0.8236 | |
| 108 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 32600 | 34500 | 0.0551 | 10,396 | 1125 | 0.7162 | |
| 110 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4033 | 29,340 | 1374 | 0.3954 | |
| 111 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design | 33700 | 57400 | 0.4129 | 838 | 1143 | 0.6054 | |
| 112 | Thomas Jefferson University | 34000 | 68100 | 0.5008 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8098 | |
| 113 | Chatham University | 34900 | 63300 | 0.449 | 1,555 | 1197 | 0.6196 | |
| 114 | Delaware Valley University | 36000 | 66900 | 0.462 | 1,680 | 1189 | 0.9268 | |
| 115 | University of Connecticut | 37100 | 53600 | 0.3081 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 116 | Andrews University | 37200 | 70100 | 0.4694 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 117 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,404 | 1241 | 0.9812 | |
| 118 | Maine Maritime Academy | 38400 | 49800 | 0.2287 | 977 | 1189 | 0.9615 | |
| 119 | University of San Francisco | 39300 | 84800 | 0.5364 | 5,171 | 1333 | 0.7176 | |
| 120 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 40300 | 44100 | 0.0862 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 121 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,534 | 1399 | 0.0941 | |
| 122 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 48500 | 0.1628 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 123 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41200 | 57000 | 0.2774 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.7819 | |
| 124 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41600 | 55200 | 0.2463 | 21,388 | 1369 | 0.5945 | |
| 125 | Anderson University | 42300 | 53600 | 0.2108 | 3,724 | 1209 | 0.5491 | |
| 126 | Kean University | 42400 | 48300 | 0.1222 | 11,932 | 1040 | 0.7811 | |
| 127 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 128 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46200 | 86300 | 0.4644 | 5,833 | 1440 | 0.6725 | |
| 129 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2124 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 130 | Drexel University | 47700 | 83900 | 0.4315 | 12,318 | 1354 | 0.699 | |
| 130 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 61300 | 0.2231 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 132 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 133 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48300 | 91400 | 0.4717 | 6,839 | 1469 | 0.1446 | |
| 134 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48500 | 51200 | 0.0544 | 43,633 | 1342 | 0.4343 | |
| 135 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49700 | 59400 | 0.1633 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 136 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 50500 | 58800 | 0.1411 | 25,054 | 1225 | 0.7762 | |
| 137 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 34,447 | 1273 | 0.8804 | |
| 138 | Howard University | 55000 | 66500 | 0.173 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 139 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 55900 | 63800 | 0.1237 | 42,565 | 1339 | 0.7887 | |
| 140 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 58100 | 63200 | 0.0806 | 40,996 | 1399 | 0.4175 | |
| 141 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 142 | Maryland Institute College of Art | 58400 | 71200 | 0.1798 | 1,192 | 1232 | 0.7681 | |
| 143 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 144 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.036 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 145 | Otis College of Art and Design | 66500 | 79800 | 0.1666 | 1,188 | 1335 | 0.8034 | |
| 146 | University of Oregon | 69000 | 71300 | 0.0321 | 20,710 | 1193 | 0.8742 | |
| 147 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,513 | 1407 | 0.1145 | |
| 148 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,294 | 1229 | 0.7328 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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