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 | 1,108 | 1334 | 0.2244 | |
| 1 | United States Naval Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,474 | 1305 | 0.0927 | |
| 3 | Princeton University | 3800 | 82600 | 0.954 | 5,813 | 1535 | 0.0462 | |
| 4 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 5 | United States Merchant Marine Academy | 7400 | 8600 | 0.1395 | 962 | 1214 | 0.3424 | |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,535 | 1542 | 0.0455 | |
| 7 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0399 | |
| 8 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9007 | 7,377 | 1528 | 0.1166 | |
| 9 | University of Pennsylvania | 9200 | 92900 | 0.9009 | 11,478 | 1536 | 0.054 | |
| 9 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 102300 | 0.9104 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 11 | Wellesley College | 9500 | 91300 | 0.8961 | 2,407 | 1500 | 0.1405 | |
| 12 | Utah State University | 9700 | 26700 | 0.6361 | 25,706 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 13 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 14 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 10000 | 21000 | 0.524 | 1,402 | 1120 | 0.947 | |
| 15 | University of Notre Dame | 10700 | 86200 | 0.8763 | 8,880 | 1500 | 0.1127 | |
| 16 | Indiana State University | 11400 | 25900 | 0.5607 | 6,224 | 1020 | 0.8077 | |
| 17 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 18 | University of Central Florida | 12000 | 25300 | 0.525 | 59,552 | 1280 | 0.4011 | |
| 18 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 18 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 12000 | 38800 | 0.6912 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 21 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 22 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 23 | University of North Alabama | 13000 | 28200 | 0.5393 | 7,662 | 1140 | 0.8731 | |
| 24 | Mount Holyoke College | 13400 | 89900 | 0.8512 | 2,178 | 1449 | 0.3603 | |
| 25 | University of Delaware | 13500 | 34500 | 0.6079 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 26 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 27 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 47300 | 0.7099 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 28 | Middlebury College | 13800 | 89900 | 0.8466 | 2,760 | 1499 | 0.1075 | |
| 29 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 30 | University of Idaho | 14100 | 25800 | 0.4543 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 31 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 32 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14600 | 26500 | 0.4513 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 33 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 17,432 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 34 | Lehigh University | 15400 | 89600 | 0.8286 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 35 | University of Kansas | 16000 | 34900 | 0.5414 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 36 | California State University-Sacramento | 16200 | 27600 | 0.4134 | 28,820 | 1035 | 0.9399 | |
| 37 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5554 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 38 | Connecticut College | 16600 | 95300 | 0.8254 | 1,990 | 1421 | 0.3704 | |
| 39 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 16900 | 26300 | 0.3571 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 40 | Bennington College | 17100 | 89500 | 0.8094 | 797 | 1370 | 0.4453 | |
| 41 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17500 | 29900 | 0.4169 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 41 | University of Memphis | 17500 | 26400 | 0.3378 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 43 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,487 | 1499 | 0.0884 | |
| 43 | Keene State College | 17600 | 32100 | 0.4523 | 2,725 | 1085 | 0.9033 | |
| 43 | Prairie View A & M University | 17600 | 25400 | 0.3071 | 8,877 | 975 | 0.7931 | |
| 46 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 47 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 17800 | 38700 | 0.5395 | 3,781 | 1100 | 0.7568 | |
| 48 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5379 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 49 | Norwich University | 19600 | 73800 | 0.7342 | 2,626 | 1186 | 0.7444 | |
| 50 | University of New Orleans | 19900 | 30600 | 0.3502 | 5,419 | 1040 | 0.7431 | |
| 51 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 52 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 45200 | 0.5559 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 53 | Hampshire College | 20500 | 83900 | 0.756 | 844 | 1254 | 0.7528 | |
| 54 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 55 | University of Maryland-College Park | 20900 | 27300 | 0.2346 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 56 | SUNY Maritime College | 21100 | 32000 | 0.3408 | 1,285 | 1215 | 0.7241 | |
| 57 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 57 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 21400 | 35300 | 0.3934 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 57 | Webb Institute | 21400 | 89600 | 0.7608 | 106 | 1475 | 0.1404 | |
| 60 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 61 | La Roche University | 21900 | 72600 | 0.6986 | 1,828 | 1059 | 0.7576 | |
| 61 | South Dakota State University | 21900 | 25200 | 0.1301 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 63 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 64 | University of Kentucky | 23700 | 36400 | 0.348 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 65 | Judson University | 24100 | 49100 | 0.5086 | 718 | 1015 | 0.4759 | |
| 66 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 67 | Drury University | 25200 | 52900 | 0.5235 | 1,391 | 1228 | 0.5758 | |
| 68 | Ball State University | 25500 | 25500 | 0 | 15,189 | 1170 | 0.855 | |
| 69 | Mount Mary University | 25900 | 57200 | 0.5463 | 752 | 1025 | 0.6233 | |
| 70 | Marywood University | 26100 | 67700 | 0.6142 | 1,833 | 1160 | 0.6058 | |
| 71 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 26400 | 36800 | 0.2828 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 72 | University of Southern Mississippi | 26500 | 26500 | 0 | 10,193 | 1181 | 0.9912 | |
| 73 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 74 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 75 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 26800 | 31800 | 0.1573 | 27,132 | 1099 | 0.9617 | |
| 76 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 26900 | 88300 | 0.6952 | 1,794 | 1308 | 0.6399 | |
| 77 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 27500 | 43800 | 0.3725 | 17,450 | 1044 | 0.9518 | |
| 78 | North Dakota State University | 27700 | 30400 | 0.0882 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 79 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 80 | Mississippi State University | 28100 | 32300 | 0.1323 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 81 | University of Utah | 28700 | 32000 | 0.1025 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 82 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2176 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 83 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 37000 | 0.2106 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 84 | Morgan State University | 29600 | 41900 | 0.2938 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 85 | Kent State University at Kent | 30000 | 37500 | 0.2 | 20,841 | 1105 | 0.8634 | |
| 85 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 30000 | 42200 | 0.2889 | 15,375 | 1103 | 0.866 | |
| 87 | Portland State University | 30800 | 43100 | 0.2848 | 15,414 | 1094 | 0.9087 | |
| 88 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 89 | Kean University | 31300 | 39500 | 0.2077 | 11,758 | 1040 | 0.759 | |
| 90 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 31500 | 41200 | 0.2357 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 91 | Ithaca College | 32000 | 72500 | 0.5585 | 4,268 | 1314 | 0.6901 | |
| 92 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 93 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 93 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 95 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4031 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 96 | University of Maine at Augusta | 32800 | 39600 | 0.1717 | 4,313 | 0 | 0 | |
| 97 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 98 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design | 33700 | 57400 | 0.4128 | 838 | 1143 | 0.6054 | |
| 99 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 100 | Thomas Jefferson University | 34000 | 68100 | 0.501 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8097 | |
| 101 | Chatham University | 34900 | 63300 | 0.449 | 1,550 | 1197 | 0.6196 | |
| 102 | Andrews University | 35000 | 70100 | 0.5008 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 103 | Temple University | 35400 | 56400 | 0.3724 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 104 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 105 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 106 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 107 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36700 | 38900 | 0.0586 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 108 | California State University-Fresno | 36900 | 43800 | 0.1577 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 109 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,403 | 1241 | 0.9812 | |
| 110 | Delaware Valley University | 39200 | 66900 | 0.4141 | 1,768 | 1208 | 0.9321 | |
| 111 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 39600 | 39800 | 0.005 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 112 | Stony Brook University | 39700 | 53000 | 0.2506 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 113 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 40300 | 44100 | 0.0862 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 114 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 115 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 52100 | 0.2208 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 116 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41200 | 57000 | 0.2773 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.782 | |
| 117 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 118 | Anderson University | 42200 | 53600 | 0.2127 | 3,683 | 1209 | 0.5471 | |
| 119 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 120 | Florida Atlantic University | 44400 | 44400 | 0 | 24,876 | 1130 | 0.6613 | |
| 121 | University of Georgia | 45900 | 51600 | 0.1108 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 122 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 123 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47100 | 57700 | 0.1838 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 124 | Maine Maritime Academy | 47200 | 49800 | 0.0522 | 945 | 1180 | 0.5414 | |
| 125 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 126 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48400 | 91400 | 0.4706 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 127 | Drexel University | 48600 | 83900 | 0.4208 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 128 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49700 | 59400 | 0.1633 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 129 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50800 | 84700 | 0.4003 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 130 | Woodbury University | 52800 | 69500 | 0.2402 | 786 | 1087 | 0.8165 | |
| 131 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 52900 | 61200 | 0.1353 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 132 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53200 | 61000 | 0.1291 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 133 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 134 | University of San Francisco | 53800 | 84800 | 0.3655 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
| 135 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 136 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 137 | Howard University | 60000 | 66500 | 0.0978 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 138 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 60700 | 63000 | 0.0362 | 38,093 | 1302 | 0.7821 | |
| 138 | Maryland Institute College of Art | 60700 | 71200 | 0.1476 | 1,191 | 1232 | 0.7679 | |
| 140 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 141 | California College of the Arts | 65300 | 87600 | 0.2545 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 142 | Otis College of Art and Design | 66500 | 79800 | 0.1666 | 1,224 | 1335 | 0.8176 | |
| 143 | University of Oregon | 66700 | 68900 | 0.0331 | 20,622 | 1250 | 0.883 | |
| 144 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 145 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,177 | 1140 | 0.8278 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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