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 | Johns Hopkins University | 2700 | 92000 | 0.9704 | 6,354 | 1554 | 0.0611 | |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 3600 | 93300 | 0.9613 | 4,561 | 1542 | 0.0456 | |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania | 4600 | 93100 | 0.951 | 9,989 | 1535 | 0.0492 | |
| 4 | Harvard University | 5900 | 95600 | 0.9384 | 6,738 | 1500 | 0.0418 | |
| 5 | Northwestern University | 6500 | 90200 | 0.9278 | 9,060 | 1533 | 0.0769 | |
| 6 | Washington University in St Louis | 7300 | 102300 | 0.9283 | 8,153 | 1512 | 0.1192 | |
| 7 | Vanderbilt University | 7800 | 98200 | 0.921 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 8 | California Institute of Technology | 8400 | 94600 | 0.9108 | 971 | 1564 | 0.0379 | |
| 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8600 | 98000 | 0.9125 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 10 | Rice University | 9700 | 92500 | 0.8954 | 4,807 | 1528 | 0.0801 | |
| 11 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 10100 | 41500 | 0.7567 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 12 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38600 | 0.7362 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 | |
| 12 | University of California-Merced | 10200 | 40600 | 0.7491 | 8,234 | 1070 | 0.9704 | |
| 14 | Cornell University | 10500 | 93700 | 0.8878 | 16,138 | 1528 | 0.0838 | |
| 15 | University of Rochester | 10600 | 96300 | 0.8903 | 6,096 | 1448 | 0.4191 | |
| 16 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 10700 | 26000 | 0.5891 | 22,313 | 1341 | 0.2996 | |
| 17 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 11100 | 28300 | 0.6059 | 8,421 | 1054 | 0.9444 | |
| 18 | Marshall University | 11200 | 39800 | 0.7184 | 9,960 | 1070 | 0.9663 | |
| 19 | Brown University | 11900 | 94000 | 0.8733 | 7,951 | 1500 | 0.0634 | |
| 20 | University of Illinois Chicago | 12100 | 30200 | 0.5993 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 21 | Boston University | 12300 | 93200 | 0.868 | 18,289 | 1475 | 0.1283 | |
| 21 | Louisiana Tech University | 12300 | 42900 | 0.7132 | 11,071 | 1189 | 0.9073 | |
| 23 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 31100 | 0.6022 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13200 | 27400 | 0.519 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 25 | Northern Illinois University | 13300 | 32100 | 0.5856 | 12,118 | 1070 | 0.7164 | |
| 25 | University of Houston | 13300 | 21800 | 0.3898 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 25 | University of South Florida | 13300 | 22400 | 0.4067 | 39,093 | 1255 | 0.4071 | |
| 28 | University of California-Riverside | 13500 | 36500 | 0.6297 | 24,034 | 1199 | 0.8609 | |
| 29 | University of Memphis | 14300 | 29100 | 0.5088 | 15,538 | 1080 | 0.7878 | |
| 30 | Bucknell University | 14500 | 95700 | 0.8489 | 3,928 | 1275 | 0.322 | |
| 30 | Case Western Reserve University | 14500 | 92800 | 0.8434 | 6,657 | 1484 | 0.3778 | |
| 32 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 14700 | 19400 | 0.2422 | 23,007 | 1281 | 0.6909 | |
| 33 | University of California-Irvine | 14800 | 40400 | 0.6341 | 30,260 | 1333 | 0.2895 | |
| 34 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14900 | 22500 | 0.3374 | 14,434 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 34 | Stanford University | 14900 | 1932000 | 0.9923 | 7,346 | 1542 | 0.038 | |
| 36 | West Virginia University | 15000 | 73100 | 0.7945 | 18,206 | 1120 | 0.8514 | |
| 37 | University of Maine | 15100 | 29300 | 0.4849 | 9,182 | 1195 | 0.9562 | |
| 38 | Florida State University | 15600 | 23000 | 0.322 | 34,271 | 1369 | 0.2383 | |
| 38 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 15600 | 74500 | 0.7903 | 3,190 | 1317 | 0.6187 | |
| 40 | Duke University | 15800 | 98600 | 0.8396 | 6,525 | 1533 | 0.0524 | |
| 41 | Kansas State University | 15900 | 26400 | 0.3957 | 16,555 | 1163 | 0.875 | |
| 41 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 15900 | 24700 | 0.3557 | 8,329 | 1209 | 0.385 | |
| 43 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5554 | 33,534 | 1399 | 0.0941 | |
| 43 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16300 | 64800 | 0.7481 | 22,007 | 1427 | 0.1672 | |
| 45 | Union College | 16500 | 93300 | 0.8231 | 1,954 | 1399 | 0.4342 | |
| 46 | California State University-Long Beach | 16600 | 25800 | 0.3567 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 47 | University of Colorado Boulder | 17000 | 31800 | 0.4656 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7809 | |
| 47 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 17000 | 36500 | 0.5346 | 7,747 | 1073 | 0.9617 | |
| 49 | University of Miami | 17400 | 96300 | 0.8194 | 13,241 | 1408 | 0.1761 | |
| 50 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17500 | 29900 | 0.4164 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 50 | University of Kentucky | 17500 | 36500 | 0.5208 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 52 | Yale University | 17700 | 278600 | 0.9365 | 6,667 | 1507 | 0.0475 | |
| 53 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 47900 | 0.6257 | 21,028 | 1450 | 0.1334 | |
| 54 | The University of Texas at Austin | 18000 | 28100 | 0.359 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 55 | San Jose State University | 18200 | 41100 | 0.5567 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 56 | Lehigh University | 19200 | 89800 | 0.7863 | 5,986 | 1436 | 0.2896 | |
| 57 | Jackson State University | 19400 | 28100 | 0.3091 | 4,967 | 940 | 0.9602 | |
| 58 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 19900 | 45100 | 0.559 | 31,536 | 1366 | 0.5457 | |
| 59 | University of Rhode Island | 20000 | 47400 | 0.5782 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 59 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 76400 | 0.7387 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 61 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 20300 | 35200 | 0.4229 | 8,513 | 1160 | 0.9261 | |
| 61 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20300 | 40600 | 0.5011 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 61 | Syracuse University | 20300 | 83600 | 0.7572 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 64 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 20400 | 26100 | 0.2181 | 31,845 | 1298 | 0.5651 | |
| 65 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.3258 | 43,633 | 1342 | 0.4343 | |
| 65 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 10,900 | 1222 | 0.8914 | |
| 67 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 21300 | 27800 | 0.2336 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 67 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 21300 | 33600 | 0.3658 | 21,469 | 1167 | 0.9061 | |
| 69 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 21600 | 48800 | 0.5575 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 70 | Alabama State University | 21700 | 43200 | 0.4979 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 70 | Grand Canyon University | 21700 | 34000 | 0.3613 | 75,936 | 1075 | 0.7891 | |
| 72 | University of the Pacific | 21800 | 73600 | 0.704 | 3,097 | 1313 | 0.6905 | |
| 73 | Grand Valley State University | 21900 | 36200 | 0.3949 | 19,154 | 1074 | 0.9271 | |
| 73 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 21900 | 80400 | 0.7273 | 17,848 | 1470 | 0.1565 | |
| 75 | Tufts University | 22400 | 99000 | 0.7738 | 7,031 | 1497 | 0.1082 | |
| 75 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 22400 | 42500 | 0.4729 | 14,249 | 1084 | 0.7761 | |
| 77 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22800 | 28400 | 0.196 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 78 | Millikin University | 23100 | 43700 | 0.4709 | 1,427 | 1065 | 0.765 | |
| 79 | University of South Dakota | 23300 | 26900 | 0.1327 | 7,515 | 1120 | 0.9884 | |
| 80 | The College of New Jersey | 23600 | 41200 | 0.427 | 7,433 | 1243 | 0.6148 | |
| 81 | University of North Texas | 23900 | 37400 | 0.3607 | 34,414 | 1094 | 0.7089 | |
| 82 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24000 | 38500 | 0.3764 | 24,019 | 1404 | 0.5989 | |
| 83 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 24100 | 60700 | 0.6029 | 1,984 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 84 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24200 | 40500 | 0.4025 | 21,388 | 1369 | 0.5945 | |
| 85 | Montana State University | 24400 | 24400 | 0 | 15,142 | 1184 | 0.9938 | |
| 86 | Temple University | 24800 | 36100 | 0.3132 | 21,031 | 1172 | 0.8622 | |
| 87 | Messiah University | 25000 | 54700 | 0.543 | 2,722 | 1266 | 0.8107 | |
| 88 | University of North Dakota | 25500 | 28600 | 0.1073 | 11,837 | 1189 | 0.8157 | |
| 89 | Binghamton University | 25700 | 32700 | 0.2159 | 14,559 | 1404 | 0.3731 | |
| 90 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,616 | 1410 | 0.4818 | |
| 90 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 26100 | 43400 | 0.3983 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 90 | University of Evansville | 26100 | 64700 | 0.5963 | 1,920 | 1174 | 0.9412 | |
| 93 | George Fox University | 26400 | 92800 | 0.7157 | 3,530 | 1168 | 0.9282 | |
| 93 | Trine University | 26400 | 56100 | 0.5292 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 95 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 44700 | 0.4019 | 29,252 | 1179 | 0.7388 | |
| 96 | University of Mount Union | 27000 | 56300 | 0.5211 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 97 | University of Central Oklahoma | 27600 | 33800 | 0.1833 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 98 | Marquette University | 28000 | 63800 | 0.5612 | 8,206 | 1304 | 0.7802 | |
| 99 | Wayne State University | 28100 | 46800 | 0.3998 | 16,390 | 1183 | 0.8359 | |
| 100 | Marymount University | 28300 | 99100 | 0.7143 | 2,503 | 1095 | 0.9316 | |
| 100 | University of Hartford | 28300 | 70100 | 0.5959 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 102 | University of Utah | 28400 | 32000 | 0.1114 | 29,335 | 1222 | 0.9015 | |
| 103 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28500 | 36500 | 0.2194 | 11,691 | 1074 | 0.7722 | |
| 104 | Clemson University | 28800 | 37100 | 0.2253 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 104 | Oregon State University | 28800 | 36700 | 0.2171 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 106 | Michigan Technological University | 29000 | 34700 | 0.1641 | 6,009 | 1247 | 0.8546 | |
| 106 | University of Toledo | 29000 | 32600 | 0.1093 | 10,726 | 1134 | 0.8889 | |
| 108 | University of Iowa | 29500 | 32100 | 0.0799 | 23,407 | 1203 | 0.799 | |
| 109 | Lawrence Technological University | 30000 | 99100 | 0.6976 | 2,661 | 1149 | 0.8101 | |
| 110 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30100 | 78300 | 0.6157 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 111 | Gannon University | 30400 | 52900 | 0.4257 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 112 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5436 | 1,478 | 1229 | 0.48 | |
| 112 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 30600 | 33200 | 0.0773 | 14,834 | 1149 | 0.7803 | |
| 114 | George Mason University | 30700 | 35700 | 0.1399 | 28,862 | 1271 | 0.8647 | |
| 115 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 32000 | 54400 | 0.4117 | 35,248 | 1289 | 0.6939 | |
| 115 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4873 | 1,964 | 1159 | 0.9392 | |
| 117 | University of Louisville | 32300 | 42100 | 0.2325 | 17,916 | 1134 | 0.7921 | |
| 118 | North Carolina State University | 32400 | 54800 | 0.4083 | 29,340 | 1374 | 0.3954 | |
| 119 | Wichita State University | 32600 | 42200 | 0.2269 | 14,906 | 1065 | 0.7224 | |
| 120 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 33000 | 72600 | 0.5451 | 2,836 | 1283 | 0.6711 | |
| 121 | Harding University | 33200 | 47800 | 0.3047 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 122 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 33400 | 38200 | 0.1273 | 42,565 | 1339 | 0.7887 | |
| 123 | Regis College | 33800 | 74300 | 0.5455 | 987 | 965 | 0.6979 | |
| 124 | California Baptist University | 34300 | 69800 | 0.5084 | 8,707 | 1024 | 0.8139 | |
| 124 | George Washington University | 34300 | 81800 | 0.5808 | 11,495 | 1436 | 0.4713 | |
| 124 | University of Vermont | 34300 | 66300 | 0.4821 | 12,159 | 1372 | 0.7304 | |
| 127 | University of Nevada-Reno | 34700 | 45800 | 0.2425 | 20,204 | 1109 | 0.8313 | |
| 128 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,056 | 1183 | 0.8994 | |
| 129 | New York Institute of Technology | 35100 | 83600 | 0.5799 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 130 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,154 | 1100 | 0.8006 | |
| 131 | Western New England University | 35500 | 70600 | 0.4969 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 132 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 35900 | 54000 | 0.3352 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 133 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 46,249 | 1180 | 0.6085 | |
| 133 | North Carolina A & T State University | 36500 | 36700 | 0.0054 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 133 | Rowan University | 36500 | 53600 | 0.3189 | 17,157 | 1204 | 0.7654 | |
| 136 | University of Connecticut | 36900 | 66200 | 0.4429 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 137 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 37500 | 40100 | 0.064 | 25,054 | 1225 | 0.7762 | |
| 137 | Washington State University | 37500 | 53600 | 0.2998 | 21,400 | 1131 | 0.861 | |
| 139 | Widener University | 37700 | 79400 | 0.5254 | 2,975 | 1179 | 0.7093 | |
| 140 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 38000 | 55500 | 0.3156 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 141 | Loyola University Chicago | 38900 | 73200 | 0.4687 | 12,640 | 1262 | 0.751 | |
| 141 | Mississippi State University | 38900 | 53400 | 0.2726 | 19,093 | 1205 | 0.8363 | |
| 143 | Drexel University | 39700 | 86400 | 0.5408 | 12,318 | 1354 | 0.699 | |
| 143 | Endicott College | 39700 | 65400 | 0.3928 | 3,195 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 145 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 39900 | 59200 | 0.3258 | 5,986 | 1110 | 0.8916 | |
| 146 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 40100 | 83500 | 0.5196 | 2,160 | 1374 | 0.809 | |
| 146 | University of Mississippi | 40100 | 45200 | 0.1128 | 22,939 | 1172 | 0.9738 | |
| 148 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40300 | 66000 | 0.3892 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8844 | |
| 148 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 40300 | 42700 | 0.0561 | 14,657 | 1190 | 0.7583 | |
| 150 | Fairfield University | 41700 | 84400 | 0.5061 | 5,671 | 1345 | 0.2505 | |
| 151 | University of Arizona | 42500 | 48600 | 0.1254 | 43,294 | 1186 | 0.8351 | |
| 152 | Saint Louis University | 42700 | 84300 | 0.4932 | 9,331 | 1250 | 0.7499 | |
| 153 | University of Florida | 42800 | 45700 | 0.0635 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 154 | University of Maryland-College Park | 42900 | 58500 | 0.2665 | 31,875 | 1456 | 0.4503 | |
| 154 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 42900 | 88100 | 0.5129 | 35,358 | 1448 | 0.1642 | |
| 156 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43200 | 68700 | 0.3719 | 4,279 | 1234 | 0.5796 | |
| 157 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 44000 | 71800 | 0.3872 | 4,182 | 1317 | 0.8783 | |
| 158 | LeTourneau University | 44600 | 57300 | 0.2215 | 2,903 | 1242 | 0.4879 | |
| 159 | Duquesne University | 44900 | 70500 | 0.3626 | 5,382 | 1252 | 0.8639 | |
| 160 | University at Buffalo | 46400 | 46400 | 0 | 21,192 | 1309 | 0.8059 | |
| 161 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 47200 | 57100 | 0.1733 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 162 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 62400 | 0.2365 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 163 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 48500 | 86200 | 0.4375 | 4,206 | 1430 | 0.5068 | |
| 164 | University of California-San Diego | 48800 | 79600 | 0.3868 | 35,442 | 1375 | 0.2856 | |
| 165 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 49300 | 67600 | 0.2708 | 40,996 | 1399 | 0.4175 | |
| 166 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50100 | 85400 | 0.4135 | 5,461 | 1292 | 0.6189 | |
| 167 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 50200 | 64400 | 0.2205 | 46,627 | 1366 | 0.492 | |
| 168 | University of California-Berkeley | 51700 | 76600 | 0.325 | 33,513 | 1407 | 0.1145 | |
| 169 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 52600 | 86300 | 0.3905 | 5,833 | 1440 | 0.6725 | |
| 170 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53200 | 53300 | 0.0019 | 34,447 | 1273 | 0.8804 | |
| 171 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 53400 | 96100 | 0.4442 | 6,839 | 1469 | 0.1446 | |
| 172 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 54900 | 68800 | 0.2022 | 38,572 | 1455 | 0.3659 | |
| 173 | Dartmouth College | 56200 | 96800 | 0.4195 | 4,715 | 1485 | 0.0602 | |
| 174 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,405 | 1284 | 0.74 | |
| 175 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58300 | 63600 | 0.0834 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 176 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 58600 | 61200 | 0.0419 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 | |
| 177 | Hofstra University | 59100 | 83300 | 0.2906 | 6,599 | 1369 | 0.7267 | |
| 177 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 59100 | 61600 | 0.0416 | 25,141 | 1256 | 0.7613 | |
| 179 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 61300 | 66900 | 0.0837 | 9,827 | 1329 | 0.6737 | |
| 180 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63200 | 65800 | 0.039 | 3,468 | 1200 | 0.8855 | |
| 181 | Santa Clara University | 69100 | 85400 | 0.1909 | 6,695 | 1399 | 0.4788 | |
| 182 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,294 | 1229 | 0.7328 | |
| 183 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 82900 | 82900 | 0 | 18,194 | 1281 | 0.7273 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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