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 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 2 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 3 | Harvard University | 5900 | 95600 | 0.9384 | 8,844 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 4 | California Institute of Technology | 7500 | 91800 | 0.9183 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 5 | Vanderbilt University | 7700 | 96200 | 0.9195 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 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 | Washington University in St Louis | 9300 | 102300 | 0.9091 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 9 | University of Pennsylvania | 9400 | 92900 | 0.8988 | 11,478 | 1536 | 0.054 | |
| 10 | Bucknell University | 9600 | 91800 | 0.8959 | 3,920 | 1396 | 0.2893 | |
| 11 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 12 | Duke University | 10900 | 93600 | 0.8838 | 6,523 | 1527 | 0.0571 | |
| 13 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 14 | Cornell University | 11700 | 93100 | 0.8745 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 14 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 11700 | 27800 | 0.5771 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 16 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 17 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 12100 | 38800 | 0.6887 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 18 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 19 | Boston University | 12700 | 92800 | 0.8633 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 20 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 21 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 13500 | 19400 | 0.304 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 22 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 22 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 34500 | 0.606 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 50700 | 0.7294 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 25 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 26 | University of California-Merced | 14000 | 41900 | 0.666 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9053 | |
| 27 | Grand Valley State University | 14100 | 25300 | 0.4432 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 27 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 29 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 30 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 31 | Case Western Reserve University | 14800 | 91300 | 0.8383 | 6,528 | 1475 | 0.3654 | |
| 31 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14800 | 22500 | 0.3418 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 31 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 34 | Alabama State University | 15500 | 24300 | 0.3632 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 35 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 35 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15600 | 31000 | 0.4964 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 37 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3949 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 38 | University of California-Riverside | 15900 | 36500 | 0.564 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 39 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 16000 | 27700 | 0.4218 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 40 | University of Maine | 16500 | 29300 | 0.4371 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 40 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 32900 | 0.4982 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 40 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 43 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 17100 | 17100 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 44 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17500 | 29900 | 0.4159 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 44 | University of Louisville | 17500 | 29100 | 0.399 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 46 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 46 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 48 | University of Mississippi | 18600 | 45000 | 0.5871 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 49 | University of Central Oklahoma | 19100 | 22700 | 0.1586 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 50 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19200 | 28200 | 0.3189 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 51 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 52 | Wichita State University | 19800 | 29800 | 0.3372 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 53 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 54 | University of Rochester | 20200 | 93100 | 0.7833 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 55 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 20600 | 28500 | 0.2776 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 55 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 20600 | 42900 | 0.5204 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 | |
| 57 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 58 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 58 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 21400 | 35300 | 0.3934 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 60 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 61 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 62 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 63 | Florida State University | 22600 | 32400 | 0.3029 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 64 | University of South Dakota | 22900 | 26000 | 0.1211 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 65 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23000 | 69800 | 0.6709 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 65 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 65 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 68 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 69 | Florida International University | 23700 | 23700 | 0 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 70 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 71 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 72 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 24400 | 30600 | 0.2026 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 73 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24600 | 40500 | 0.3927 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 74 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 74 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 24700 | 24700 | 0 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 76 | The College of New Jersey | 24900 | 38400 | 0.3512 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6229 | |
| 77 | Binghamton University | 25700 | 32700 | 0.2159 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 77 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5032 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 79 | University of North Dakota | 25900 | 28600 | 0.0928 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 80 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 81 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 82 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 26300 | 28400 | 0.0757 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 83 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 83 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4799 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 85 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5253 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 86 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 86 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 88 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 89 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 27300 | 36500 | 0.2522 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 90 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 91 | Mississippi State University | 28200 | 32300 | 0.1283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 92 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 93 | Dartmouth College | 28600 | 96000 | 0.7021 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 93 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 93 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5921 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 96 | Oregon State University | 28900 | 36700 | 0.2143 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 96 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 98 | University of Iowa | 29000 | 31100 | 0.0691 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 99 | Clemson University | 29200 | 37100 | 0.2141 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 99 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 39500 | 0.2608 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 101 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 102 | University of Toledo | 29800 | 42000 | 0.2895 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 103 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6093 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 104 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5434 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 104 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30600 | 38500 | 0.2052 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 106 | California State University-Long Beach | 31000 | 38900 | 0.2032 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 106 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31000 | 33200 | 0.0648 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 108 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 109 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 110 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4872 | 2,303 | 1124 | 0.6959 | |
| 111 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 111 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32200 | 36700 | 0.1214 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 113 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 113 | Marquette University | 32300 | 66500 | 0.5142 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 115 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4007 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 116 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 117 | California Baptist University | 33600 | 65600 | 0.4878 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 118 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 118 | Harding University | 33700 | 47800 | 0.296 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 120 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 121 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34400 | 70200 | 0.5103 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 122 | University of Vermont | 34500 | 66300 | 0.4788 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 123 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 124 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 124 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 35300 | 56700 | 0.3775 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 126 | New York Institute of Technology | 35500 | 83600 | 0.5755 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 127 | Temple University | 35600 | 56400 | 0.3689 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 127 | University of the Pacific | 35600 | 71500 | 0.5024 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 129 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 130 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 131 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 132 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 133 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38600 | 53100 | 0.2729 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 134 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 135 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 136 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 136 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 136 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 40400 | 42500 | 0.0495 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 139 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40500 | 66000 | 0.3866 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 140 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 140 | Washington State University | 40700 | 56300 | 0.2777 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 142 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 143 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 144 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 42700 | 56200 | 0.2403 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 145 | University of Florida | 43200 | 45700 | 0.0548 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 146 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68600 | 0.3667 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 147 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2305 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 148 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3568 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 149 | Widener University | 45800 | 79400 | 0.4233 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 150 | University of California-San Diego | 45900 | 75300 | 0.3902 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 151 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 152 | Fairfield University | 46200 | 84300 | 0.4518 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 152 | Saint Louis University | 46200 | 80900 | 0.4287 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 154 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1842 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 155 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2117 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 156 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 157 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0517 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 157 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48600 | 91400 | 0.4684 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 159 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83900 | 0.4184 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 160 | University of Kentucky | 49200 | 58000 | 0.1531 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 161 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49700 | 85800 | 0.4206 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 162 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49800 | 59400 | 0.1617 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 162 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 164 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 83600 | 0.3958 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 165 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84700 | 0.3991 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 166 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.04 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 166 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 51600 | 52800 | 0.0227 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 168 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 53000 | 61200 | 0.1332 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 169 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 170 | George Mason University | 53600 | 61000 | 0.1213 | 28,334 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 170 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 172 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54000 | 59200 | 0.087 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 173 | Santa Clara University | 57600 | 85400 | 0.3255 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 174 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 175 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 176 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63700 | 65800 | 0.0327 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 177 | University of California-Davis | 69800 | 69800 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 178 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 179 | University of California-Irvine | 72000 | 75600 | 0.0476 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2857 | |
| 180 | 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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