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 | 0.9087 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 9 | University of Pennsylvania | 9500 | 92900 | 0.8977 | 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 | 11000 | 93600 | 0.8827 | 6,523 | 1527 | 0.0571 | |
| 13 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 14 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11500 | 29100 | 0.6053 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 15 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 11700 | 19400 | 0.3967 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 16 | Cornell University | 11800 | 93100 | 0.8735 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 17 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 12200 | 38800 | 0.6861 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 18 | University of California-Merced | 12500 | 41900 | 0.7018 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9053 | |
| 20 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 21 | Boston University | 12900 | 92800 | 0.8612 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 22 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 23 | University of Houston | 13700 | 22000 | 0.3766 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 23 | 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 | Grand Valley State University | 14100 | 25300 | 0.4432 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 26 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 28 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 29 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14400 | 20300 | 0.29 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 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 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 33 | Alabama State University | 15500 | 24300 | 0.3632 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 34 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 35 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3945 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 36 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 16000 | 27700 | 0.4218 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 37 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5554 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 38 | University of Florida | 16500 | 22500 | 0.2666 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 38 | University of Maine | 16500 | 29300 | 0.4371 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 40 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16800 | 64800 | 0.7411 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 41 | West Virginia University | 17000 | 40900 | 0.5841 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 42 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 17100 | 17100 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 43 | University of Louisville | 17500 | 29100 | 0.399 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 44 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 17600 | 26600 | 0.3387 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 45 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 45 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 47 | University of California-Berkeley | 18300 | 43500 | 0.5798 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 48 | University of Central Oklahoma | 19100 | 22700 | 0.1586 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 49 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19200 | 28200 | 0.3189 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 50 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 50 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19300 | 29900 | 0.3543 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 52 | University of Mississippi | 19400 | 27000 | 0.2814 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 52 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 54 | University of Arizona | 19600 | 30900 | 0.3663 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 55 | Wichita State University | 19700 | 29800 | 0.3391 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 56 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 57 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20200 | 45200 | 0.5537 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 58 | University of Rochester | 20300 | 93100 | 0.7822 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 59 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 20600 | 42900 | 0.5204 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 | |
| 60 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 61 | Washington State University | 21300 | 36200 | 0.4119 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 62 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 63 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 64 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 64 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 66 | Florida State University | 22600 | 32400 | 0.3029 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 67 | University of South Dakota | 22900 | 26000 | 0.1194 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 68 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 68 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 70 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23100 | 69800 | 0.6694 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 71 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23400 | 34500 | 0.3221 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 72 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 73 | University of Kentucky | 23900 | 36400 | 0.3441 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 74 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 75 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 24300 | 28400 | 0.1445 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 76 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 24400 | 30600 | 0.2026 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 77 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24600 | 40500 | 0.3927 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 78 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 24700 | 24700 | 0 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 79 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5027 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 80 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 80 | University of North Dakota | 26000 | 28600 | 0.0912 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 82 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 83 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 83 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4794 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 85 | Trine University | 26700 | 56100 | 0.5245 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 86 | University of Arkansas | 26800 | 28900 | 0.0729 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 87 | Rowan University | 27500 | 41300 | 0.3345 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 88 | Syracuse University | 27700 | 83100 | 0.6665 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 89 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 90 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 90 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5917 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 92 | Dartmouth College | 28700 | 96000 | 0.7011 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 93 | Oregon State University | 28900 | 36700 | 0.214 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 93 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 95 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 95 | University of Toledo | 29500 | 32600 | 0.0952 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 97 | Montana State University | 29600 | 31900 | 0.072 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 98 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30500 | 38500 | 0.2078 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 98 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6093 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 100 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5442 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 101 | George Mason University | 30700 | 35700 | 0.1399 | 28,334 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 102 | California State University-Long Beach | 31000 | 38900 | 0.2032 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 103 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31100 | 33200 | 0.0634 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 104 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 105 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4872 | 2,303 | 1124 | 0.6959 | |
| 105 | The College of New Jersey | 32000 | 45400 | 0.2949 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6229 | |
| 107 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 108 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 108 | Marquette University | 32300 | 66500 | 0.5142 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 108 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32300 | 36700 | 0.1202 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 111 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32500 | 35100 | 0.0742 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 112 | North Carolina State University | 32900 | 54800 | 0.3999 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 112 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 114 | California Baptist University | 33600 | 65600 | 0.4878 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 115 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 115 | Harding University | 33700 | 47800 | 0.2951 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 117 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 118 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34400 | 70200 | 0.5103 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 119 | University of Vermont | 34600 | 66300 | 0.4785 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 120 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 121 | University of South Florida | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 122 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 123 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 35400 | 56700 | 0.3757 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 124 | New York Institute of Technology | 35500 | 83600 | 0.575 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 125 | Temple University | 35600 | 56400 | 0.3689 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 126 | University of the Pacific | 35700 | 71500 | 0.501 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 127 | Mississippi State University | 36400 | 50500 | 0.2795 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 128 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 129 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 130 | University of Connecticut | 37300 | 53600 | 0.3043 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 131 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 132 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 133 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 134 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 134 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 40400 | 42500 | 0.0495 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 134 | Wayne State University | 40400 | 46200 | 0.1256 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 137 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40500 | 66000 | 0.3863 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 138 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 48500 | 0.1628 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 139 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 140 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 141 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 41200 | 42300 | 0.026 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 142 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 143 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 41900 | 53200 | 0.2124 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 144 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 42700 | 56200 | 0.2403 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 145 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43600 | 68700 | 0.3652 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 146 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 146 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2297 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 148 | Duquesne University | 45400 | 70500 | 0.3561 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 149 | Widener University | 45800 | 79400 | 0.4233 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 150 | University of California-San Diego | 45900 | 76000 | 0.396 | 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 | |
| 153 | Saint Louis University | 46300 | 80900 | 0.4275 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 154 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47000 | 59700 | 0.2127 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 154 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1843 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 156 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 157 | University of Delaware | 48400 | 61300 | 0.211 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 158 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0508 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 159 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48700 | 91400 | 0.4673 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 160 | Drexel University | 48900 | 83900 | 0.4172 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 161 | University of California-Riverside | 49300 | 66000 | 0.2532 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 162 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49700 | 85800 | 0.4206 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 163 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49800 | 59400 | 0.1617 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 163 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 165 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 83600 | 0.3958 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 166 | Binghamton University | 50700 | 52800 | 0.0398 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 167 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84700 | 0.398 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 168 | University of Iowa | 51100 | 53200 | 0.0396 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 169 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.0392 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 170 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 53100 | 61200 | 0.1324 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 171 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 172 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 173 | Santa Clara University | 57700 | 85400 | 0.3243 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 174 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 175 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 176 | Clemson University | 61500 | 63700 | 0.0331 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 177 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63700 | 65800 | 0.032 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 178 | University of California-Davis | 69800 | 69800 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 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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