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 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38100 | 0.7328 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 13 | Duke University | 10900 | 93600 | 0.8838 | 6,523 | 1527 | 0.0571 | |
| 14 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 15 | University of California-San Diego | 11500 | 39700 | 0.7102 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 16 | Cornell University | 11700 | 93100 | 0.8745 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 17 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 18 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 19 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 20 | Boston University | 12700 | 92800 | 0.8633 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 21 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 22 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 23 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 13500 | 19400 | 0.304 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 24 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 24 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 34500 | 0.606 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 26 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 27 | University of California-Merced | 14000 | 41900 | 0.666 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9053 | |
| 28 | Grand Valley State University | 14100 | 25300 | 0.4432 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 28 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 30 | Alabama State University | 14200 | 31300 | 0.5476 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 31 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 32 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 33 | Case Western Reserve University | 14800 | 91300 | 0.8383 | 6,528 | 1475 | 0.3654 | |
| 33 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14800 | 22500 | 0.3418 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 33 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 36 | University of Central Oklahoma | 15500 | 28700 | 0.46 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 37 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 38 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 16000 | 27700 | 0.4218 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 39 | University of Florida | 16400 | 22500 | 0.271 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 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 | |
| 42 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 42 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16700 | 64800 | 0.7418 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 44 | West Virginia University | 16900 | 40900 | 0.5865 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 45 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17500 | 29900 | 0.4159 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 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 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 43200 | 0.5853 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 49 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 50 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 18900 | 31400 | 0.3981 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 51 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 52 | University of Mississippi | 19400 | 27000 | 0.2814 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 53 | University of Arizona | 19600 | 30900 | 0.3663 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 54 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19900 | 78700 | 0.7472 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 55 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 56 | University of Rochester | 20200 | 93100 | 0.7833 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 57 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 20300 | 29300 | 0.3067 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 58 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 59 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 60 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 60 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 21400 | 35300 | 0.3934 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 62 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 63 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 64 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 65 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 66 | Florida State University | 22600 | 32400 | 0.3029 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 67 | University of South Dakota | 22900 | 26000 | 0.1211 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 68 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23000 | 69800 | 0.6709 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 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 | |
| 71 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23400 | 34500 | 0.3221 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 72 | Washington State University | 23800 | 38700 | 0.3863 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 73 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 24300 | 28400 | 0.1461 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 74 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 24700 | 24700 | 0 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 75 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5032 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 76 | University of North Dakota | 25900 | 28600 | 0.0928 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 77 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 78 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 78 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4799 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 80 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5253 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 81 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 81 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 83 | Kansas State University | 27000 | 31400 | 0.1414 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 84 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 27300 | 36500 | 0.2522 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 85 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 86 | Wichita State University | 28000 | 39800 | 0.2974 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 87 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 88 | Dartmouth College | 28600 | 96000 | 0.7021 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 88 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 88 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5921 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 91 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 91 | University of Utah | 28900 | 32000 | 0.0984 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 93 | Clemson University | 29200 | 37100 | 0.2141 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 93 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 39500 | 0.2608 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 95 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 29300 | 34000 | 0.1383 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 96 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 96 | University of Toledo | 29500 | 32600 | 0.0966 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 98 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6093 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 99 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5434 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 99 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30600 | 38500 | 0.2052 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 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 | |
| 102 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31000 | 33200 | 0.0648 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 104 | University of Louisville | 31500 | 42000 | 0.2498 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 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 | |
| 107 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32200 | 36700 | 0.1214 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 109 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 109 | Marquette University | 32300 | 66500 | 0.5142 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 111 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4007 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 112 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 113 | California Baptist University | 33600 | 65600 | 0.4878 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 114 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 114 | Harding University | 33700 | 47800 | 0.296 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 116 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 117 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34400 | 70200 | 0.5103 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 118 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 119 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 120 | New York Institute of Technology | 35500 | 83600 | 0.5755 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 121 | Temple University | 35600 | 56400 | 0.3689 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 121 | University of the Pacific | 35600 | 71500 | 0.5024 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 123 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2804 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 124 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 125 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 126 | University of Nevada-Reno | 38000 | 45800 | 0.1704 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 127 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 128 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38600 | 53100 | 0.2729 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 129 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 130 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2481 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 131 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 132 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 132 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 134 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40500 | 66000 | 0.3866 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 135 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 48500 | 0.1628 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 136 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 137 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 138 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 41200 | 42300 | 0.026 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 139 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 139 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 141 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 142 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68600 | 0.3667 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 143 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 143 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2305 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 145 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2746 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 146 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3568 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 147 | Widener University | 45800 | 79400 | 0.4233 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 148 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 149 | Fairfield University | 46200 | 84300 | 0.4518 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 149 | Saint Louis University | 46200 | 80900 | 0.4287 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 151 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1842 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 152 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2117 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 153 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 154 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0517 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 154 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48600 | 91400 | 0.4684 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 156 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83900 | 0.4184 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 157 | University of California-Riverside | 49200 | 66000 | 0.2547 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 157 | University of Kentucky | 49200 | 58000 | 0.1531 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 159 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49700 | 85800 | 0.4206 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 160 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49800 | 59400 | 0.1617 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 160 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 162 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 83600 | 0.3958 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 163 | Binghamton University | 50700 | 52800 | 0.0407 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 164 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84700 | 0.3991 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 165 | University of Iowa | 51000 | 53200 | 0.0404 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 166 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 51600 | 52800 | 0.0227 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 167 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 168 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 169 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53700 | 62800 | 0.1449 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 170 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54000 | 59200 | 0.087 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 171 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 172 | Santa Clara University | 57600 | 85400 | 0.3255 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 173 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 174 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 175 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63700 | 65800 | 0.0327 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 175 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 63700 | 63700 | 0 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 177 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 178 | University of California-Irvine | 72000 | 75600 | 0.0476 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2857 | |
| 179 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 82400 | 82400 | 0 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 | |
| 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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