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 | 11100 | 93600 | 0.8816 | 6,523 | 1527 | 0.0571 | |
| 12 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 14 | University of California-San Diego | 11500 | 39700 | 0.7102 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 14 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11500 | 29100 | 0.6053 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 16 | Cornell University | 11700 | 93100 | 0.8745 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 17 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11900 | 25700 | 0.5363 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 19 | Boston University | 12700 | 92800 | 0.8633 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 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 Houston | 13700 | 22000 | 0.3766 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 50700 | 0.7294 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 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 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 29 | Alabama State University | 14200 | 31300 | 0.5476 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 30 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5047 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 31 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 32 | Case Western Reserve University | 14800 | 91300 | 0.8383 | 6,528 | 1475 | 0.3654 | |
| 32 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 34 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14900 | 22500 | 0.3374 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 35 | University of Central Oklahoma | 15500 | 28700 | 0.46 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 36 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 37 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3949 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 38 | University of Florida | 16400 | 22500 | 0.271 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 39 | The University of Texas at Austin | 16600 | 28000 | 0.4076 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 39 | University of Maine | 16600 | 29300 | 0.4337 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 41 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 41 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16700 | 64800 | 0.7418 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 43 | West Virginia University | 17000 | 40900 | 0.5841 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 44 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 17100 | 17100 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 45 | University of Louisville | 17500 | 29100 | 0.399 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 46 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 17600 | 26600 | 0.3387 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 47 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 48 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 49 | University of Mississippi | 18600 | 45000 | 0.5871 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 50 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19200 | 28200 | 0.3189 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 50 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 52 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 52 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19300 | 29900 | 0.3558 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 54 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 55 | University of Arizona | 19600 | 30900 | 0.3663 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 56 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19900 | 78600 | 0.7467 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 57 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 58 | University of Rochester | 20200 | 93100 | 0.7833 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 58 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20200 | 45200 | 0.5537 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 60 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 60 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 62 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 63 | Washington State University | 21200 | 36200 | 0.4131 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 64 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 64 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 21400 | 35300 | 0.3934 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 66 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 67 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 68 | Grand Valley State University | 22100 | 35900 | 0.3849 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 69 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 69 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 71 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 72 | Florida State University | 22600 | 32400 | 0.3029 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 73 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23000 | 69800 | 0.6709 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 73 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 73 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 76 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 77 | Florida International University | 23700 | 23700 | 0 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 78 | University of Kentucky | 23800 | 36400 | 0.3454 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 79 | University of South Dakota | 23900 | 26000 | 0.0826 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 80 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 81 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 82 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 24700 | 24700 | 0 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 83 | The College of New Jersey | 24900 | 38400 | 0.3512 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6229 | |
| 84 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5032 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 85 | University of North Dakota | 25900 | 28600 | 0.0928 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 86 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 87 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 88 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 26300 | 28400 | 0.0756 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 88 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 26300 | 28400 | 0.0757 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 90 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 90 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4799 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 92 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5253 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 93 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 93 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 95 | Rowan University | 27500 | 41300 | 0.3345 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 96 | Syracuse University | 27700 | 83100 | 0.6665 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 97 | Wichita State University | 28000 | 39800 | 0.2974 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 98 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 99 | Dartmouth College | 28600 | 96000 | 0.7021 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 99 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 99 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5921 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 102 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 103 | Michigan Technological University | 29000 | 34700 | 0.1643 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 103 | University of Iowa | 29000 | 31100 | 0.0691 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 105 | Marquette University | 29100 | 63800 | 0.544 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 106 | Clemson University | 29200 | 37100 | 0.2141 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 106 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 39500 | 0.2608 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 108 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 108 | University of Toledo | 29500 | 32600 | 0.0966 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 110 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30500 | 38500 | 0.2078 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 110 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6093 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 112 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5434 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 113 | California State University-Long Beach | 31000 | 38900 | 0.2032 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 114 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 115 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 116 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4872 | 2,303 | 1124 | 0.6959 | |
| 117 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 117 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32200 | 36700 | 0.1214 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 119 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 120 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32500 | 35100 | 0.0742 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 121 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4007 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 122 | California Baptist University | 33600 | 65600 | 0.4878 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 123 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 123 | Harding University | 33700 | 47800 | 0.296 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 125 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 126 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34400 | 70200 | 0.5103 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 127 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 128 | University of South Florida | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 129 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 130 | New York Institute of Technology | 35500 | 83600 | 0.5755 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 131 | Temple University | 35600 | 56400 | 0.3689 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 131 | University of the Pacific | 35600 | 71500 | 0.5024 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 133 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2804 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 134 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 135 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 136 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36800 | 38900 | 0.0552 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 137 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 138 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 139 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 140 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 140 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 140 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 40400 | 42500 | 0.0495 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 140 | Wayne State University | 40400 | 46200 | 0.1256 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 144 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40500 | 66000 | 0.3866 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 145 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 48500 | 0.1628 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 146 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 147 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 41200 | 42300 | 0.026 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 148 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 148 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 150 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43600 | 68700 | 0.3659 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 151 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 152 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2746 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 153 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3568 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 154 | Widener University | 45800 | 79400 | 0.4233 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 155 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 156 | Fairfield University | 46200 | 84300 | 0.4518 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 156 | Saint Louis University | 46200 | 80900 | 0.4287 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 158 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1842 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 159 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2117 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 160 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 161 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 162 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48600 | 91400 | 0.4684 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 163 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83900 | 0.4184 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 164 | University of California-Riverside | 49300 | 66000 | 0.2532 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 165 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49700 | 85800 | 0.4206 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 166 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 167 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 83600 | 0.3958 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 168 | Binghamton University | 50700 | 52800 | 0.0407 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 169 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84700 | 0.3991 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 170 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.04 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 171 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 172 | George Mason University | 53600 | 61000 | 0.1213 | 28,334 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 173 | Santa Clara University | 57600 | 85400 | 0.3255 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 174 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63700 | 65800 | 0.0327 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 174 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 63700 | 63700 | 0 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 176 | University of California-Davis | 69800 | 69800 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 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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