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 | Rice University | 4300 | 85500 | 0.9496 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4900 | 86800 | 0.9433 | 4,576 | 1535 | 0.0485 | |
| 3 | Yale University | 5500 | 92300 | 0.9403 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 4 | Harvard University | 5900 | 90900 | 0.9348 | 7,038 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 6700 | 88600 | 0.9243 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 6 | California Institute of Technology | 8000 | 90300 | 0.9112 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 7 | Vanderbilt University | 8800 | 95000 | 0.9072 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 8 | Washington University in St Louis | 9400 | 96200 | 0.9026 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 10200 | 94100 | 0.8919 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 10 | Cornell University | 10400 | 92000 | 0.8866 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 11 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 10600 | 27200 | 0.6111 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 12 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 11300 | 34400 | 0.6706 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 13 | University of Pennsylvania | 11500 | 93000 | 0.8765 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 14 | University of California-San Diego | 11600 | 34000 | 0.6583 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 15 | Marshall University | 11700 | 27100 | 0.5673 | 9,165 | 1065 | 0.9572 | |
| 16 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 11800 | 27800 | 0.5744 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 17 | Northern Illinois University | 12400 | 29000 | 0.5718 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 18 | Northwestern University | 12600 | 87700 | 0.8563 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 19 | The University of Texas at Austin | 13200 | 30700 | 0.5697 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 19 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 13200 | 38500 | 0.657 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 21 | Duke University | 13500 | 93500 | 0.8559 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 21 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 13500 | 22500 | 0.4006 | 14,243 | 1125 | 0.7675 | |
| 23 | Boston University | 13600 | 88800 | 0.8472 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 32200 | 0.5744 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 25 | Louisiana Tech University | 13800 | 24900 | 0.4451 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 25 | Wichita State University | 13800 | 29800 | 0.5369 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 27 | Case Western Reserve University | 14200 | 80400 | 0.8229 | 6,528 | 1485 | 0.3778 | |
| 28 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 14400 | 41100 | 0.6502 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 29 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71300 | 0.792 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 30 | University of North Texas | 14900 | 25400 | 0.4141 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 31 | University of California-Berkeley | 15000 | 43500 | 0.655 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 32 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15300 | 28100 | 0.4555 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 33 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 15500 | 24800 | 0.3744 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 34 | North Carolina State University | 15600 | 27500 | 0.4331 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 35 | Grand Valley State University | 16000 | 25300 | 0.368 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 36 | University of Arizona | 16100 | 30900 | 0.4797 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 37 | Lehigh University | 16200 | 85700 | 0.8114 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 38 | Tufts University | 16900 | 92400 | 0.8175 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 39 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 17400 | 24700 | 0.2981 | 8,765 | 1209 | 0.8799 | |
| 40 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 17600 | 33600 | 0.4758 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 41 | Bucknell University | 17700 | 88400 | 0.7996 | 3,920 | 1284 | 0.2893 | |
| 41 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 43 | University of Arkansas | 17900 | 27700 | 0.3527 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 44 | Union College | 18300 | 91000 | 0.799 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 45 | University of Mississippi | 18900 | 45500 | 0.5851 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 45 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 18900 | 18900 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 47 | Kansas State University | 19000 | 31400 | 0.395 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 48 | University of Southern California | 19200 | 76000 | 0.7473 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
| 49 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.4823 | |
| 50 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 19400 | 27200 | 0.2871 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 51 | San Jose State University | 19600 | 29900 | 0.3442 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 51 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19600 | 31000 | 0.3674 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 53 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19700 | 29300 | 0.3271 | 1,984 | 1369 | 0.6328 | |
| 54 | Alabama State University | 20200 | 37400 | 0.4592 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 54 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20200 | 38800 | 0.481 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 54 | Wayne State University | 20200 | 32300 | 0.3751 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 57 | West Virginia University | 20700 | 28800 | 0.2815 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 58 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 21000 | 69400 | 0.6978 | 2,705 | 1292 | 0.6239 | |
| 59 | Brown University | 21300 | 93900 | 0.7729 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 60 | University of Miami | 21500 | 70800 | 0.6967 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 61 | University of California-Irvine | 21600 | 35300 | 0.3886 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 62 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 22500 | 35400 | 0.3639 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 63 | Florida State University | 22600 | 25000 | 0.0962 | 32,711 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 64 | University of Memphis | 22700 | 30000 | 0.2437 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 65 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22800 | 26900 | 0.1515 | 2,170 | 1264 | 0.8525 | |
| 66 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23400 | 48800 | 0.5206 | 1,642 | 1055 | 0.5713 | |
| 67 | Syracuse University | 23600 | 83100 | 0.716 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 68 | Oral Roberts University | 23800 | 55600 | 0.5718 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 69 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23900 | 71600 | 0.6664 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 69 | University of South Dakota | 23900 | 26000 | 0.0798 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 71 | University of Rochester | 24100 | 93100 | 0.7414 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 72 | Miami University-Oxford | 24700 | 27200 | 0.0917 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 73 | Montana State University | 24900 | 31400 | 0.207 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 74 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 25000 | 36600 | 0.3173 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 74 | University of Akron Main Campus | 25000 | 25000 | 0 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 76 | Walla Walla University | 25500 | 51100 | 0.5017 | 1,238 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 77 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 25800 | 35700 | 0.2775 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 78 | The College of New Jersey | 26000 | 42000 | 0.3812 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6235 | |
| 79 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4791 | 1,927 | 1105 | 0.8013 | |
| 80 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5258 | 4,157 | 1209 | 0.8469 | |
| 81 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 26900 | 83600 | 0.6785 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 82 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 27600 | 36700 | 0.248 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 83 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 27900 | 32800 | 0.1492 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 83 | University of Louisville | 27900 | 42200 | 0.3387 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 85 | California State University-Long Beach | 28000 | 38400 | 0.2712 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 86 | Mississippi State University | 28300 | 32300 | 0.126 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 87 | Regis College | 28500 | 70400 | 0.595 | 1,055 | 965 | 0.9009 | |
| 88 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5914 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 89 | George Fox University | 28700 | 67100 | 0.5727 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 90 | Dartmouth College | 28800 | 91100 | 0.6835 | 4,570 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 91 | University of Iowa | 29000 | 31100 | 0.0667 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 92 | Messiah University | 29300 | 54100 | 0.4586 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 93 | University of Toledo | 29500 | 32600 | 0.0943 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 93 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 29500 | 36500 | 0.1919 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 95 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 29900 | 31100 | 0.0385 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 96 | Gannon University | 30400 | 45300 | 0.329 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 97 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6096 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 97 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 30500 | 41800 | 0.2705 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 99 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5437 | 1,474 | 1214 | 0.7384 | |
| 100 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 30900 | 42400 | 0.2713 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 100 | University of Houston | 30900 | 35200 | 0.1223 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 102 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31100 | 33200 | 0.0625 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 103 | University of Rhode Island | 31300 | 46700 | 0.3298 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 104 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31700 | 36400 | 0.129 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 105 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4871 | 2,304 | 1124 | 0.7089 | |
| 106 | Widener University | 32500 | 75300 | 0.5682 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 107 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 32600 | 38500 | 0.1533 | 7,890 | 1105 | 0.2056 | |
| 108 | California Lutheran University | 32700 | 65800 | 0.5027 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 109 | Harding University | 32900 | 47000 | 0.2995 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 110 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 111 | Valparaiso University | 34000 | 62700 | 0.4572 | 2,123 | 1247 | 0.8934 | |
| 112 | LeTourneau University | 34100 | 54600 | 0.3754 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 113 | University of Vermont | 34600 | 66300 | 0.4782 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 114 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 34700 | 74600 | 0.5351 | 2,315 | 1382 | 0.7686 | |
| 114 | University of South Florida | 34700 | 34700 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 116 | University of Nevada-Reno | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 117 | California Baptist University | 35200 | 65200 | 0.46 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 118 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 119 | University of Maine | 36100 | 45100 | 0.1996 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 120 | Florida International University | 36300 | 36800 | 0.0136 | 44,904 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 121 | University of the Pacific | 36500 | 72100 | 0.4939 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 122 | Lawrence Technological University | 36800 | 67800 | 0.457 | 2,579 | 1155 | 0.7403 | |
| 123 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 62000 | 0.3968 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 124 | University of Central Oklahoma | 37600 | 38500 | 0.0234 | 10,454 | 1095 | 0.8176 | |
| 125 | University of Connecticut | 37800 | 41800 | 0.0957 | 19,388 | 1324 | 0.5395 | |
| 126 | Washington State University | 38600 | 53900 | 0.2835 | 14,346 | 1139 | 0.8797 | |
| 127 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 39000 | 52900 | 0.2626 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 128 | University of Illinois Chicago | 39200 | 48000 | 0.1832 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 129 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 39600 | 53800 | 0.264 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 130 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2467 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 131 | Loyola University Chicago | 40000 | 67600 | 0.4085 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 132 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 40200 | 40200 | 0 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 133 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 68600 | 0.4116 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 134 | Western New England University | 40500 | 67000 | 0.3957 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 135 | Temple University | 40600 | 56100 | 0.2762 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 136 | Endicott College | 40800 | 63200 | 0.3544 | 3,176 | 1215 | 0.7229 | |
| 137 | CUNY City College | 41500 | 41500 | 0 | 12,982 | 1169 | 0.5997 | |
| 137 | Fairfield University | 41500 | 77900 | 0.467 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 139 | Hofstra University | 41700 | 74600 | 0.4409 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 140 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 42200 | 42200 | 0 | 12,382 | 1242 | 0.8842 | |
| 141 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,019 | 1159 | 0.7781 | |
| 142 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 42500 | 52100 | 0.1843 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 142 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42500 | 54900 | 0.2261 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 144 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 42600 | 55100 | 0.227 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 144 | University at Buffalo | 42600 | 46800 | 0.0897 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 146 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 43200 | 46200 | 0.0665 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 147 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 43500 | 50300 | 0.1352 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 147 | University of California-Riverside | 43500 | 66400 | 0.3448 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 147 | University of Florida | 43500 | 45600 | 0.046 | 36,567 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 150 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43700 | 68800 | 0.3647 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 151 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 44000 | 57100 | 0.2292 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 152 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2742 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 153 | Duquesne University | 45400 | 70500 | 0.3557 | 5,371 | 1269 | 0.8356 | |
| 154 | Marquette University | 45600 | 75100 | 0.3929 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 155 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 74500 | 0.3826 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 156 | University of Delaware | 47200 | 53200 | 0.1127 | 19,119 | 1303 | 0.6356 | |
| 157 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 56200 | 0.1476 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 158 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 48400 | 85700 | 0.435 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 159 | University of California-Merced | 48500 | 52300 | 0.0726 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 160 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49100 | 85800 | 0.4277 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 161 | George Mason University | 49200 | 49200 | 0 | 28,331 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 162 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 49900 | 56400 | 0.1152 | 10,200 | 1346 | 0.6507 | |
| 163 | Binghamton University | 50000 | 52100 | 0.0398 | 14,669 | 1417 | 0.3861 | |
| 164 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 81000 | 0.3763 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 165 | University of Kentucky | 51000 | 56000 | 0.0893 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 165 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84200 | 0.3944 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 167 | Drexel University | 51200 | 82600 | 0.38 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 168 | University of Colorado Boulder | 51500 | 56300 | 0.0852 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 169 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.0386 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 170 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 51700 | 51700 | 0 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 171 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 172 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54100 | 59200 | 0.0857 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 173 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 56200 | 66500 | 0.1549 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 174 | Santa Clara University | 56800 | 84800 | 0.3303 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 175 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 56900 | 58900 | 0.0352 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 176 | Hawaii Pacific University | 58800 | 60900 | 0.0341 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 177 | Michigan Technological University | 59100 | 59100 | 0 | 6,022 | 1256 | 0.8353 | |
| 178 | Clemson University | 61600 | 63700 | 0.0326 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 179 | University of California-Davis | 63500 | 63500 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 180 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,177 | 1204 | 0.8278 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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