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 | California Institute of Technology | 4300 | 90300 | 0.9522 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 1 | Rice University | 4300 | 85500 | 0.9496 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins University | 4400 | 88600 | 0.9502 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4700 | 86800 | 0.9456 | 4,576 | 1535 | 0.0485 | |
| 5 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 5000 | 39100 | 0.8731 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 6 | Yale University | 5500 | 92300 | 0.9403 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 7 | Boston University | 5700 | 88800 | 0.9363 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 7 | University of Pennsylvania | 5700 | 93000 | 0.9389 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 9 | Harvard University | 5900 | 90900 | 0.9353 | 7,038 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 6500 | 94100 | 0.9312 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 11 | CUNY City College | 7500 | 31200 | 0.7597 | 12,982 | 1169 | 0.5997 | |
| 12 | Vanderbilt University | 7800 | 95000 | 0.9178 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 13 | Brown University | 8400 | 93900 | 0.9103 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 14 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 96200 | 0.904 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 15 | Duke University | 9800 | 93500 | 0.8955 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 16 | University of California-Davis | 10100 | 37800 | 0.732 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 17 | Cornell University | 10300 | 92000 | 0.8877 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 18 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11100 | 27200 | 0.5927 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 19 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 11300 | 34400 | 0.6706 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 20 | Marshall University | 11400 | 27100 | 0.5784 | 9,165 | 1065 | 0.9572 | |
| 21 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 11700 | 27800 | 0.579 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 22 | University of California-San Diego | 12000 | 34000 | 0.6466 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 23 | Lehigh University | 12300 | 85700 | 0.857 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 23 | Northern Illinois University | 12300 | 29000 | 0.5744 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 27200 | 0.5443 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 26 | Northwestern University | 12600 | 87700 | 0.8563 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 27 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 13000 | 20300 | 0.3588 | 14,243 | 1125 | 0.7675 | |
| 28 | The University of Texas at Austin | 13100 | 30700 | 0.573 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 29 | North Carolina A & T State University | 13700 | 17900 | 0.2353 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 30 | Louisiana Tech University | 13800 | 24900 | 0.4451 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 31 | West Virginia University | 14200 | 23300 | 0.3905 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 32 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 14500 | 41100 | 0.6478 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 32 | Union College | 14500 | 91000 | 0.8407 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 34 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 80400 | 0.8167 | 6,528 | 1485 | 0.3778 | |
| 35 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71300 | 0.792 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 36 | University of North Texas | 14900 | 25400 | 0.4141 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 37 | Alabama State University | 15100 | 28000 | 0.4616 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 38 | University of California-Irvine | 15200 | 35300 | 0.5701 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 39 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 15500 | 24800 | 0.3744 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 40 | Florida State University | 15600 | 23100 | 0.3246 | 32,711 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 41 | University of Florida | 15900 | 22300 | 0.2871 | 36,567 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 42 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5548 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 43 | University of Southern California | 16600 | 76000 | 0.7815 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
| 44 | Tufts University | 16900 | 92400 | 0.8175 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 45 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 17400 | 24700 | 0.2978 | 8,765 | 1209 | 0.8799 | |
| 46 | Bucknell University | 17700 | 88400 | 0.7996 | 3,920 | 1284 | 0.2893 | |
| 46 | University of Rochester | 17700 | 93100 | 0.8101 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 46 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 49 | University of Arkansas | 17800 | 27700 | 0.3574 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 50 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 50 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 18300 | 78300 | 0.7664 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 52 | University of Mississippi | 18700 | 45500 | 0.5895 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 53 | Kansas State University | 19000 | 31400 | 0.395 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 53 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 19000 | 27000 | 0.2967 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 55 | San Jose State University | 19200 | 29900 | 0.3576 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 56 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.4823 | |
| 57 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19500 | 28200 | 0.3085 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 58 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 19600 | 27200 | 0.2797 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 59 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19700 | 40000 | 0.5074 | 1,984 | 1369 | 0.6328 | |
| 59 | Wayne State University | 19700 | 32300 | 0.3906 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 61 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20100 | 36200 | 0.445 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 61 | University of Colorado Boulder | 20100 | 30600 | 0.3431 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 61 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 43700 | 0.5405 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 64 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 20800 | 69400 | 0.7007 | 2,705 | 1292 | 0.6239 | |
| 65 | University of Central Oklahoma | 20900 | 22700 | 0.0793 | 10,454 | 1095 | 0.8176 | |
| 66 | University of Miami | 21100 | 70800 | 0.7023 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 67 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22700 | 26900 | 0.1563 | 2,170 | 1264 | 0.8525 | |
| 67 | University of Memphis | 22700 | 30000 | 0.2437 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 69 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23300 | 33600 | 0.3067 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 70 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23400 | 48800 | 0.5206 | 1,642 | 1055 | 0.5713 | |
| 71 | Syracuse University | 23500 | 83100 | 0.7172 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 72 | University of Kentucky | 23800 | 36000 | 0.3386 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 72 | University of South Dakota | 23800 | 26000 | 0.0848 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 74 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23900 | 71600 | 0.6664 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 74 | Oral Roberts University | 23900 | 55600 | 0.5706 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 76 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 24100 | 83600 | 0.712 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 76 | University at Buffalo | 24100 | 34000 | 0.2912 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 78 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 24700 | 28500 | 0.1335 | 12,382 | 1242 | 0.8842 | |
| 79 | Montana State University | 24900 | 31400 | 0.207 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 79 | Temple University | 24900 | 36300 | 0.3143 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 81 | University of Akron Main Campus | 25000 | 25000 | 0 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 82 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 25700 | 35700 | 0.2803 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 82 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5038 | 1,238 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 84 | Marquette University | 25800 | 65700 | 0.6069 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 85 | The College of New Jersey | 26000 | 42000 | 0.3812 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6235 | |
| 86 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 87 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 26200 | 28400 | 0.0776 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 88 | University of Mount Union | 26400 | 50900 | 0.4805 | 1,927 | 1105 | 0.8013 | |
| 89 | University of Arizona | 26500 | 35200 | 0.247 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 90 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5263 | 4,157 | 1209 | 0.8469 | |
| 91 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 27300 | 40300 | 0.3224 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 92 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 27600 | 36700 | 0.2476 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 93 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 27700 | 31400 | 0.1178 | 14,019 | 1159 | 0.7781 | |
| 94 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 27900 | 32800 | 0.1492 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 94 | University of Louisville | 27900 | 42200 | 0.3387 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 96 | California State University-Long Beach | 28000 | 38400 | 0.2712 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 97 | Grand Valley State University | 28200 | 35700 | 0.2101 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 98 | Dartmouth College | 28300 | 91100 | 0.689 | 4,570 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 99 | Regis College | 28500 | 70400 | 0.595 | 1,055 | 965 | 0.9009 | |
| 99 | University of Hartford | 28500 | 70100 | 0.5926 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 101 | George Fox University | 28700 | 67100 | 0.5727 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 101 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 28700 | 78100 | 0.6326 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 103 | University of Iowa | 28900 | 31100 | 0.0709 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 104 | Messiah University | 29300 | 54100 | 0.4586 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 105 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 29900 | 31100 | 0.0385 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 106 | Gannon University | 30400 | 45300 | 0.329 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 107 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 30500 | 41800 | 0.2705 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 108 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5442 | 1,474 | 1214 | 0.7384 | |
| 109 | University of Toledo | 30800 | 42000 | 0.267 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 110 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 30900 | 42400 | 0.2713 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 110 | University of Houston | 30900 | 35200 | 0.1223 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 112 | University of Rhode Island | 31300 | 46700 | 0.3298 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 113 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.487 | 2,304 | 1124 | 0.7089 | |
| 114 | Widener University | 32500 | 75300 | 0.5682 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 115 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 32600 | 38500 | 0.1533 | 7,890 | 1105 | 0.2056 | |
| 116 | California Lutheran University | 32700 | 65800 | 0.5027 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 117 | Harding University | 32800 | 47000 | 0.3023 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 117 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4017 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 119 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 33600 | 46200 | 0.2729 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 120 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 121 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54600 | 0.3772 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 121 | Valparaiso University | 34000 | 62700 | 0.4572 | 2,123 | 1247 | 0.8934 | |
| 123 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 34100 | 74600 | 0.5432 | 2,315 | 1382 | 0.7686 | |
| 124 | University of South Florida | 34700 | 34700 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 125 | California Baptist University | 35100 | 65200 | 0.4616 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 126 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 127 | University of Maine | 36100 | 45100 | 0.1996 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 128 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2815 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 129 | University of the Pacific | 36400 | 72100 | 0.4953 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 130 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 44,904 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 131 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36700 | 38900 | 0.0566 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 132 | Lawrence Technological University | 36800 | 67800 | 0.457 | 2,579 | 1155 | 0.7403 | |
| 133 | Wichita State University | 37400 | 39600 | 0.0556 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 134 | Loyola University Chicago | 37500 | 67600 | 0.4455 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 135 | University of Connecticut | 37600 | 41800 | 0.1005 | 19,388 | 1324 | 0.5395 | |
| 136 | Washington State University | 38500 | 53900 | 0.2859 | 14,346 | 1139 | 0.8797 | |
| 137 | Hofstra University | 38800 | 74600 | 0.4797 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 137 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38800 | 52900 | 0.2664 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 139 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 39000 | 48900 | 0.2024 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 140 | University of Illinois Chicago | 39200 | 48000 | 0.1832 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 141 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 39600 | 53700 | 0.2627 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 142 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 40200 | 40200 | 0 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 143 | Western New England University | 40500 | 67000 | 0.3957 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 144 | Endicott College | 40800 | 63200 | 0.3544 | 3,176 | 1215 | 0.7229 | |
| 145 | Fairfield University | 41500 | 77900 | 0.467 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 146 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 41600 | 42500 | 0.0212 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 147 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 42500 | 52100 | 0.1843 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 148 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 42600 | 55100 | 0.227 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 149 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 43000 | 46200 | 0.0693 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 150 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68600 | 0.3675 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 151 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 43500 | 50300 | 0.1352 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 151 | University of California-Riverside | 43500 | 66400 | 0.3448 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 153 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2748 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 154 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3575 | 5,371 | 1269 | 0.8356 | |
| 155 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 74500 | 0.3826 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 156 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 47200 | 85700 | 0.449 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 156 | University of Delaware | 47200 | 53200 | 0.1127 | 19,119 | 1303 | 0.6356 | |
| 158 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 56200 | 0.1476 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 159 | University of California-Merced | 48500 | 52300 | 0.0726 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 160 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49000 | 85800 | 0.4288 | 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 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 50200 | 52300 | 0.0401 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 164 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50400 | 81000 | 0.3776 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 165 | Binghamton University | 50600 | 52800 | 0.0417 | 14,669 | 1417 | 0.3861 | |
| 166 | Drexel University | 51100 | 82600 | 0.3812 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 167 | University of Utah | 51500 | 53700 | 0.0411 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 168 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 51700 | 51700 | 0 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 169 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 52400 | 56100 | 0.0661 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 170 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 171 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54000 | 59200 | 0.0879 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 172 | Miami University-Oxford | 56100 | 56100 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 173 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 56200 | 66500 | 0.1549 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 174 | Santa Clara University | 56500 | 84800 | 0.3339 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 175 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 56700 | 58900 | 0.0374 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 176 | Hawaii Pacific University | 58700 | 60900 | 0.0362 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 177 | Michigan Technological University | 59100 | 59100 | 0 | 6,022 | 1256 | 0.8353 | |
| 178 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.0346 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 179 | University of California-Berkeley | 74600 | 75500 | 0.0119 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 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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