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 | |
| 13 | University of California-San Diego | 11500 | 39700 | 0.7102 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 14 | Cornell University | 11700 | 93100 | 0.8745 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 14 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 11700 | 19400 | 0.3967 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 16 | Marshall University | 11800 | 36600 | 0.6773 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 17 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 12100 | 38800 | 0.6887 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 18 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 19 | University of California-Merced | 12500 | 41900 | 0.7018 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9053 | |
| 20 | Boston University | 12700 | 92800 | 0.8633 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 21 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 23 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 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 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 28 | Alabama State University | 14200 | 31300 | 0.5476 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 29 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5047 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 30 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14400 | 20300 | 0.29 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 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 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 34 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15600 | 31000 | 0.4964 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 36 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3949 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 36 | University of North Texas | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3953 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 38 | University of California-Riverside | 15900 | 36500 | 0.564 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 39 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 16000 | 27700 | 0.4218 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 40 | North Carolina State University | 16500 | 28500 | 0.4204 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 40 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 32900 | 0.4982 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 40 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 43 | The University of Texas at Austin | 16600 | 28000 | 0.4076 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 44 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 44 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16700 | 64800 | 0.7418 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 46 | University of Louisville | 17500 | 29100 | 0.399 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 47 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 17600 | 26600 | 0.3387 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 48 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 49 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 18200 | 18200 | 0 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 50 | University of California-Berkeley | 18300 | 43500 | 0.5798 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 51 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 18900 | 31400 | 0.3981 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 52 | University of Central Oklahoma | 19100 | 22700 | 0.1586 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 53 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19200 | 28200 | 0.3189 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 54 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 54 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19300 | 29900 | 0.3558 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 56 | University of Mississippi | 19400 | 27000 | 0.2814 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 56 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 58 | University of Colorado Boulder | 19800 | 31900 | 0.3782 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 58 | Wichita State University | 19800 | 29800 | 0.3372 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 60 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 61 | University of Rochester | 20200 | 93100 | 0.7833 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 61 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20200 | 45200 | 0.5537 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 63 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 20600 | 42900 | 0.5204 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 | |
| 64 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 65 | Washington State University | 21200 | 36200 | 0.4131 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 66 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 67 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 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 | University of South Dakota | 22900 | 26000 | 0.1211 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 74 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23000 | 69800 | 0.6709 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 74 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 74 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 77 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 78 | Florida International University | 23700 | 23700 | 0 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 79 | University of Kentucky | 23800 | 36400 | 0.3451 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 80 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 80 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 24300 | 28400 | 0.1461 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 82 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24600 | 40500 | 0.3927 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 83 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 83 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 24700 | 24700 | 0 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 85 | The College of New Jersey | 24900 | 38400 | 0.3512 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6229 | |
| 86 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5032 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 87 | University of North Dakota | 25900 | 28600 | 0.0928 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 88 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 89 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 89 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4799 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 91 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5253 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 92 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 93 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 94 | Syracuse University | 27700 | 83100 | 0.6665 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 95 | Mississippi State University | 28200 | 32300 | 0.1283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 96 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 97 | Dartmouth College | 28600 | 96000 | 0.7021 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 97 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 97 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5921 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 100 | Oregon State University | 28900 | 36700 | 0.2143 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 101 | Clemson University | 29200 | 37100 | 0.2141 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 101 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 39500 | 0.2608 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 103 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 104 | University of Toledo | 29800 | 42000 | 0.2895 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 105 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30500 | 38500 | 0.2078 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 105 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6093 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 107 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5434 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 108 | California State University-Long Beach | 31000 | 38900 | 0.2032 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 108 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31000 | 33200 | 0.0648 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 110 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 111 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 112 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4872 | 2,303 | 1124 | 0.6959 | |
| 113 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 114 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 114 | Marquette University | 32300 | 66500 | 0.5142 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 116 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32500 | 35100 | 0.0742 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 117 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 118 | California Baptist University | 33600 | 65600 | 0.4878 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 119 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 119 | Harding University | 33700 | 47800 | 0.296 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 121 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 122 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34400 | 70200 | 0.5103 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 123 | University of Vermont | 34500 | 66300 | 0.4788 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 124 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 125 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 126 | New York Institute of Technology | 35500 | 83600 | 0.5755 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 127 | Temple University | 35600 | 56400 | 0.3689 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 127 | University of the Pacific | 35600 | 71500 | 0.5024 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 129 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 130 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 131 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36800 | 38900 | 0.0552 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 132 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 133 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 134 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2481 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 134 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 136 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 137 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 138 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40500 | 66000 | 0.3866 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 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 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 145 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 42700 | 56200 | 0.2403 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 146 | University of Florida | 43200 | 45700 | 0.0548 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 147 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43600 | 68700 | 0.3659 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 148 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3568 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 149 | Widener University | 45800 | 79400 | 0.4233 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 150 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 151 | Fairfield University | 46200 | 84300 | 0.4518 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 151 | Saint Louis University | 46200 | 80900 | 0.4287 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 153 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2117 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 154 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 155 | University of Delaware | 48400 | 61300 | 0.211 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 156 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0517 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 156 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48600 | 91400 | 0.4684 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 158 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83900 | 0.4184 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 159 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49700 | 85800 | 0.4206 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 160 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 161 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 83600 | 0.3958 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 162 | Binghamton University | 50700 | 52800 | 0.0407 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 163 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84700 | 0.3991 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 164 | University of Iowa | 51000 | 53200 | 0.0404 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 165 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.04 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 166 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 53000 | 61200 | 0.1332 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 167 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 167 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53300 | 61000 | 0.127 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 169 | George Mason University | 53600 | 61000 | 0.1213 | 28,334 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 169 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 171 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53700 | 62800 | 0.1449 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 172 | Santa Clara University | 57600 | 85400 | 0.3255 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 173 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 174 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 175 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 176 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63700 | 65800 | 0.0327 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 176 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 63700 | 63700 | 0 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 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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