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 | 7400 | 91800 | 0.9194 | 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 | University of Pennsylvania | 9200 | 92900 | 0.9009 | 11,478 | 1536 | 0.054 | |
| 8 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 102300 | 0.9104 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 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 | 10900 | 93600 | 0.8838 | 6,523 | 1527 | 0.0571 | |
| 13 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 14 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 15 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 16 | Boston University | 12300 | 92800 | 0.8676 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 17 | University of California-Merced | 12400 | 41900 | 0.7042 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9053 | |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 19 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 20 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 21 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 13500 | 19400 | 0.304 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 21 | University of Delaware | 13500 | 34500 | 0.6079 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 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 | 47300 | 0.7099 | 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 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 29 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 30 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 91300 | 0.8394 | 6,528 | 1475 | 0.3654 | |
| 31 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14800 | 22500 | 0.3418 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 31 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 33 | Lehigh University | 15400 | 89600 | 0.8286 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 34 | Alabama State University | 15500 | 24300 | 0.3632 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 35 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3962 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 35 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 15800 | 38500 | 0.5888 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 35 | University of North Texas | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3953 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 38 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 15900 | 27700 | 0.4254 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 38 | University of California-Riverside | 15900 | 36500 | 0.564 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 40 | University of Florida | 16300 | 22500 | 0.2755 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 41 | North Carolina State University | 16400 | 28500 | 0.425 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 42 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 32900 | 0.4982 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 43 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16600 | 64800 | 0.7438 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 44 | West Virginia University | 16900 | 40900 | 0.5865 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 45 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 17600 | 26600 | 0.3387 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 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 | University of Mississippi | 18500 | 45000 | 0.5893 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 49 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 18700 | 24700 | 0.2425 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 50 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 18900 | 31400 | 0.3981 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 51 | University of Central Oklahoma | 19100 | 22700 | 0.1586 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 52 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 53 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 54 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19400 | 29900 | 0.3535 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 54 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 56 | University of Arizona | 19600 | 30900 | 0.3663 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 57 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19700 | 78700 | 0.7498 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 58 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 59 | University of Rochester | 20100 | 93100 | 0.7843 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 59 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 45200 | 0.5559 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 61 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 62 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 63 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 64 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 65 | Grand Valley State University | 22100 | 35900 | 0.3849 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 66 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 66 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 68 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 69 | Florida State University | 22500 | 32400 | 0.306 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 70 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22600 | 26900 | 0.1591 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 71 | University of South Dakota | 22700 | 26000 | 0.1261 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 72 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 22900 | 69800 | 0.6723 | 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 | |
| 75 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23200 | 34500 | 0.3279 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 76 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 77 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 78 | The College of New Jersey | 24700 | 38400 | 0.3564 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6229 | |
| 79 | Temple University | 24800 | 36100 | 0.3132 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 80 | Walla Walla University | 25600 | 51700 | 0.5046 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 81 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 82 | University of Mount Union | 26400 | 50900 | 0.4812 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 83 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 83 | Trine University | 26500 | 56100 | 0.5276 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 85 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 86 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 87 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 88 | Wichita State University | 27900 | 39800 | 0.3007 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 89 | Dartmouth College | 28100 | 96000 | 0.7074 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 90 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 91 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28500 | 32300 | 0.1176 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 91 | University of Hartford | 28500 | 70100 | 0.5933 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 93 | University of Utah | 28700 | 32000 | 0.1025 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 94 | University of Iowa | 28800 | 31100 | 0.0733 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 95 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2176 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 96 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 29300 | 34000 | 0.1383 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 96 | University of Toledo | 29300 | 32600 | 0.1006 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 98 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 99 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30300 | 78100 | 0.6118 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 100 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5438 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 100 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30600 | 38500 | 0.2052 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 102 | California State University-Long Beach | 30900 | 38900 | 0.2058 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 102 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 30900 | 33200 | 0.0687 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 104 | University of North Dakota | 31000 | 33700 | 0.0824 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 105 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 106 | University of Louisville | 31500 | 42000 | 0.2498 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 107 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4872 | 2,303 | 1124 | 0.6959 | |
| 108 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 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 | |
| 109 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 112 | California Baptist University | 33400 | 65600 | 0.4908 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 113 | Harding University | 33500 | 47800 | 0.2987 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 114 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 115 | LeTourneau University | 33900 | 54800 | 0.3817 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 115 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 117 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34200 | 70200 | 0.5131 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 118 | University of Vermont | 34500 | 66300 | 0.4799 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 119 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 120 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 120 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 35300 | 56700 | 0.3775 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 122 | New York Institute of Technology | 35400 | 83600 | 0.5769 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 123 | University of the Pacific | 35600 | 71500 | 0.5024 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 124 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 125 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 126 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 127 | University of Connecticut | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3062 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 128 | University of Nevada-Reno | 38000 | 45800 | 0.1704 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 129 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 130 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 131 | Stony Brook University | 39700 | 53000 | 0.2506 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 132 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 133 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 134 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40400 | 66000 | 0.3874 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 134 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 134 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 137 | Washington State University | 40600 | 56300 | 0.28 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 138 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 139 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 140 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 41200 | 42300 | 0.026 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 141 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 141 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 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 | 42600 | 56200 | 0.2421 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 146 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43300 | 68600 | 0.3686 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 147 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43800 | 57100 | 0.2328 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 148 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 149 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2752 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 150 | Duquesne University | 45200 | 70500 | 0.3586 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 151 | Widener University | 45700 | 79400 | 0.4246 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 152 | University of California-San Diego | 45900 | 74200 | 0.3813 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 153 | Fairfield University | 46000 | 84300 | 0.4542 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 153 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 80900 | 0.4312 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 155 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 156 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2122 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 156 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47100 | 57700 | 0.1838 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 158 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 159 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48400 | 91400 | 0.4706 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 160 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48500 | 51200 | 0.0543 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 161 | Drexel University | 48600 | 83900 | 0.4208 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 162 | University of Kentucky | 49000 | 58000 | 0.1551 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 163 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49500 | 85800 | 0.4229 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 164 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49700 | 59400 | 0.1633 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 165 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50300 | 83600 | 0.3982 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 166 | Binghamton University | 50500 | 52800 | 0.0432 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 167 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50800 | 84700 | 0.4003 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 168 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53200 | 61000 | 0.1291 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 169 | George Mason University | 53500 | 61000 | 0.123 | 28,334 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 170 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 171 | Santa Clara University | 57400 | 85400 | 0.3279 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 172 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 173 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 174 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63500 | 65800 | 0.0346 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 175 | 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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