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 | 6,354 | 1554 | 0.0611 | |
| 2 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,667 | 1507 | 0.0475 | |
| 3 | Harvard University | 5900 | 95600 | 0.9384 | 6,738 | 1500 | 0.0418 | |
| 4 | Vanderbilt University | 7800 | 96200 | 0.9185 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,561 | 1542 | 0.0456 | |
| 6 | California Institute of Technology | 8300 | 91800 | 0.9096 | 971 | 1564 | 0.0379 | |
| 6 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 8 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,807 | 1528 | 0.0801 | |
| 9 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38100 | 0.7328 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 | |
| 10 | Washington University in St Louis | 10700 | 102300 | 0.8957 | 8,153 | 1512 | 0.1192 | |
| 11 | Duke University | 10800 | 93600 | 0.8848 | 6,525 | 1533 | 0.0524 | |
| 12 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,960 | 1070 | 0.9663 | |
| 13 | Bucknell University | 11200 | 95700 | 0.8834 | 3,928 | 1275 | 0.322 | |
| 14 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,138 | 1528 | 0.0838 | |
| 14 | University of California-San Diego | 11500 | 39700 | 0.7102 | 35,442 | 1375 | 0.2856 | |
| 16 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 11600 | 19400 | 0.4019 | 23,007 | 1281 | 0.6909 | |
| 17 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11900 | 25700 | 0.5363 | 46,627 | 1366 | 0.492 | |
| 18 | University of Pennsylvania | 12000 | 92900 | 0.8708 | 9,989 | 1535 | 0.0492 | |
| 19 | Boston University | 12300 | 92800 | 0.8676 | 18,289 | 1475 | 0.1283 | |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 21 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,421 | 1054 | 0.9444 | |
| 22 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 23 | University of Houston | 13700 | 22000 | 0.3766 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 24 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,951 | 1500 | 0.0634 | |
| 25 | University of California-Merced | 14000 | 41900 | 0.666 | 8,234 | 1070 | 0.9704 | |
| 26 | Grand Valley State University | 14100 | 25300 | 0.4432 | 19,154 | 1074 | 0.9271 | |
| 27 | Alabama State University | 14200 | 31300 | 0.5476 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 27 | Union College | 14200 | 92400 | 0.8462 | 1,954 | 1399 | 0.4342 | |
| 29 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 12,118 | 1070 | 0.7164 | |
| 30 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,060 | 1533 | 0.0769 | |
| 31 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 91300 | 0.8394 | 6,657 | 1484 | 0.3778 | |
| 32 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14800 | 22500 | 0.3418 | 14,434 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 32 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,346 | 1542 | 0.038 | |
| 34 | Lehigh University | 15500 | 89600 | 0.8275 | 5,986 | 1436 | 0.2896 | |
| 35 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3962 | 16,555 | 1163 | 0.875 | |
| 35 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 15800 | 38500 | 0.5888 | 38,572 | 1455 | 0.3659 | |
| 37 | University of California-Riverside | 15900 | 36500 | 0.564 | 24,034 | 1199 | 0.8609 | |
| 38 | California State University-Long Beach | 16100 | 25800 | 0.3761 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 39 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5554 | 33,534 | 1399 | 0.0941 | |
| 39 | University of Florida | 16300 | 22500 | 0.2755 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 41 | North Carolina State University | 16400 | 28500 | 0.4252 | 29,340 | 1374 | 0.3954 | |
| 42 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16600 | 64800 | 0.7439 | 22,007 | 1427 | 0.1672 | |
| 43 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 44 | West Virginia University | 16800 | 40900 | 0.589 | 18,206 | 1120 | 0.8514 | |
| 45 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17400 | 29900 | 0.4173 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 46 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,241 | 1408 | 0.1761 | |
| 46 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 48 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5381 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 49 | University of California-Berkeley | 18300 | 43500 | 0.5798 | 33,513 | 1407 | 0.1145 | |
| 49 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,159 | 1372 | 0.7304 | |
| 51 | Grand Canyon University | 18900 | 33700 | 0.4392 | 75,936 | 1075 | 0.7891 | |
| 52 | University of Central Oklahoma | 19100 | 22700 | 0.1586 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 53 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 54 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,967 | 940 | 0.9602 | |
| 55 | University of Mississippi | 19400 | 27000 | 0.2814 | 22,939 | 1172 | 0.9738 | |
| 56 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19700 | 78600 | 0.7492 | 17,848 | 1470 | 0.1565 | |
| 56 | Wichita State University | 19700 | 29800 | 0.3386 | 14,906 | 1065 | 0.7224 | |
| 58 | University of Colorado Boulder | 19800 | 31900 | 0.3784 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7809 | |
| 59 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 60 | University of Rochester | 20100 | 93100 | 0.7843 | 6,096 | 1448 | 0.4191 | |
| 61 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 20300 | 29300 | 0.3067 | 1,984 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 62 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 20600 | 28500 | 0.2776 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 63 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 43,633 | 1342 | 0.4343 | |
| 63 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 10,900 | 1222 | 0.8914 | |
| 65 | University of Memphis | 21000 | 29600 | 0.2909 | 15,538 | 1080 | 0.7878 | |
| 66 | Washington State University | 21100 | 36200 | 0.417 | 21,400 | 1131 | 0.861 | |
| 67 | Louisiana Tech University | 21300 | 26100 | 0.1841 | 11,071 | 1189 | 0.9073 | |
| 68 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,031 | 1497 | 0.1082 | |
| 69 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,469 | 1167 | 0.9061 | |
| 70 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 22300 | 69800 | 0.6809 | 3,190 | 1317 | 0.6187 | |
| 70 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,142 | 1184 | 0.9938 | |
| 72 | Florida State University | 22400 | 32400 | 0.3091 | 34,271 | 1369 | 0.2383 | |
| 73 | University of South Dakota | 22700 | 26000 | 0.1265 | 7,515 | 1120 | 0.9884 | |
| 74 | San Jose State University | 22900 | 41100 | 0.4429 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 75 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 76 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 23100 | 28400 | 0.1863 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 77 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23200 | 34500 | 0.3279 | 8,513 | 1160 | 0.9261 | |
| 78 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 31,845 | 1298 | 0.5651 | |
| 79 | Florida International University | 23700 | 23700 | 0 | 46,249 | 1180 | 0.6085 | |
| 79 | University of Kentucky | 23700 | 36400 | 0.3479 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 81 | Millikin University | 23800 | 43700 | 0.4549 | 1,427 | 1065 | 0.765 | |
| 82 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 24400 | 30600 | 0.2026 | 9,827 | 1329 | 0.6737 | |
| 82 | University of Arizona | 24400 | 38100 | 0.3597 | 43,294 | 1186 | 0.8351 | |
| 84 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24600 | 40500 | 0.3927 | 21,388 | 1369 | 0.5945 | |
| 85 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 21,192 | 1309 | 0.8059 | |
| 85 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 24700 | 24700 | 0 | 8,329 | 1209 | 0.385 | |
| 87 | Temple University | 24800 | 36100 | 0.3132 | 21,031 | 1172 | 0.8622 | |
| 88 | Messiah University | 25900 | 54300 | 0.5228 | 2,722 | 1266 | 0.8107 | |
| 89 | University of Evansville | 26100 | 64700 | 0.5967 | 1,920 | 1174 | 0.9412 | |
| 90 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6979 | |
| 90 | Trine University | 26500 | 56100 | 0.5278 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 92 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.0793 | 29,252 | 1179 | 0.7388 | |
| 93 | University of Mount Union | 27100 | 56300 | 0.5183 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 94 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 27300 | 36500 | 0.2522 | 7,747 | 1073 | 0.9617 | |
| 95 | George Fox University | 27500 | 69400 | 0.6041 | 3,530 | 1168 | 0.9282 | |
| 96 | Syracuse University | 27900 | 83100 | 0.6641 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 97 | Dartmouth College | 28100 | 96000 | 0.7074 | 4,715 | 1485 | 0.0602 | |
| 98 | University of North Texas | 28400 | 37400 | 0.2405 | 34,414 | 1094 | 0.7089 | |
| 99 | University of Hartford | 28500 | 70100 | 0.5933 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 100 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,691 | 1074 | 0.7722 | |
| 101 | University of Utah | 28700 | 32000 | 0.1028 | 29,335 | 1222 | 0.9015 | |
| 102 | Clemson University | 29000 | 37100 | 0.2179 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 103 | Marquette University | 29100 | 63800 | 0.544 | 8,206 | 1304 | 0.7802 | |
| 104 | University of Iowa | 29800 | 32100 | 0.0714 | 23,407 | 1203 | 0.799 | |
| 105 | Mississippi State University | 30100 | 34400 | 0.1246 | 19,093 | 1205 | 0.8363 | |
| 106 | Gannon University | 30400 | 52900 | 0.4257 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 107 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.544 | 1,478 | 1229 | 0.48 | |
| 107 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30600 | 78100 | 0.608 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 109 | The College of New Jersey | 30700 | 45400 | 0.3235 | 7,433 | 1243 | 0.6148 | |
| 109 | University of Toledo | 30700 | 42000 | 0.269 | 10,726 | 1134 | 0.8889 | |
| 111 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 30900 | 43100 | 0.2833 | 22,313 | 1341 | 0.2996 | |
| 111 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 30900 | 33200 | 0.069 | 14,834 | 1149 | 0.7803 | |
| 113 | University of North Dakota | 31000 | 33700 | 0.0827 | 11,837 | 1189 | 0.8157 | |
| 114 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 21,028 | 1450 | 0.1334 | |
| 114 | University of Louisville | 31200 | 42000 | 0.257 | 17,916 | 1134 | 0.7921 | |
| 116 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4873 | 1,964 | 1159 | 0.9392 | |
| 117 | Lawrence Technological University | 32200 | 71900 | 0.552 | 2,661 | 1149 | 0.8101 | |
| 118 | Marymount University | 32400 | 72600 | 0.5538 | 2,503 | 1095 | 0.9316 | |
| 119 | Harding University | 33500 | 47800 | 0.299 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 120 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 33600 | 38200 | 0.1201 | 42,565 | 1339 | 0.7887 | |
| 121 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,495 | 1436 | 0.4713 | |
| 122 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34000 | 70200 | 0.516 | 2,836 | 1283 | 0.6711 | |
| 123 | University of the Pacific | 34400 | 71500 | 0.5192 | 3,097 | 1313 | 0.6905 | |
| 124 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,056 | 1183 | 0.8994 | |
| 125 | University of South Florida | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 39,093 | 1255 | 0.4071 | |
| 126 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,154 | 1100 | 0.8006 | |
| 127 | New York Institute of Technology | 35400 | 83600 | 0.577 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 128 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 36300 | 53100 | 0.3162 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 129 | Hofstra University | 36400 | 76900 | 0.5266 | 6,599 | 1369 | 0.7267 | |
| 130 | University of Connecticut | 37100 | 53600 | 0.3081 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 131 | University of Nevada-Reno | 37300 | 45800 | 0.1857 | 20,204 | 1109 | 0.8313 | |
| 132 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,536 | 1366 | 0.5457 | |
| 133 | University of Illinois Chicago | 38200 | 50600 | 0.2451 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 134 | LeTourneau University | 38400 | 54800 | 0.2995 | 2,903 | 1242 | 0.4879 | |
| 135 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 136 | University of Maine | 39500 | 45200 | 0.1262 | 9,182 | 1195 | 0.9562 | |
| 136 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 39500 | 53200 | 0.2576 | 5,986 | 1110 | 0.8916 | |
| 138 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 39600 | 42500 | 0.0683 | 14,249 | 1084 | 0.7761 | |
| 139 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 39700 | 50000 | 0.2062 | 35,248 | 1289 | 0.6939 | |
| 139 | Stony Brook University | 39700 | 53000 | 0.2507 | 18,616 | 1410 | 0.4818 | |
| 141 | California Baptist University | 39900 | 65600 | 0.3917 | 8,707 | 1024 | 0.8139 | |
| 142 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,195 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 143 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40400 | 66000 | 0.3875 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8844 | |
| 144 | Wayne State University | 40500 | 46200 | 0.1234 | 16,390 | 1183 | 0.8359 | |
| 145 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 47500 | 0.1453 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 146 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41700 | 83200 | 0.4988 | 2,160 | 1374 | 0.809 | |
| 147 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,657 | 1190 | 0.7583 | |
| 148 | Loyola University Chicago | 42900 | 70600 | 0.3922 | 12,640 | 1262 | 0.751 | |
| 149 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53600 | 0.1979 | 31,875 | 1456 | 0.4503 | |
| 150 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68700 | 0.3679 | 4,279 | 1234 | 0.5796 | |
| 151 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 43900 | 67900 | 0.3534 | 4,182 | 1317 | 0.8783 | |
| 152 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2752 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 153 | Duquesne University | 45200 | 70500 | 0.3587 | 5,382 | 1252 | 0.8639 | |
| 154 | Widener University | 45400 | 79400 | 0.4283 | 2,975 | 1179 | 0.7093 | |
| 155 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46200 | 86300 | 0.4644 | 5,833 | 1440 | 0.6725 | |
| 156 | Fairfield University | 46300 | 84300 | 0.4506 | 5,671 | 1345 | 0.2505 | |
| 157 | Drexel University | 47700 | 83900 | 0.4315 | 12,318 | 1354 | 0.699 | |
| 157 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 61300 | 0.2231 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 159 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 160 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48300 | 91400 | 0.4717 | 6,839 | 1469 | 0.1446 | |
| 161 | Saint Louis University | 48600 | 80900 | 0.399 | 9,331 | 1250 | 0.7499 | |
| 162 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49500 | 85800 | 0.4229 | 4,206 | 1430 | 0.5068 | |
| 163 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49700 | 59400 | 0.1633 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 164 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50300 | 83600 | 0.3982 | 5,461 | 1292 | 0.6189 | |
| 165 | Binghamton University | 50500 | 52800 | 0.0433 | 14,559 | 1404 | 0.3731 | |
| 165 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 50500 | 58800 | 0.1411 | 25,054 | 1225 | 0.7762 | |
| 167 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50800 | 84700 | 0.4003 | 35,358 | 1448 | 0.1642 | |
| 168 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53300 | 53300 | 0 | 34,447 | 1273 | 0.8804 | |
| 169 | George Mason University | 53400 | 61000 | 0.1246 | 28,862 | 1271 | 0.8647 | |
| 170 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 17,157 | 1204 | 0.7654 | |
| 170 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 24,019 | 1404 | 0.5989 | |
| 172 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,405 | 1284 | 0.74 | |
| 172 | Santa Clara University | 57400 | 85400 | 0.3279 | 6,695 | 1399 | 0.4788 | |
| 174 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 58100 | 63200 | 0.0806 | 40,996 | 1399 | 0.4175 | |
| 175 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 176 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 58900 | 61200 | 0.0374 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 | |
| 177 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,009 | 1247 | 0.8546 | |
| 177 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 59300 | 61600 | 0.0372 | 25,141 | 1256 | 0.7613 | |
| 179 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63500 | 65800 | 0.0348 | 3,468 | 1200 | 0.8855 | |
| 180 | University of California-Irvine | 72000 | 75600 | 0.0476 | 30,260 | 1333 | 0.2895 | |
| 181 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 82400 | 82400 | 0 | 18,194 | 1281 | 0.7273 | |
| 182 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,294 | 1229 | 0.7328 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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