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 | CUNY City College | 7500 | 31200 | 0.7597 | 12,982 | 1169 | 0.5997 | |
| 7 | California Institute of Technology | 8000 | 90300 | 0.9112 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 8 | Vanderbilt University | 8800 | 95000 | 0.9072 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 9 | Washington University in St Louis | 9400 | 96200 | 0.9026 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 10200 | 94100 | 0.8919 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 11 | Cornell University | 10400 | 92000 | 0.8866 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 12 | University of Pennsylvania | 11500 | 93000 | 0.8765 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 13 | Marshall University | 11700 | 27100 | 0.5673 | 9,165 | 1065 | 0.9572 | |
| 14 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 11800 | 27800 | 0.5744 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 15 | Northern Illinois University | 12400 | 29000 | 0.5718 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 16 | Northwestern University | 12600 | 87700 | 0.8563 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 17 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 13100 | 20300 | 0.3538 | 14,243 | 1125 | 0.7675 | |
| 18 | The University of Texas at Austin | 13200 | 30700 | 0.5697 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 18 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 13200 | 38500 | 0.657 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 20 | Duke University | 13500 | 93500 | 0.8559 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 20 | North Carolina A & T State University | 13500 | 17900 | 0.2465 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 22 | Boston University | 13600 | 88800 | 0.8472 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 22 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 32500 | 0.5809 | 19,119 | 1303 | 0.6356 | |
| 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 | |
| 26 | Case Western Reserve University | 14200 | 80400 | 0.8229 | 6,528 | 1485 | 0.3778 | |
| 26 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 14200 | 38000 | 0.6268 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 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 California-Merced | 14900 | 40300 | 0.6298 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 30 | University of North Texas | 14900 | 25400 | 0.4141 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 32 | Alabama State University | 15100 | 28000 | 0.4597 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 32 | Florida International University | 15100 | 23700 | 0.3621 | 44,904 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 34 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15300 | 28100 | 0.4555 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 34 | University of California-Riverside | 15300 | 36500 | 0.5804 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 36 | Florida State University | 15500 | 23100 | 0.3289 | 32,711 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 36 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 15500 | 24800 | 0.3744 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 38 | University of Florida | 16000 | 22300 | 0.2826 | 36,567 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 39 | Lehigh University | 16200 | 85700 | 0.8114 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 40 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5548 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 41 | Tufts University | 16900 | 92400 | 0.8175 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 42 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 17400 | 24700 | 0.2981 | 8,765 | 1209 | 0.8799 | |
| 43 | Bucknell University | 17700 | 88400 | 0.7996 | 3,920 | 1284 | 0.2893 | |
| 43 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 45 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 28100 | 0.3632 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 45 | University of Arkansas | 17900 | 27700 | 0.3527 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 47 | Union College | 18300 | 91000 | 0.799 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 48 | University of Memphis | 18900 | 26400 | 0.2846 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 48 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 18900 | 18900 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 50 | Kansas State University | 19000 | 31400 | 0.395 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 51 | University of Southern California | 19200 | 76000 | 0.7473 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
| 52 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.4823 | |
| 53 | San Jose State University | 19600 | 29900 | 0.3442 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 53 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19600 | 31000 | 0.3674 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 55 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19700 | 29300 | 0.3271 | 1,984 | 1369 | 0.6328 | |
| 56 | University of Mississippi | 19900 | 27000 | 0.2629 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 57 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20200 | 38800 | 0.481 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 57 | University of Colorado Boulder | 20200 | 30600 | 0.3398 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 59 | University of Central Oklahoma | 20700 | 22700 | 0.0881 | 10,454 | 1095 | 0.8176 | |
| 59 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 38100 | 0.4562 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 59 | West Virginia University | 20700 | 28800 | 0.2815 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 62 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 21000 | 69400 | 0.6978 | 2,705 | 1292 | 0.6239 | |
| 63 | Montana State University | 21100 | 27100 | 0.2211 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 64 | Brown University | 21300 | 93900 | 0.7729 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 65 | University of Miami | 21500 | 70800 | 0.6967 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 66 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 22500 | 35400 | 0.3639 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 67 | University of South Dakota | 22900 | 26000 | 0.1182 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 68 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23400 | 48800 | 0.5206 | 1,642 | 1055 | 0.5713 | |
| 69 | Syracuse University | 23600 | 83100 | 0.716 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 70 | Oral Roberts University | 23800 | 55600 | 0.5718 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 71 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23900 | 71600 | 0.6664 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 72 | University at Buffalo | 24100 | 34000 | 0.2912 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 72 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 37100 | 0.3508 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 72 | University of Rochester | 24100 | 93100 | 0.7414 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 75 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 24600 | 28500 | 0.137 | 12,382 | 1242 | 0.8842 | |
| 76 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 24700 | 32200 | 0.2328 | 10,200 | 1346 | 0.6507 | |
| 77 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 24800 | 26900 | 0.0771 | 2,170 | 1264 | 0.8525 | |
| 78 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 25000 | 36600 | 0.3173 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 78 | Binghamton University | 25000 | 32000 | 0.2206 | 14,669 | 1417 | 0.3861 | |
| 80 | Walla Walla University | 25500 | 51100 | 0.5017 | 1,238 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 81 | The College of New Jersey | 26000 | 42000 | 0.3812 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6235 | |
| 82 | University of Arizona | 26500 | 35200 | 0.247 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 82 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4791 | 1,927 | 1105 | 0.8013 | |
| 84 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5258 | 4,157 | 1209 | 0.8469 | |
| 85 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 26900 | 83600 | 0.6785 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 86 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 27600 | 36700 | 0.248 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 87 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 27900 | 32800 | 0.1492 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 87 | University of Louisville | 27900 | 42200 | 0.3387 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 89 | California State University-Long Beach | 28000 | 38400 | 0.2712 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 90 | Grand Valley State University | 28200 | 35700 | 0.2101 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 91 | Mississippi State University | 28300 | 32300 | 0.126 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 92 | Regis College | 28500 | 70400 | 0.595 | 1,055 | 965 | 0.9009 | |
| 93 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 31500 | 0.0921 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 93 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5914 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 95 | George Fox University | 28700 | 67100 | 0.5727 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 96 | Dartmouth College | 28800 | 91100 | 0.6835 | 4,570 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 97 | Messiah University | 29300 | 54100 | 0.4586 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 98 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 29500 | 36500 | 0.1919 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 99 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 29900 | 52900 | 0.435 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 100 | Gannon University | 30400 | 45300 | 0.329 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 101 | Michigan Technological University | 30500 | 34700 | 0.1211 | 6,022 | 1256 | 0.8353 | |
| 101 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6096 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 101 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 30500 | 41800 | 0.2705 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 104 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5437 | 1,474 | 1214 | 0.7384 | |
| 105 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 30900 | 42400 | 0.2713 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 105 | University of Houston | 30900 | 35200 | 0.1223 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 105 | University of Toledo | 30900 | 42000 | 0.2639 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 108 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31100 | 33200 | 0.0625 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 108 | North Carolina State University | 31100 | 53000 | 0.4127 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 110 | University of Rhode Island | 31300 | 46700 | 0.3298 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 111 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4871 | 2,304 | 1124 | 0.7089 | |
| 112 | Widener University | 32500 | 75300 | 0.5682 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 113 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 32600 | 38500 | 0.1533 | 7,890 | 1105 | 0.2056 | |
| 114 | California Lutheran University | 32700 | 65800 | 0.5027 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 115 | Harding University | 32900 | 47000 | 0.2995 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 116 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 33300 | 54600 | 0.3899 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 117 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 118 | Valparaiso University | 34000 | 62700 | 0.4572 | 2,123 | 1247 | 0.8934 | |
| 119 | LeTourneau University | 34100 | 54600 | 0.3754 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 120 | University of Vermont | 34600 | 66300 | 0.4782 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 121 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 34700 | 74600 | 0.5351 | 2,315 | 1382 | 0.7686 | |
| 121 | University of South Florida | 34700 | 34700 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 123 | University of Nevada-Reno | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 124 | California Baptist University | 35200 | 65200 | 0.46 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 125 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 126 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 35700 | 42400 | 0.158 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 127 | University of Maine | 36100 | 45100 | 0.1996 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 128 | University of the Pacific | 36500 | 72100 | 0.4939 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 129 | Lawrence Technological University | 36800 | 67800 | 0.457 | 2,579 | 1155 | 0.7403 | |
| 130 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 62000 | 0.3968 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 131 | Wichita State University | 37700 | 39700 | 0.0504 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 132 | University of Connecticut | 37800 | 41800 | 0.0957 | 19,388 | 1324 | 0.5395 | |
| 133 | Washington State University | 38600 | 53900 | 0.2835 | 14,346 | 1139 | 0.8797 | |
| 134 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 39000 | 52900 | 0.2626 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 135 | University of Illinois Chicago | 39200 | 48000 | 0.1832 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 136 | Wayne State University | 39300 | 45500 | 0.1362 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 137 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2467 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 138 | Loyola University Chicago | 40000 | 67600 | 0.4085 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 139 | University of California-San Diego | 40300 | 61100 | 0.3405 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 139 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 40300 | 56700 | 0.2893 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 141 | Western New England University | 40500 | 67000 | 0.3957 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 142 | Temple University | 40600 | 56100 | 0.2762 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 143 | Endicott College | 40800 | 63200 | 0.3544 | 3,176 | 1215 | 0.7229 | |
| 144 | Fairfield University | 41500 | 77900 | 0.467 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 145 | Hofstra University | 41700 | 74600 | 0.4409 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 146 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,019 | 1159 | 0.7781 | |
| 147 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 42500 | 52100 | 0.1843 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 147 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42500 | 54900 | 0.2261 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 149 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 42600 | 55100 | 0.227 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 150 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 43200 | 46200 | 0.0665 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 151 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 43500 | 50300 | 0.1352 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 152 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43700 | 68800 | 0.3647 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 153 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 44000 | 57100 | 0.2292 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 154 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2742 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 155 | Duquesne University | 45400 | 70500 | 0.3557 | 5,371 | 1269 | 0.8356 | |
| 156 | Marquette University | 45600 | 75100 | 0.3929 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 157 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 74500 | 0.3826 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 158 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 56200 | 0.1476 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 159 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 48400 | 85700 | 0.435 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 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 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 50200 | 52300 | 0.0401 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 163 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 81000 | 0.3763 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 164 | University of Kentucky | 51000 | 56000 | 0.0893 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 164 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84200 | 0.3944 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 166 | University of Iowa | 51100 | 53200 | 0.039 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 167 | Drexel University | 51200 | 82600 | 0.38 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 168 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.0386 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 169 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 51700 | 51700 | 0 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 170 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 171 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54100 | 59200 | 0.0857 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 172 | University of California-Irvine | 55000 | 64800 | 0.1512 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 173 | Miami University-Oxford | 56100 | 56100 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 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 | Clemson University | 61600 | 63700 | 0.0326 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 178 | University of California-Davis | 63500 | 63500 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 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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