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 | 7500 | 91800 | 0.9183 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 2 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22000 | 0.6362 | 32,952 | 1374 | 0.6778 | |
| 3 | Washington University in St Louis | 9300 | 102300 | 0.9091 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 4 | Stephen F Austin State University | 10100 | 27800 | 0.6356 | 9,129 | 1075 | 0.9399 | |
| 5 | Valdosta State University | 10500 | 24800 | 0.5775 | 7,166 | 1015 | 0.7229 | |
| 6 | The University of Texas at El Paso | 11700 | 26900 | 0.5645 | 21,118 | 980 | 0.9992 | |
| 7 | University of West Florida | 12000 | 21500 | 0.4413 | 9,970 | 1149 | 0.5824 | |
| 8 | Lamar University | 12400 | 22900 | 0.458 | 8,184 | 1050 | 0.8641 | |
| 9 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 10 | University of North Florida | 12600 | 22400 | 0.438 | 13,735 | 1150 | 0.5324 | |
| 11 | Western Kentucky University | 13000 | 27000 | 0.5169 | 14,151 | 970 | 0.9387 | |
| 12 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13200 | 43000 | 0.693 | 23,181 | 1354 | 0.3297 | |
| 13 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 14 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 14 | University of Idaho | 14100 | 25800 | 0.4543 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 16 | Arkansas Tech University | 14300 | 34400 | 0.5844 | 8,145 | 1035 | 0.9589 | |
| 16 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 16 | Saginaw Valley State University | 14300 | 30100 | 0.5239 | 6,135 | 1055 | 0.7207 | |
| 19 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14600 | 26500 | 0.4478 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 20 | Texas State University | 15200 | 25500 | 0.4042 | 36,236 | 1100 | 0.8932 | |
| 20 | The University of Texas at Tyler | 15200 | 24900 | 0.3891 | 7,683 | 1120 | 0.9402 | |
| 20 | University of California-Irvine | 15200 | 38000 | 0.6003 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2857 | |
| 23 | Coastal Carolina University | 15400 | 27200 | 0.4339 | 10,811 | 1145 | 0.7527 | |
| 24 | University of Maine at Farmington | 15500 | 23200 | 0.3317 | 1,677 | 1124 | 0.9672 | |
| 25 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 25 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15600 | 38800 | 0.5992 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8609 | |
| 27 | James Madison University | 15700 | 28900 | 0.4573 | 20,973 | 1260 | 0.7152 | |
| 28 | Appalachian State University | 15800 | 19500 | 0.1899 | 19,560 | 1190 | 0.9014 | |
| 28 | Sam Houston State University | 15800 | 30300 | 0.4782 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 28 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | 15800 | 26800 | 0.4108 | 4,487 | 1115 | 0.6726 | |
| 31 | Jacksonville State University | 16000 | 27000 | 0.4081 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 31 | Oakland University | 16000 | 28200 | 0.4329 | 12,587 | 1130 | 0.8784 | |
| 31 | Tennessee State University | 16000 | 39200 | 0.5913 | 5,057 | 980 | 0.7011 | |
| 31 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 16000 | 22300 | 0.2822 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 35 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | 16100 | 23400 | 0.3124 | 11,756 | 1124 | 0.8698 | |
| 36 | Eastern Michigan University | 16400 | 36100 | 0.5448 | 10,470 | 1055 | 0.7964 | |
| 36 | Grove City College | 16400 | 39700 | 0.5876 | 2,341 | 1266 | 0.7232 | |
| 38 | Arkansas State University | 16500 | 28100 | 0.413 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.8226 | |
| 38 | North Carolina State University | 16500 | 28500 | 0.4204 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 38 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 41 | Georgia Southern University | 16700 | 20100 | 0.1687 | 23,541 | 1065 | 0.8789 | |
| 42 | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | 17200 | 20700 | 0.169 | 8,320 | 1090 | 0.8858 | |
| 43 | Greensboro College | 17700 | 37800 | 0.5317 | 899 | 1005 | 0.7014 | |
| 43 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 45 | Georgia College & State University | 18300 | 18300 | 0 | 6,006 | 1165 | 0.7823 | |
| 46 | Angelo State University | 18500 | 23100 | 0.2011 | 9,702 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 46 | East Tennessee State University | 18500 | 26100 | 0.2907 | 10,829 | 1124 | 0.8619 | |
| 48 | University of Mississippi | 18600 | 45000 | 0.5871 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 49 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 18800 | 31000 | 0.394 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 50 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 51 | SUNY Oneonta | 19600 | 29300 | 0.331 | 4,681 | 1234 | 0.696 | |
| 52 | Pennsylvania Western University | 19700 | 29000 | 0.3212 | 7,586 | 1045 | 0.9433 | |
| 53 | Loyola University New Orleans | 19900 | 72100 | 0.7238 | 3,007 | 1155 | 0.9305 | |
| 53 | University of Alabama in Huntsville | 19900 | 30500 | 0.3473 | 6,800 | 1293 | 0.6857 | |
| 55 | Youngstown State University | 20000 | 34000 | 0.4118 | 9,400 | 1115 | 0.8445 | |
| 56 | Carroll University | 20300 | 61600 | 0.6708 | 2,581 | 1174 | 0.6684 | |
| 56 | Utica University | 20300 | 43400 | 0.5318 | 2,329 | 1118 | 0.9195 | |
| 58 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 20500 | 23200 | 0.1164 | 20,444 | 1209 | 0.8499 | |
| 59 | Our Lady of the Lake University | 20600 | 52900 | 0.6104 | 1,108 | 990 | 0.6578 | |
| 60 | Western Illinois University | 20800 | 31000 | 0.329 | 4,525 | 1015 | 0.7118 | |
| 61 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 62 | Tarleton State University | 21000 | 23000 | 0.087 | 15,254 | 1080 | 0.8955 | |
| 63 | Midwestern State University | 21100 | 28600 | 0.2618 | 4,303 | 1010 | 0.9352 | |
| 64 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 65 | Louisiana Christian University | 21500 | 26000 | 0.1733 | 763 | 1065 | 0.7719 | |
| 66 | Bentley University | 22000 | 85500 | 0.7426 | 4,526 | 1359 | 0.4505 | |
| 67 | Grand Valley State University | 22100 | 35900 | 0.3849 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 67 | South Dakota State University | 22100 | 25200 | 0.1249 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 69 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 69 | Washburn University | 22200 | 29500 | 0.2478 | 5,331 | 1095 | 0.9551 | |
| 71 | Hope College | 22800 | 60100 | 0.6204 | 3,395 | 1241 | 0.7924 | |
| 71 | Oklahoma City University | 22800 | 64400 | 0.6461 | 1,514 | 1174 | 0.7702 | |
| 73 | Allegheny College | 23500 | 76200 | 0.6912 | 1,171 | 1279 | 0.5457 | |
| 73 | Aquinas College | 23500 | 53400 | 0.5604 | 1,088 | 1035 | 0.8988 | |
| 73 | West Texas A & M University | 23500 | 29200 | 0.195 | 6,926 | 1060 | 0.9868 | |
| 76 | Bradley University | 24100 | 49900 | 0.5161 | 3,596 | 1223 | 0.7676 | |
| 77 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | 24200 | 41300 | 0.4141 | 3,244 | 1224 | 0.9683 | |
| 78 | Boise State University | 24600 | 31200 | 0.2116 | 23,983 | 1135 | 0.8721 | |
| 79 | Lewis University | 24700 | 57700 | 0.5718 | 4,326 | 1099 | 0.7129 | |
| 80 | The University of Tennessee-Martin | 25200 | 31500 | 0.2001 | 6,809 | 1110 | 0.882 | |
| 81 | University of Mary Hardin-Baylor | 25300 | 53800 | 0.5299 | 2,803 | 1099 | 0.9576 | |
| 82 | Ave Maria University | 25500 | 46600 | 0.453 | 1,301 | 1164 | 0.4139 | |
| 83 | Northern Arizona University | 25600 | 43200 | 0.4082 | 22,990 | 1090 | 0.8961 | |
| 84 | Ottawa University-Ottawa | 26100 | 64700 | 0.5969 | 870 | 985 | 0.8296 | |
| 85 | Iowa State University | 26200 | 42800 | 0.3881 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 86 | Benedictine University | 26500 | 48900 | 0.4581 | 1,972 | 1161 | 0.9523 | |
| 87 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 88 | Northwood University | 26800 | 54500 | 0.5087 | 2,045 | 1055 | 0.6451 | |
| 89 | Troy University | 26900 | 34700 | 0.2248 | 10,222 | 1090 | 0.9604 | |
| 90 | University of the Incarnate Word | 27000 | 61400 | 0.5604 | 4,638 | 1030 | 0.9814 | |
| 91 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 92 | Capital University | 27200 | 62400 | 0.564 | 1,609 | 1084 | 0.7022 | |
| 93 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 27300 | 36500 | 0.2522 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 94 | Kennesaw State University | 27400 | 27400 | 0 | 42,760 | 1120 | 0.6919 | |
| 95 | Cornell College | 27500 | 74800 | 0.6323 | 1,094 | 1243 | 0.799 | |
| 96 | Missouri Valley College | 27600 | 38200 | 0.2775 | 1,687 | 980 | 0.6918 | |
| 97 | Villanova University | 27900 | 88800 | 0.6855 | 7,004 | 1457 | 0.2698 | |
| 98 | Wichita State University | 28000 | 39800 | 0.2974 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 99 | John Brown University | 28200 | 48300 | 0.4169 | 1,948 | 1197 | 0.7614 | |
| 100 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 100 | Weber State University | 28300 | 33900 | 0.1651 | 31,672 | 0 | 0 | |
| 102 | Westminster University | 28400 | 62600 | 0.5466 | 842 | 1233 | 0.6657 | |
| 103 | Francis Marion University | 28500 | 40200 | 0.2914 | 3,692 | 1015 | 0.8639 | |
| 104 | University of Dayton | 28800 | 64200 | 0.5515 | 7,740 | 1302 | 0.6545 | |
| 105 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 106 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 29300 | 34000 | 0.1383 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 107 | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | 29400 | 56200 | 0.4776 | 765 | 1020 | 0.6617 | |
| 108 | University of West Georgia | 30100 | 46800 | 0.3568 | 9,103 | 1040 | 0.5161 | |
| 109 | Wheaton College | 30700 | 84800 | 0.638 | 2,150 | 1363 | 0.874 | |
| 110 | South Carolina State University | 30800 | 41600 | 0.2596 | 2,950 | 930 | 0.8262 | |
| 110 | The College of Wooster | 30800 | 82400 | 0.6266 | 1,738 | 1344 | 0.5953 | |
| 110 | Wofford College | 30800 | 73200 | 0.5786 | 1,817 | 1305 | 0.5194 | |
| 113 | California State University-Long Beach | 31000 | 38900 | 0.2032 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 114 | University of North Dakota | 31100 | 33700 | 0.0785 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 115 | Hampton University | 31400 | 54800 | 0.427 | 3,728 | 947 | 0.6225 | |
| 115 | Rider University | 31400 | 60600 | 0.4816 | 3,145 | 1233 | 0.7864 | |
| 117 | University of Louisville | 31500 | 42000 | 0.2498 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 118 | Ohio Wesleyan University | 31700 | 75700 | 0.5809 | 1,525 | 1281 | 0.556 | |
| 119 | Azusa Pacific University | 32300 | 66600 | 0.5147 | 2,759 | 1189 | 0.8843 | |
| 119 | Marquette University | 32300 | 66500 | 0.5142 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 121 | Belmont University | 32400 | 69900 | 0.536 | 7,175 | 1273 | 0.9528 | |
| 122 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32500 | 35100 | 0.0742 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 123 | Samford University | 32600 | 64600 | 0.4955 | 4,210 | 1199 | 0.8236 | |
| 124 | Berry College | 32700 | 60900 | 0.4633 | 2,254 | 1219 | 0.64 | |
| 125 | Suffolk University | 32900 | 70300 | 0.5319 | 4,326 | 1209 | 0.8233 | |
| 126 | Cleveland State University | 33500 | 37300 | 0.1019 | 9,482 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 127 | Elizabethtown College | 33700 | 55300 | 0.3907 | 1,903 | 1214 | 0.7787 | |
| 128 | Salisbury University | 34100 | 41700 | 0.1821 | 6,288 | 1250 | 0.8747 | |
| 129 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 34500 | 34500 | 0 | 10,202 | 1140 | 0.8109 | |
| 130 | Beloit College | 35000 | 81400 | 0.5697 | 1,004 | 1299 | 0.6304 | |
| 131 | Cedarville University | 35800 | 57000 | 0.3711 | 5,790 | 1232 | 0.6529 | |
| 132 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2804 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 133 | Georgia State University | 36500 | 45400 | 0.1961 | 27,415 | 1080 | 0.5544 | |
| 134 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 36700 | 39900 | 0.079 | 5,086 | 1124 | 0.949 | |
| 134 | Loyola University Maryland | 36700 | 78800 | 0.5343 | 3,881 | 1303 | 0.7549 | |
| 136 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36800 | 38900 | 0.0552 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 136 | Virginia State University | 36800 | 42200 | 0.1281 | 5,124 | 955 | 0.8863 | |
| 138 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 36900 | 37100 | 0.0054 | 5,939 | 1065 | 0.5878 | |
| 139 | Westmont College | 37400 | 80000 | 0.5322 | 1,302 | 1335 | 0.7705 | |
| 140 | Northwest Nazarene University | 37600 | 62800 | 0.4011 | 1,043 | 1134 | 0.6474 | |
| 141 | DePaul University | 37800 | 66000 | 0.4275 | 14,188 | 1254 | 0.7589 | |
| 142 | University of Redlands | 38100 | 84200 | 0.5478 | 2,049 | 1226 | 0.8271 | |
| 143 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 144 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 38400 | 38700 | 0.0078 | 14,416 | 1210 | 0.8851 | |
| 145 | Clark Atlanta University | 38500 | 51900 | 0.2581 | 3,618 | 990 | 0.6422 | |
| 145 | Saint Francis University | 38500 | 63100 | 0.3899 | 2,567 | 1150 | 0.7682 | |
| 145 | Southern Connecticut State University | 38500 | 52900 | 0.2723 | 7,252 | 1005 | 0.9147 | |
| 148 | State University of New York at Cortland | 38800 | 39900 | 0.0276 | 5,911 | 1175 | 0.5979 | |
| 149 | Xavier University | 39300 | 68100 | 0.4232 | 4,239 | 1218 | 0.8641 | |
| 150 | Arcadia University | 39400 | 71600 | 0.4493 | 2,030 | 1170 | 0.8022 | |
| 150 | Saint Vincent College | 39400 | 64600 | 0.3895 | 1,284 | 1135 | 0.6173 | |
| 152 | Nichols College | 39600 | 59600 | 0.3359 | 1,163 | 1135 | 0.8084 | |
| 153 | Seton Hall University | 39700 | 67400 | 0.4107 | 6,146 | 1313 | 0.7326 | |
| 153 | University of Central Florida | 39700 | 39700 | 0 | 59,552 | 1280 | 0.4011 | |
| 155 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 156 | University of Wyoming | 40100 | 45300 | 0.1137 | 8,130 | 1179 | 0.9688 | |
| 157 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 158 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 52100 | 0.2205 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 159 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 160 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 161 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 41200 | 42300 | 0.026 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 162 | Middle Tennessee State University | 41400 | 46000 | 0.0999 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 163 | Seattle University | 42000 | 75000 | 0.4397 | 4,078 | 1305 | 0.7692 | |
| 163 | Susquehanna University | 42000 | 76800 | 0.4533 | 2,246 | 1204 | 0.8143 | |
| 165 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 166 | Merrimack College | 43500 | 78800 | 0.4474 | 4,102 | 1115 | 0.7002 | |
| 167 | Widener University | 45800 | 79400 | 0.4233 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 168 | Saint Louis University | 46200 | 80900 | 0.4287 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 169 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 170 | University of Georgia | 48800 | 51600 | 0.0542 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 171 | University of Kentucky | 49100 | 58000 | 0.1539 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 172 | Chapman University | 51500 | 93100 | 0.4469 | 7,713 | 1353 | 0.6543 | |
| 173 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 174 | Santa Clara University | 57600 | 85400 | 0.3255 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 175 | Molloy University | 59800 | 62300 | 0.0402 | 3,240 | 1199 | 0.8174 | |
| 176 | Mercyhurst University | 60900 | 68000 | 0.1044 | 2,274 | 1090 | 0.8102 | |
| 177 | Presbyterian College | 61000 | 62700 | 0.0271 | 853 | 1120 | 0.6837 | |
| 178 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 82400 | 82400 | 0 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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