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 | Northern Arizona University | 11600 | 27900 | 0.5837 | 22,990 | 1090 | 0.8961 | |
| 7 | The University of Texas at El Paso | 11700 | 26900 | 0.5645 | 21,118 | 980 | 0.9992 | |
| 8 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11900 | 25700 | 0.5363 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 9 | University of West Florida | 12000 | 21500 | 0.4413 | 9,970 | 1149 | 0.5824 | |
| 10 | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | 12100 | 28900 | 0.5822 | 8,320 | 1090 | 0.8858 | |
| 11 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 12 | University of North Florida | 12600 | 22400 | 0.438 | 13,735 | 1150 | 0.5324 | |
| 13 | Saginaw Valley State University | 13000 | 28600 | 0.5472 | 6,135 | 1055 | 0.7207 | |
| 14 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 15 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.485 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 16 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 17 | Arkansas Tech University | 14300 | 34400 | 0.5844 | 8,145 | 1035 | 0.9589 | |
| 17 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 19 | Midwestern State University | 14400 | 21600 | 0.3329 | 4,303 | 1010 | 0.9352 | |
| 20 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15100 | 37700 | 0.6009 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8609 | |
| 21 | University of Maine at Farmington | 15500 | 23200 | 0.3317 | 1,677 | 1124 | 0.9672 | |
| 22 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 23 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | 15800 | 26800 | 0.4108 | 4,487 | 1115 | 0.6726 | |
| 24 | Jacksonville State University | 16000 | 27000 | 0.4081 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 24 | Oakland University | 16000 | 28200 | 0.4329 | 12,587 | 1130 | 0.8784 | |
| 24 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 16000 | 22300 | 0.2822 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 27 | California State University-Long Beach | 16100 | 25800 | 0.3761 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 28 | Grove City College | 16400 | 39700 | 0.5876 | 2,341 | 1266 | 0.7232 | |
| 29 | Arkansas State University | 16500 | 28100 | 0.413 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.8226 | |
| 29 | Eastern Michigan University | 16500 | 36100 | 0.542 | 10,470 | 1055 | 0.7964 | |
| 29 | North Carolina State University | 16500 | 28500 | 0.4204 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 29 | University of Maine | 16500 | 29300 | 0.4371 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 29 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 34 | Tennessee State University | 16600 | 31000 | 0.4646 | 5,057 | 980 | 0.7011 | |
| 35 | Georgia Southern University | 16700 | 20100 | 0.1687 | 23,541 | 1065 | 0.8789 | |
| 36 | Sam Houston State University | 17000 | 27000 | 0.3705 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 37 | Middle Tennessee State University | 17200 | 23200 | 0.2586 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 38 | University of Memphis | 17500 | 26400 | 0.3378 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 39 | Greensboro College | 17700 | 37800 | 0.5317 | 899 | 1005 | 0.7014 | |
| 39 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 41 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 18200 | 18200 | 0 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 42 | Youngstown State University | 18400 | 34000 | 0.4589 | 9,400 | 1115 | 0.8445 | |
| 43 | Angelo State University | 18500 | 23100 | 0.2011 | 9,702 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 43 | East Tennessee State University | 18500 | 26100 | 0.2907 | 10,829 | 1124 | 0.8619 | |
| 45 | University of Mississippi | 18600 | 45000 | 0.5871 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 46 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 18800 | 31000 | 0.394 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 47 | Virginia State University | 19200 | 29500 | 0.3488 | 5,124 | 955 | 0.8863 | |
| 48 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 49 | Wichita State University | 19800 | 29800 | 0.3372 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 50 | Loyola University New Orleans | 19900 | 72100 | 0.7238 | 3,007 | 1155 | 0.9305 | |
| 51 | Cleveland State University | 20000 | 30900 | 0.3523 | 9,482 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 51 | Iowa State University | 20000 | 24200 | 0.1732 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 53 | Carroll University | 20300 | 61600 | 0.6708 | 2,581 | 1174 | 0.6684 | |
| 53 | Utica University | 20300 | 43400 | 0.5318 | 2,329 | 1118 | 0.9195 | |
| 55 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 20500 | 23200 | 0.1164 | 20,444 | 1209 | 0.8499 | |
| 56 | Our Lady of the Lake University | 20600 | 52900 | 0.6104 | 1,108 | 990 | 0.6578 | |
| 56 | South Dakota State University | 20600 | 25200 | 0.1844 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 56 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 20600 | 28500 | 0.2776 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 56 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 20600 | 42900 | 0.5204 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 | |
| 60 | South Carolina State University | 20700 | 30000 | 0.3095 | 2,950 | 930 | 0.8262 | |
| 61 | Western Illinois University | 20800 | 31000 | 0.329 | 4,525 | 1015 | 0.7118 | |
| 62 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | 20900 | 27600 | 0.2431 | 11,756 | 1124 | 0.8698 | |
| 63 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 64 | Louisiana Christian University | 21500 | 26000 | 0.1733 | 763 | 1065 | 0.7719 | |
| 65 | Bentley University | 22000 | 85500 | 0.7426 | 4,526 | 1359 | 0.4505 | |
| 66 | Grand Valley State University | 22100 | 35900 | 0.3849 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 67 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 68 | Hope College | 22800 | 60100 | 0.6204 | 3,395 | 1241 | 0.7924 | |
| 68 | Oklahoma City University | 22800 | 64400 | 0.6461 | 1,514 | 1174 | 0.7702 | |
| 70 | Southern Connecticut State University | 23000 | 36800 | 0.3747 | 7,252 | 1005 | 0.9147 | |
| 71 | Allegheny College | 23500 | 76200 | 0.6912 | 1,171 | 1279 | 0.5457 | |
| 71 | Aquinas College | 23500 | 53400 | 0.5604 | 1,088 | 1035 | 0.8988 | |
| 71 | West Texas A & M University | 23500 | 29200 | 0.195 | 6,926 | 1060 | 0.9868 | |
| 74 | University of Kentucky | 23800 | 36400 | 0.3454 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 75 | Bradley University | 24100 | 49900 | 0.5161 | 3,596 | 1223 | 0.7676 | |
| 76 | Boise State University | 24600 | 31200 | 0.2116 | 23,983 | 1135 | 0.8721 | |
| 77 | Lewis University | 24700 | 57700 | 0.5718 | 4,326 | 1099 | 0.7129 | |
| 78 | Pennsylvania Western University | 24900 | 34400 | 0.2759 | 7,586 | 1045 | 0.9433 | |
| 79 | The University of Tennessee-Martin | 25200 | 31500 | 0.2001 | 6,809 | 1110 | 0.882 | |
| 80 | University of Mary Hardin-Baylor | 25300 | 53800 | 0.5299 | 2,803 | 1099 | 0.9576 | |
| 81 | Ave Maria University | 25500 | 46600 | 0.453 | 1,301 | 1164 | 0.4139 | |
| 82 | Western Kentucky University | 25900 | 41800 | 0.3803 | 14,151 | 970 | 0.9387 | |
| 83 | Ottawa University-Ottawa | 26100 | 64700 | 0.5969 | 870 | 985 | 0.8296 | |
| 84 | Benedictine University | 26500 | 48900 | 0.4581 | 1,972 | 1161 | 0.9523 | |
| 85 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 86 | Northwood University | 26800 | 54500 | 0.5087 | 2,045 | 1055 | 0.6451 | |
| 87 | Troy University | 26900 | 34700 | 0.2248 | 10,222 | 1090 | 0.9604 | |
| 88 | University of Idaho | 27000 | 45200 | 0.4023 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 88 | University of the Incarnate Word | 27000 | 61400 | 0.5604 | 4,638 | 1030 | 0.9814 | |
| 90 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 91 | Capital University | 27200 | 62400 | 0.564 | 1,609 | 1084 | 0.7022 | |
| 92 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 27300 | 36500 | 0.2522 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 93 | Kennesaw State University | 27400 | 27400 | 0 | 42,760 | 1120 | 0.6919 | |
| 94 | Cornell College | 27500 | 74800 | 0.6323 | 1,094 | 1243 | 0.799 | |
| 95 | Missouri Valley College | 27600 | 38200 | 0.2775 | 1,687 | 980 | 0.6918 | |
| 96 | Villanova University | 27900 | 88800 | 0.6855 | 7,004 | 1457 | 0.2698 | |
| 97 | Texas State University | 28000 | 28000 | 0 | 36,236 | 1100 | 0.8932 | |
| 98 | John Brown University | 28200 | 48300 | 0.4169 | 1,948 | 1197 | 0.7614 | |
| 98 | Mississippi State University | 28200 | 32300 | 0.1283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 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 | 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 | |
| 112 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 31000 | 59100 | 0.4752 | 23,181 | 1354 | 0.3297 | |
| 113 | University of North Dakota | 31100 | 33700 | 0.0785 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 114 | Lamar University | 31200 | 38300 | 0.1855 | 8,184 | 1050 | 0.8641 | |
| 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 | Samford University | 32600 | 64600 | 0.4955 | 4,210 | 1199 | 0.8236 | |
| 123 | Berry College | 32700 | 60900 | 0.4633 | 2,254 | 1219 | 0.64 | |
| 124 | Suffolk University | 32900 | 70300 | 0.5319 | 4,326 | 1209 | 0.8233 | |
| 125 | Tarleton State University | 33300 | 33300 | 0 | 15,254 | 1080 | 0.8955 | |
| 126 | Elizabethtown College | 33700 | 55300 | 0.3907 | 1,903 | 1214 | 0.7787 | |
| 127 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 33900 | 41000 | 0.1738 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 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 | Coastal Carolina University | 34700 | 45100 | 0.2304 | 10,811 | 1145 | 0.7527 | |
| 130 | Washburn University | 34700 | 38400 | 0.0963 | 5,331 | 1095 | 0.9551 | |
| 132 | Beloit College | 35000 | 81400 | 0.5697 | 1,004 | 1299 | 0.6304 | |
| 133 | Cedarville University | 35800 | 57000 | 0.3711 | 5,790 | 1232 | 0.6529 | |
| 134 | The University of Texas at Tyler | 36000 | 56700 | 0.3648 | 7,683 | 1120 | 0.9402 | |
| 135 | Georgia State University | 36500 | 45400 | 0.1961 | 27,415 | 1080 | 0.5544 | |
| 136 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 36700 | 39900 | 0.079 | 5,086 | 1124 | 0.949 | |
| 136 | Loyola University Maryland | 36700 | 78800 | 0.5343 | 3,881 | 1303 | 0.7549 | |
| 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 | |
| 147 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38600 | 53100 | 0.2729 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 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 Wyoming | 40100 | 45300 | 0.1137 | 8,130 | 1179 | 0.9688 | |
| 156 | Appalachian State University | 40600 | 40600 | 0 | 19,560 | 1190 | 0.9014 | |
| 156 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 48500 | 0.1628 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 158 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 159 | SUNY Oneonta | 41700 | 41700 | 0 | 4,681 | 1234 | 0.696 | |
| 160 | Seattle University | 42000 | 75000 | 0.4397 | 4,078 | 1305 | 0.7692 | |
| 160 | Susquehanna University | 42000 | 76800 | 0.4533 | 2,246 | 1204 | 0.8143 | |
| 162 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 163 | Merrimack College | 43500 | 78800 | 0.4474 | 4,102 | 1115 | 0.7002 | |
| 164 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2305 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 165 | James Madison University | 45200 | 45200 | 0 | 20,973 | 1260 | 0.7152 | |
| 166 | Georgia College & State University | 45300 | 52400 | 0.1355 | 6,006 | 1165 | 0.7823 | |
| 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 Alabama in Huntsville | 48100 | 48600 | 0.0103 | 6,800 | 1293 | 0.6857 | |
| 171 | Chapman University | 51500 | 93100 | 0.4469 | 7,713 | 1353 | 0.6543 | |
| 172 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 173 | Santa Clara University | 57600 | 85400 | 0.3255 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 174 | Molloy University | 59800 | 62300 | 0.0402 | 3,240 | 1199 | 0.8174 | |
| 175 | Mercyhurst University | 60900 | 68000 | 0.1044 | 2,274 | 1090 | 0.8102 | |
| 176 | Presbyterian College | 61000 | 62700 | 0.0271 | 853 | 1120 | 0.6837 | |
| 177 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | 63900 | 63900 | 0 | 3,244 | 1224 | 0.9683 | |
| 178 | University of California-Irvine | 72000 | 75600 | 0.0476 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2857 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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