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 | United States Military Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,507 | 1335 | 0.1161 | |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 2700 | 92000 | 0.9704 | 6,354 | 1554 | 0.0611 | |
| 3 | Princeton University | 3900 | 82600 | 0.9528 | 5,916 | 1528 | 0.0442 | |
| 4 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 4900 | 40700 | 0.8787 | 35,358 | 1448 | 0.1642 | |
| 5 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,667 | 1507 | 0.0475 | |
| 6 | Vanderbilt University | 7800 | 96200 | 0.9185 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 7 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22000 | 0.6362 | 34,354 | 1374 | 0.6862 | |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,561 | 1542 | 0.0456 | |
| 9 | California Institute of Technology | 8300 | 91800 | 0.9096 | 971 | 1564 | 0.0379 | |
| 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 11 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9006 | 7,728 | 1528 | 0.1107 | |
| 12 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,807 | 1528 | 0.0801 | |
| 13 | Washington University in St Louis | 10700 | 102300 | 0.8957 | 8,153 | 1512 | 0.1192 | |
| 14 | University of Notre Dame | 10800 | 86200 | 0.8752 | 8,950 | 1497 | 0.0938 | |
| 15 | Bucknell University | 11200 | 95700 | 0.8834 | 3,928 | 1275 | 0.322 | |
| 16 | University of Tulsa | 11400 | 62900 | 0.8184 | 2,852 | 1328 | 0.615 | |
| 17 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,138 | 1528 | 0.0838 | |
| 17 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11500 | 29100 | 0.6053 | 40,996 | 1399 | 0.4175 | |
| 19 | Lafayette College | 11700 | 85800 | 0.8641 | 2,675 | 1415 | 0.3116 | |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 21 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0 | 25,312 | 1134 | 0.7395 | |
| 22 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 12800 | 26500 | 0.5164 | 13,039 | 1020 | 0.894 | |
| 23 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 39,093 | 1255 | 0.4071 | |
| 23 | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | 12900 | 24700 | 0.478 | 7,753 | 1140 | 0.9245 | |
| 25 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13200 | 43000 | 0.693 | 23,091 | 1354 | 0.382 | |
| 26 | University of Delaware | 13500 | 34500 | 0.608 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 27 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 28 | University of Houston | 13700 | 22000 | 0.3766 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 29 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,951 | 1500 | 0.0634 | |
| 30 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 12,118 | 1070 | 0.7164 | |
| 31 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14500 | 26500 | 0.4515 | 23,003 | 1164 | 0.7367 | |
| 32 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,060 | 1533 | 0.0769 | |
| 33 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 91300 | 0.8394 | 6,657 | 1484 | 0.3778 | |
| 34 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,346 | 1542 | 0.038 | |
| 35 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 22,456 | 1481 | 0.0562 | |
| 36 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 15300 | 25600 | 0.4016 | 10,396 | 1125 | 0.7162 | |
| 36 | Western Michigan University | 15300 | 26500 | 0.423 | 13,714 | 1089 | 0.9121 | |
| 38 | Lehigh University | 15500 | 89600 | 0.8275 | 5,986 | 1436 | 0.2896 | |
| 39 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3962 | 16,555 | 1163 | 0.875 | |
| 40 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5554 | 33,534 | 1399 | 0.0941 | |
| 41 | West Virginia University | 16800 | 40900 | 0.589 | 18,206 | 1120 | 0.8514 | |
| 42 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 16900 | 26300 | 0.3574 | 19,787 | 1197 | 0.8807 | |
| 43 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17400 | 29900 | 0.4173 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 44 | Prairie View A & M University | 17600 | 25400 | 0.3071 | 9,022 | 960 | 0.7836 | |
| 45 | University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown | 17900 | 35300 | 0.4926 | 1,829 | 1149 | 0.945 | |
| 46 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5381 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 47 | The University of Texas Permian Basin | 18100 | 28600 | 0.3669 | 3,991 | 1010 | 0.9654 | |
| 48 | University of Mississippi | 18300 | 45000 | 0.5938 | 22,939 | 1172 | 0.9738 | |
| 49 | Youngstown State University | 18400 | 34000 | 0.4589 | 9,687 | 1120 | 0.9145 | |
| 50 | McNeese State University | 18900 | 27400 | 0.3102 | 5,668 | 1060 | 0.7827 | |
| 51 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19700 | 78600 | 0.7492 | 17,848 | 1470 | 0.1565 | |
| 52 | University of Illinois Chicago | 19800 | 30100 | 0.3427 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 53 | Iowa State University | 19900 | 24200 | 0.179 | 26,346 | 1212 | 0.8793 | |
| 54 | Cleveland State University | 20000 | 30900 | 0.3523 | 9,418 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 54 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 56 | University of Rochester | 20100 | 93100 | 0.7843 | 6,096 | 1448 | 0.4191 | |
| 57 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 20200 | 38500 | 0.4738 | 25,141 | 1256 | 0.7613 | |
| 58 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 20300 | 29300 | 0.3067 | 1,984 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 59 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 20400 | 23200 | 0.1207 | 20,786 | 1225 | 0.8689 | |
| 60 | University of Wyoming | 20500 | 27900 | 0.2644 | 8,138 | 1163 | 0.9695 | |
| 61 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 43,633 | 1342 | 0.4343 | |
| 62 | Louisiana Tech University | 21300 | 26100 | 0.1841 | 11,071 | 1189 | 0.9073 | |
| 63 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,031 | 1497 | 0.1082 | |
| 64 | Marian University | 21800 | 59800 | 0.635 | 2,378 | 1085 | 0.9546 | |
| 65 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,469 | 1167 | 0.9061 | |
| 66 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 22300 | 69800 | 0.6809 | 3,190 | 1317 | 0.6187 | |
| 66 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,142 | 1184 | 0.9938 | |
| 68 | Florida State University | 22400 | 32400 | 0.3091 | 34,271 | 1369 | 0.2383 | |
| 68 | New York University | 22400 | 91800 | 0.7556 | 29,471 | 1520 | 0.0906 | |
| 70 | San Jose State University | 22900 | 41100 | 0.4429 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 71 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 23000 | 27500 | 0.1618 | 18,028 | 1059 | 0.7996 | |
| 72 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 23100 | 28400 | 0.1863 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 73 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23200 | 34500 | 0.3279 | 8,513 | 1160 | 0.9261 | |
| 74 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 31,845 | 1298 | 0.5651 | |
| 75 | University of Kansas | 24200 | 37600 | 0.3583 | 22,544 | 1176 | 0.9258 | |
| 76 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,405 | 1284 | 0.74 | |
| 77 | University of Arizona | 24400 | 38100 | 0.3597 | 43,294 | 1186 | 0.8351 | |
| 78 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24600 | 40500 | 0.3927 | 21,388 | 1369 | 0.5945 | |
| 79 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 21,192 | 1309 | 0.8059 | |
| 80 | Tennessee Technological University | 24900 | 33700 | 0.2612 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 81 | University of Dayton | 25300 | 64200 | 0.606 | 7,252 | 1319 | 0.6659 | |
| 82 | Christian Brothers University | 25800 | 57600 | 0.5513 | 1,155 | 1110 | 0.867 | |
| 82 | Michigan State University | 25800 | 28900 | 0.1089 | 41,415 | 1212 | 0.8324 | |
| 84 | Dordt University | 26200 | 52500 | 0.5007 | 1,716 | 1205 | 0.6847 | |
| 85 | Tuskegee University | 26300 | 42100 | 0.3757 | 2,660 | 1090 | 0.4868 | |
| 86 | Clarkson University | 26400 | 78000 | 0.6617 | 2,163 | 1283 | 0.825 | |
| 87 | Trine University | 26500 | 56100 | 0.5278 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 88 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.0793 | 29,252 | 1179 | 0.7388 | |
| 89 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 89 | University of Idaho | 26700 | 45200 | 0.4089 | 9,656 | 1104 | 0.7476 | |
| 91 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 27600 | 27600 | 0 | 11,087 | 1326 | 0.7397 | |
| 92 | Villanova University | 27800 | 88800 | 0.6867 | 6,933 | 1466 | 0.2814 | |
| 93 | Syracuse University | 27900 | 83100 | 0.6641 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 94 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,691 | 1074 | 0.7722 | |
| 95 | Oregon State University | 28800 | 36700 | 0.2153 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 96 | University of Minnesota Duluth | 29000 | 32000 | 0.095 | 8,706 | 1230 | 0.8906 | |
| 97 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 39500 | 0.2608 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 98 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30600 | 78100 | 0.608 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 99 | University of Toledo | 30700 | 42000 | 0.269 | 10,726 | 1134 | 0.8889 | |
| 100 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30800 | 38500 | 0.2001 | 7,637 | 1115 | 0.1865 | |
| 100 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 30800 | 36900 | 0.1662 | 5,687 | 1305 | 0.7863 | |
| 102 | California State University-Long Beach | 30900 | 38900 | 0.2058 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 102 | West Virginia University Institute of Technology | 30900 | 39900 | 0.2256 | 1,278 | 1025 | 0.3668 | |
| 104 | University of North Dakota | 31000 | 33700 | 0.0827 | 11,837 | 1189 | 0.8157 | |
| 105 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 21,028 | 1450 | 0.1334 | |
| 105 | Lamar University | 31200 | 38300 | 0.1855 | 8,387 | 1040 | 0.8353 | |
| 105 | University of Louisville | 31200 | 42000 | 0.257 | 17,916 | 1134 | 0.7921 | |
| 108 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 109 | Hampton University | 31600 | 54800 | 0.4233 | 4,046 | 1005 | 0.6358 | |
| 110 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4033 | 29,340 | 1374 | 0.3954 | |
| 111 | Auburn University | 33700 | 34100 | 0.0117 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 112 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 34,447 | 1273 | 0.8804 | |
| 113 | University of Rhode Island | 34200 | 46400 | 0.2627 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 114 | The University of Texas at Tyler | 35300 | 56700 | 0.3772 | 8,219 | 1100 | 0.9485 | |
| 114 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 35300 | 56700 | 0.3775 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 116 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 34,021 | 1195 | 0.6906 | |
| 117 | Colorado School of Mines | 36100 | 60100 | 0.3993 | 6,195 | 1399 | 0.6069 | |
| 118 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 36300 | 53100 | 0.3162 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 119 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 37300 | 41600 | 0.1031 | 5,386 | 995 | 0.9092 | |
| 119 | University of Nevada-Reno | 37300 | 45800 | 0.1857 | 20,204 | 1109 | 0.8313 | |
| 121 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,536 | 1366 | 0.5457 | |
| 122 | Kettering University | 37600 | 71800 | 0.4763 | 1,212 | 1204 | 0.7867 | |
| 123 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,404 | 1241 | 0.9812 | |
| 124 | Washington State University | 38100 | 53900 | 0.2932 | 21,400 | 1131 | 0.861 | |
| 125 | Manhattan University | 38900 | 74100 | 0.4749 | 2,378 | 1174 | 0.8216 | |
| 126 | Mississippi State University | 39100 | 53400 | 0.2675 | 19,093 | 1205 | 0.8363 | |
| 126 | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | 39100 | 44400 | 0.1192 | 1,066 | 1197 | 0.4449 | |
| 128 | University of Maine | 39500 | 45200 | 0.1262 | 9,182 | 1195 | 0.9562 | |
| 129 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 39700 | 50000 | 0.2062 | 35,248 | 1289 | 0.6939 | |
| 129 | University of South Alabama | 39700 | 39700 | 0 | 9,530 | 1140 | 0.9455 | |
| 131 | California Baptist University | 39900 | 65600 | 0.3917 | 8,707 | 1024 | 0.8139 | |
| 132 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 40300 | 44100 | 0.0862 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 133 | Wayne State University | 40500 | 46200 | 0.1234 | 16,390 | 1183 | 0.8359 | |
| 134 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 40600 | 47500 | 0.1453 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 135 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40800 | 53600 | 0.2389 | 46,627 | 1366 | 0.492 | |
| 136 | University of New Haven | 41000 | 67300 | 0.3906 | 4,969 | 1219 | 0.5589 | |
| 137 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41700 | 83200 | 0.4988 | 2,160 | 1374 | 0.809 | |
| 138 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 42600 | 56200 | 0.2421 | 10,900 | 1222 | 0.8914 | |
| 139 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53600 | 0.1979 | 31,875 | 1456 | 0.4503 | |
| 140 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 141 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68700 | 0.3679 | 4,279 | 1234 | 0.5796 | |
| 142 | Widener University | 45400 | 79400 | 0.4283 | 2,975 | 1179 | 0.7093 | |
| 143 | University of California-San Diego | 45900 | 77200 | 0.4055 | 35,442 | 1375 | 0.2856 | |
| 144 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46200 | 86300 | 0.4644 | 5,833 | 1440 | 0.6725 | |
| 145 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1843 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7809 | |
| 146 | Drexel University | 47700 | 83900 | 0.4315 | 12,318 | 1354 | 0.699 | |
| 147 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48300 | 91400 | 0.4717 | 6,839 | 1469 | 0.1446 | |
| 148 | University of Alabama in Huntsville | 48600 | 48600 | 0 | 6,743 | 1266 | 0.6292 | |
| 149 | University of Kentucky | 49000 | 58000 | 0.1552 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 150 | University of California-Riverside | 49200 | 66000 | 0.2547 | 24,034 | 1199 | 0.8609 | |
| 151 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49500 | 85800 | 0.4229 | 4,206 | 1430 | 0.5068 | |
| 152 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49700 | 59400 | 0.1633 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 152 | University of Georgia | 49700 | 51600 | 0.0368 | 32,824 | 1348 | 0.3425 | |
| 154 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 38,572 | 1455 | 0.3659 | |
| 155 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50300 | 83600 | 0.3982 | 5,461 | 1292 | 0.6189 | |
| 156 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 50500 | 58800 | 0.1411 | 25,054 | 1225 | 0.7762 | |
| 157 | University of Utah | 51400 | 53700 | 0.0426 | 29,335 | 1222 | 0.9015 | |
| 158 | University of Iowa | 52100 | 54400 | 0.0421 | 23,407 | 1203 | 0.799 | |
| 159 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 17,157 | 1204 | 0.7654 | |
| 159 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 24,019 | 1404 | 0.5989 | |
| 161 | Howard University | 55000 | 66500 | 0.173 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 162 | The University of Alabama | 55700 | 58500 | 0.0478 | 35,621 | 1238 | 0.7117 | |
| 163 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 55900 | 63800 | 0.1237 | 42,565 | 1339 | 0.7887 | |
| 164 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 58900 | 61200 | 0.0374 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 | |
| 165 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,009 | 1247 | 0.8546 | |
| 166 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.036 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 167 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 63700 | 63700 | 0 | 9,827 | 1329 | 0.6737 | |
| 168 | University of California-Davis | 68400 | 69800 | 0.0201 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 | |
| 169 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,513 | 1407 | 0.1145 | |
| 170 | University of California-Irvine | 72000 | 75600 | 0.0476 | 30,260 | 1333 | 0.2895 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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