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 | 4,473 | 1326 | 0.1245 | |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 2700 | 92000 | 0.9704 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 3 | Princeton University | 3800 | 82600 | 0.954 | 5,813 | 1535 | 0.0462 | |
| 4 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 5 | California Institute of Technology | 7400 | 91800 | 0.9194 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 6 | Vanderbilt University | 7700 | 96200 | 0.9195 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 7 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22000 | 0.6362 | 32,952 | 1374 | 0.6778 | |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,535 | 1542 | 0.0455 | |
| 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0399 | |
| 10 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9007 | 7,377 | 1528 | 0.1166 | |
| 11 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 102300 | 0.9104 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 12 | Bucknell University | 9600 | 91800 | 0.8959 | 3,920 | 1396 | 0.2893 | |
| 13 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 14 | University of Notre Dame | 10700 | 86200 | 0.8763 | 8,880 | 1500 | 0.1127 | |
| 15 | University of Tulsa | 11400 | 62900 | 0.8184 | 2,852 | 1328 | 0.6151 | |
| 16 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 16 | University of California-San Diego | 11500 | 39700 | 0.7102 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 18 | Lafayette College | 11700 | 85800 | 0.8641 | 2,775 | 1427 | 0.3145 | |
| 19 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11900 | 25700 | 0.5363 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 20 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 20 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 12000 | 38800 | 0.6912 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 22 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 23 | Lamar University | 12400 | 22900 | 0.458 | 8,184 | 1050 | 0.8641 | |
| 24 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 25 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 12800 | 26500 | 0.5164 | 12,507 | 1010 | 0.8897 | |
| 25 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 27 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 27 | University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point | 12900 | 24700 | 0.478 | 7,490 | 1140 | 0.918 | |
| 29 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13200 | 43000 | 0.693 | 23,181 | 1354 | 0.3297 | |
| 30 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 31 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.4854 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 31 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 47300 | 0.7099 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 33 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 34 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 35 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 91300 | 0.8394 | 6,528 | 1475 | 0.3654 | |
| 36 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 37 | University of St Thomas | 14900 | 50900 | 0.7075 | 3,365 | 1095 | 0.8992 | |
| 38 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 17,432 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 39 | The University of Texas at Tyler | 15200 | 24900 | 0.3891 | 7,683 | 1120 | 0.9402 | |
| 40 | Western Michigan University | 15300 | 26500 | 0.423 | 13,027 | 1115 | 0.846 | |
| 41 | Lehigh University | 15400 | 89600 | 0.8286 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 42 | Florida State University | 15600 | 22900 | 0.3184 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 43 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3962 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 44 | University of Kansas | 16000 | 34900 | 0.5414 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 45 | The University of Texas at Austin | 16500 | 28000 | 0.4111 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 45 | University of Maine | 16500 | 29300 | 0.4371 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 45 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 32900 | 0.4982 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 48 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 49 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 16900 | 26300 | 0.3571 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 49 | West Virginia University | 16900 | 40900 | 0.5865 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 51 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17500 | 29900 | 0.4169 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 52 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5379 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 53 | The University of Texas Permian Basin | 18200 | 28600 | 0.3634 | 4,218 | 1030 | 0.9489 | |
| 54 | University of California-Berkeley | 18300 | 43500 | 0.5798 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 55 | University of Mississippi | 18500 | 45000 | 0.5893 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 56 | McNeese State University | 18900 | 27400 | 0.3102 | 5,668 | 1060 | 0.7827 | |
| 57 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 58 | University of South Alabama | 19300 | 22400 | 0.1387 | 9,241 | 1140 | 0.7096 | |
| 59 | University of Alabama in Huntsville | 19800 | 30500 | 0.3506 | 6,800 | 1293 | 0.6857 | |
| 60 | Youngstown State University | 19900 | 34000 | 0.4147 | 9,400 | 1115 | 0.8445 | |
| 61 | Cleveland State University | 20000 | 30900 | 0.3523 | 9,482 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 61 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 63 | University of Rochester | 20100 | 93100 | 0.7843 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 64 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 20300 | 29300 | 0.3067 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 65 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 20400 | 23200 | 0.1207 | 20,444 | 1209 | 0.8499 | |
| 66 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 66 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 68 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 69 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 70 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 71 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 72 | New York University | 22400 | 91800 | 0.7556 | 29,060 | 1520 | 0.0923 | |
| 73 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22600 | 26900 | 0.1591 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 74 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 22900 | 69800 | 0.6723 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 75 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 75 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 23000 | 27500 | 0.1618 | 17,450 | 1044 | 0.9518 | |
| 77 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 77 | Washington State University | 23600 | 38700 | 0.3897 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 79 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 80 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 81 | Clarkson University | 25600 | 78000 | 0.672 | 2,296 | 1302 | 0.7736 | |
| 82 | Christian Brothers University | 25800 | 57600 | 0.5512 | 1,155 | 1110 | 0.867 | |
| 82 | Michigan State University | 25800 | 28900 | 0.1089 | 41,234 | 1279 | 0.848 | |
| 82 | University of North Dakota | 25800 | 28600 | 0.0973 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 85 | Iowa State University | 26000 | 42800 | 0.3912 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 86 | Dordt University | 26200 | 52500 | 0.5007 | 1,716 | 1205 | 0.6847 | |
| 87 | Tuskegee University | 26300 | 42100 | 0.3757 | 2,659 | 1090 | 0.4868 | |
| 88 | Trine University | 26500 | 56100 | 0.5276 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 89 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 90 | University of Idaho | 26800 | 45200 | 0.4067 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 91 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 91 | University of Minnesota Duluth | 27100 | 31100 | 0.128 | 8,426 | 1235 | 0.8875 | |
| 93 | Rowan University | 27400 | 41300 | 0.3369 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 94 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 94 | Villanova University | 27800 | 88800 | 0.6867 | 7,004 | 1457 | 0.2698 | |
| 96 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28500 | 32300 | 0.1176 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 97 | University of Dayton | 28800 | 64200 | 0.5515 | 7,740 | 1302 | 0.6545 | |
| 98 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2176 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 99 | University of Toledo | 29700 | 42000 | 0.2926 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 100 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30300 | 78100 | 0.6118 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 101 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30600 | 38500 | 0.2052 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 102 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 30800 | 36900 | 0.166 | 5,552 | 1305 | 0.7255 | |
| 103 | California State University-Long Beach | 30900 | 38900 | 0.2058 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 103 | West Virginia University Institute of Technology | 30900 | 39900 | 0.2256 | 1,278 | 1025 | 0.3668 | |
| 105 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 106 | Hampton University | 31400 | 54800 | 0.427 | 3,728 | 947 | 0.6225 | |
| 107 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 31500 | 41200 | 0.2357 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 107 | University of Louisville | 31500 | 42000 | 0.2498 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 109 | University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown | 31800 | 49500 | 0.3579 | 1,813 | 1109 | 0.9484 | |
| 110 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32100 | 36700 | 0.1249 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 111 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4031 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 112 | Prairie View A & M University | 32900 | 39600 | 0.1691 | 8,877 | 975 | 0.7931 | |
| 112 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 32900 | 45100 | 0.2705 | 10,767 | 1326 | 0.7243 | |
| 114 | California Baptist University | 33400 | 65600 | 0.4908 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 115 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 33900 | 41000 | 0.1742 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 115 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 117 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 34500 | 34500 | 0 | 10,202 | 1140 | 0.8109 | |
| 118 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 119 | Colorado School of Mines | 36200 | 60100 | 0.3977 | 6,195 | 1399 | 0.6069 | |
| 119 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 119 | Tennessee Technological University | 36200 | 38500 | 0.0592 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 122 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 36400 | 41600 | 0.1268 | 5,386 | 1050 | 0.9092 | |
| 123 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 124 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36700 | 38900 | 0.0586 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 125 | University of New Haven | 36800 | 67300 | 0.453 | 4,903 | 1164 | 0.6038 | |
| 126 | University of Connecticut | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3062 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 127 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 128 | Kettering University | 37500 | 71800 | 0.4776 | 1,212 | 1260 | 0.7867 | |
| 129 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,403 | 1241 | 0.9812 | |
| 130 | University of Nevada-Reno | 38000 | 45800 | 0.1704 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 131 | University of Illinois Chicago | 38200 | 50600 | 0.2451 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 132 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38400 | 53100 | 0.2767 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 133 | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | 39100 | 44400 | 0.119 | 1,066 | 1197 | 0.4449 | |
| 134 | University of Wyoming | 40000 | 45300 | 0.1166 | 8,130 | 1179 | 0.9688 | |
| 135 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 40300 | 44100 | 0.0862 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 136 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 136 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 138 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 138 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 140 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53600 | 0.1979 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 141 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 142 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43300 | 68600 | 0.3686 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 143 | Manhattan University | 43600 | 74100 | 0.4115 | 2,744 | 1274 | 0.7894 | |
| 144 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 145 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2752 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 146 | Widener University | 45700 | 79400 | 0.4246 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 147 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 148 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47100 | 57700 | 0.1838 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 149 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48400 | 91400 | 0.4706 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 149 | University of Delaware | 48400 | 61300 | 0.211 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 151 | Drexel University | 48600 | 83900 | 0.4208 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 152 | University of Kentucky | 49000 | 58000 | 0.1551 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 153 | University of California-Riverside | 49200 | 66000 | 0.2547 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 154 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49500 | 85800 | 0.4229 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 155 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 156 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50300 | 83600 | 0.3982 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 157 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50800 | 84700 | 0.4003 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 158 | University of Iowa | 50900 | 53200 | 0.0429 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 159 | University of Utah | 51400 | 53700 | 0.0425 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 160 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 52900 | 61200 | 0.1353 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 161 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 53900 | 59200 | 0.0892 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 162 | Howard University | 55000 | 66500 | 0.173 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 163 | The University of Alabama | 55800 | 55800 | 0 | 34,389 | 1284 | 0.7665 | |
| 164 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 165 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 166 | Michigan Technological University | 59300 | 59300 | 0 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 167 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 168 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 63700 | 63700 | 0 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 169 | University of California-Davis | 69800 | 69800 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 170 | 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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