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 | North Carolina Central University | 7000 | 27000 | 0.7416 | 6,595 | 971 | 0.8697 | |
| 2 | Brigham Young University | 10900 | 29000 | 0.6237 | 32,221 | 1374 | 0.6919 | |
| 3 | Northern Illinois University | 12300 | 29000 | 0.5739 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 4 | Eastern Illinois University | 12700 | 24500 | 0.4795 | 6,785 | 1020 | 0.6535 | |
| 5 | Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus | 12800 | 24500 | 0.4782 | 4,250 | 970 | 0.9166 | |
| 6 | Texas Tech University | 14000 | 27000 | 0.4813 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 7 | University of Houston | 14200 | 23600 | 0.3988 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 8 | Pittsburg State University | 14500 | 25200 | 0.4241 | 4,491 | 1055 | 0.8727 | |
| 8 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 14500 | 41100 | 0.6478 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 10 | Stephen F Austin State University | 15500 | 22600 | 0.3137 | 9,129 | 1060 | 0.7445 | |
| 11 | Wayne State College | 15600 | 26400 | 0.4096 | 3,902 | 1075 | 1 | |
| 12 | Chadron State College | 15700 | 25600 | 0.3868 | 1,785 | 0 | 0 | |
| 13 | Mississippi University for Women | 16000 | 21400 | 0.2527 | 1,995 | 1075 | 1 | |
| 14 | Delta State University | 16500 | 23400 | 0.2951 | 1,876 | 1040 | 1 | |
| 15 | Southeast Missouri State University | 16600 | 30300 | 0.4531 | 7,926 | 1080 | 0.6897 | |
| 16 | Kansas State University | 19000 | 31400 | 0.395 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 16 | Texas Southern University | 19000 | 42400 | 0.5514 | 6,619 | 920 | 0.9335 | |
| 18 | University of Wyoming | 19900 | 26700 | 0.2538 | 8,130 | 1159 | 0.9688 | |
| 19 | The University of Texas at Austin | 20000 | 26900 | 0.2564 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 20 | Carson-Newman University | 20100 | 51700 | 0.6111 | 1,606 | 1110 | 0.9045 | |
| 21 | South Carolina State University | 20300 | 30000 | 0.3228 | 2,950 | 865 | 0.8262 | |
| 22 | Western Illinois University | 20800 | 31000 | 0.3302 | 5,025 | 990 | 0.7496 | |
| 23 | Montana State University | 20900 | 27100 | 0.2285 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 24 | Olivet Nazarene University | 21200 | 88800 | 0.7612 | 2,704 | 1104 | 0.5586 | |
| 25 | Freed-Hardeman University | 21600 | 35100 | 0.385 | 1,878 | 1180 | 0.9061 | |
| 26 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus | 22200 | 33900 | 0.3449 | 7,353 | 1085 | 0.9077 | |
| 27 | Henderson State University | 23200 | 35900 | 0.3542 | 1,493 | 1075 | 0.8192 | |
| 28 | The University of Alabama | 23400 | 29900 | 0.2177 | 34,389 | 1233 | 0.7665 | |
| 29 | Fort Valley State University | 23500 | 38900 | 0.3956 | 2,558 | 940 | 0.628 | |
| 30 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 23800 | 24500 | 0.0285 | 19,888 | 1209 | 0.8517 | |
| 31 | University of Central Arkansas | 24300 | 29500 | 0.1757 | 8,268 | 1110 | 0.8949 | |
| 32 | East Central University | 24400 | 33300 | 0.2675 | 2,644 | 1055 | 0.5815 | |
| 33 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | 24700 | 42300 | 0.4158 | 1,905 | 965 | 0.5754 | |
| 34 | Illinois State University | 25000 | 35200 | 0.2909 | 19,107 | 1115 | 0.8815 | |
| 35 | California State University-Fresno | 25300 | 35900 | 0.2951 | 21,430 | 995 | 0.9638 | |
| 36 | California State University-Northridge | 25900 | 36600 | 0.2919 | 32,499 | 1005 | 0.9219 | |
| 36 | The University of Tennessee-Martin | 25900 | 31500 | 0.1779 | 6,817 | 1110 | 0.882 | |
| 38 | Iowa State University | 26100 | 42800 | 0.3889 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 38 | Southern University and A & M College | 26100 | 32900 | 0.207 | 6,571 | 960 | 0.4987 | |
| 40 | Norfolk State University | 26200 | 40300 | 0.3501 | 5,510 | 950 | 0.8746 | |
| 41 | University of Maryland Eastern Shore | 26300 | 39000 | 0.3255 | 2,233 | 930 | 0.9036 | |
| 42 | Texas Woman's University | 26400 | 41300 | 0.3608 | 10,034 | 1055 | 0.9613 | |
| 43 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 27500 | 43800 | 0.3725 | 17,771 | 1044 | 0.7933 | |
| 44 | Central Washington University | 27600 | 27800 | 0.0072 | 10,033 | 1060 | 0.9061 | |
| 45 | Seattle Pacific University | 27700 | 62600 | 0.5576 | 1,776 | 1188 | 0.8339 | |
| 46 | California State University-Long Beach | 28000 | 38400 | 0.2712 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 47 | Alabama A & M University | 28100 | 42800 | 0.3433 | 5,845 | 940 | 0.6622 | |
| 48 | Jacksonville State University | 28500 | 38200 | 0.2537 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 49 | University of Utah | 28800 | 32000 | 0.0995 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 50 | Oklahoma Baptist University | 30500 | 54700 | 0.4425 | 1,409 | 1110 | 0.6327 | |
| 51 | Southeastern Louisiana University | 31100 | 43700 | 0.2884 | 13,206 | 1125 | 0.9387 | |
| 52 | San Francisco State University | 31200 | 45200 | 0.3099 | 20,756 | 1035 | 0.9615 | |
| 53 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31800 | 36400 | 0.1262 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 54 | Bridgewater College | 32000 | 40200 | 0.2037 | 1,407 | 1174 | 0.9172 | |
| 55 | Sam Houston State University | 32100 | 39900 | 0.1955 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 56 | Liberty University | 32800 | 43900 | 0.2528 | 52,823 | 1181 | 0.9932 | |
| 57 | Minnesota State University, Mankato | 34100 | 37200 | 0.0855 | 12,897 | 1110 | 0.9133 | |
| 58 | California State University-Sacramento | 34300 | 44900 | 0.2362 | 28,226 | 1015 | 0.9343 | |
| 59 | Auburn University | 34400 | 34400 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 59 | Morgan State University | 34400 | 37200 | 0.0753 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 61 | Baylor University | 34600 | 70800 | 0.511 | 14,915 | 1277 | 0.5128 | |
| 62 | University of Montevallo | 35800 | 46700 | 0.2333 | 2,545 | 1124 | 0.5579 | |
| 63 | Tennessee Technological University | 36300 | 38500 | 0.0567 | 8,838 | 1159 | 0.8316 | |
| 64 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 62000 | 0.3968 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 65 | CUNY Queens College | 38300 | 38300 | 0 | 13,464 | 1146 | 0.6434 | |
| 66 | SUNY Oneonta | 40500 | 45300 | 0.1059 | 4,681 | 1190 | 0.6959 | |
| 67 | Union University | 41900 | 64100 | 0.3462 | 1,934 | 1242 | 0.6016 | |
| 68 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 43000 | 46200 | 0.0689 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 69 | University of Kentucky | 51000 | 56000 | 0.0893 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 70 | Miami University-Oxford | 56100 | 56100 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 71 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 56800 | 58900 | 0.0371 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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