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 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22000 | 0.6362 | 34,354 | 1374 | 0.6862 | |
| 2 | California State University-Sacramento | 11700 | 30700 | 0.6186 | 28,619 | 1015 | 0.9357 | |
| 3 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 4 | California State University-Northridge | 12100 | 22000 | 0.4503 | 32,846 | 1005 | 0.9176 | |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 6 | Eastern Illinois University | 12700 | 24300 | 0.4768 | 6,731 | 1020 | 0.7073 | |
| 7 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 8 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 9 | Delta State University | 14000 | 23200 | 0.3971 | 1,876 | 1040 | 1 | |
| 10 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 12,118 | 1070 | 0.7164 | |
| 11 | Stephen F Austin State University | 14700 | 23400 | 0.3714 | 9,905 | 1055 | 0.8339 | |
| 12 | Wayne State College | 15100 | 20300 | 0.2561 | 3,886 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Chadron State College | 15200 | 25000 | 0.3926 | 1,691 | 0 | 0 | |
| 14 | University of Maryland Eastern Shore | 15300 | 26900 | 0.4309 | 2,477 | 930 | 0.9641 | |
| 15 | Southeastern Louisiana University | 15500 | 26800 | 0.4211 | 14,294 | 1125 | 0.915 | |
| 16 | Jacksonville State University | 16000 | 27000 | 0.4081 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 16 | Mississippi University for Women | 16000 | 21400 | 0.2527 | 1,962 | 1055 | 0.9031 | |
| 18 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania | 16300 | 28200 | 0.4215 | 7,425 | 1074 | 0.9147 | |
| 19 | Texas Tech University | 18300 | 27100 | 0.3253 | 34,021 | 1195 | 0.6906 | |
| 20 | North Carolina Central University | 18400 | 27600 | 0.3331 | 7,232 | 865 | 0.8605 | |
| 21 | Carson-Newman University | 19300 | 51900 | 0.6283 | 1,912 | 1075 | 0.6381 | |
| 22 | Olivet Nazarene University | 19600 | 80900 | 0.7575 | 2,704 | 1104 | 0.5586 | |
| 23 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20200 | 45200 | 0.5537 | 31,536 | 1366 | 0.5457 | |
| 24 | Alabama A & M University | 20300 | 28200 | 0.2798 | 6,370 | 915 | 0.5795 | |
| 25 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 20600 | 23200 | 0.1121 | 20,786 | 1225 | 0.8689 | |
| 26 | University of Wyoming | 20700 | 27900 | 0.2574 | 8,138 | 1163 | 0.9695 | |
| 27 | University of Northern Iowa | 20900 | 24000 | 0.1289 | 7,800 | 1115 | 0.9313 | |
| 28 | Henderson State University | 21400 | 30600 | 0.3002 | 1,461 | 1075 | 0.8192 | |
| 29 | Texas Southern University | 22100 | 25500 | 0.1335 | 6,844 | 915 | 0.9691 | |
| 30 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 23000 | 27500 | 0.1618 | 18,028 | 1059 | 0.7996 | |
| 31 | Central Washington University | 23400 | 27900 | 0.1615 | 10,033 | 1060 | 0.9061 | |
| 32 | University of Kentucky | 23900 | 36400 | 0.3439 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 33 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,405 | 1284 | 0.74 | |
| 34 | Illinois State University | 25300 | 36400 | 0.3064 | 19,513 | 1115 | 0.8555 | |
| 35 | Minnesota State University, Mankato | 25900 | 28000 | 0.0747 | 13,433 | 1145 | 0.8844 | |
| 36 | Southeast Missouri State University | 26000 | 28600 | 0.0906 | 7,926 | 1070 | 0.6897 | |
| 36 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff | 26000 | 48300 | 0.4618 | 1,817 | 905 | 0.4118 | |
| 38 | Iowa State University | 26200 | 42800 | 0.3868 | 26,346 | 1212 | 0.8793 | |
| 39 | Kansas State University | 27000 | 31400 | 0.1408 | 16,555 | 1163 | 0.875 | |
| 40 | Fort Valley State University | 27400 | 54200 | 0.4949 | 2,699 | 1025 | 0.6587 | |
| 41 | The University of Tennessee-Martin | 27600 | 31500 | 0.1239 | 7,393 | 1125 | 0.8968 | |
| 42 | Norfolk State University | 27700 | 40100 | 0.309 | 5,411 | 935 | 0.8777 | |
| 43 | Freed-Hardeman University | 28600 | 35900 | 0.2033 | 1,873 | 1120 | 0.5968 | |
| 43 | Southern University and A & M College | 28600 | 32900 | 0.1309 | 6,713 | 930 | 0.3512 | |
| 45 | Pittsburg State University | 29200 | 36200 | 0.1931 | 4,561 | 1055 | 0.5487 | |
| 46 | Montana State University | 29500 | 31900 | 0.0751 | 15,142 | 1184 | 0.9938 | |
| 47 | Oklahoma Baptist University | 30600 | 54700 | 0.4409 | 1,427 | 1025 | 0.4941 | |
| 48 | California State University-Long Beach | 31000 | 38900 | 0.2032 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 49 | South Carolina State University | 31400 | 41600 | 0.2452 | 3,059 | 925 | 0.6797 | |
| 50 | Morgan State University | 32700 | 41900 | 0.2197 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 51 | Liberty University | 33200 | 44600 | 0.2556 | 52,961 | 1174 | 0.9898 | |
| 52 | Baylor University | 33400 | 70300 | 0.5247 | 14,183 | 1302 | 0.5222 | |
| 53 | Harding University | 33700 | 47800 | 0.2949 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 54 | Meredith College | 34000 | 64200 | 0.4706 | 1,212 | 1239 | 0.7506 | |
| 55 | Bridgewater College | 34400 | 42500 | 0.1907 | 1,412 | 1115 | 0.903 | |
| 56 | University of Montevallo | 35400 | 44900 | 0.2118 | 2,643 | 1124 | 0.5385 | |
| 57 | Tennessee Technological University | 36400 | 38500 | 0.0544 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 58 | University of Central Arkansas | 38200 | 40200 | 0.0521 | 8,238 | 1110 | 0.9157 | |
| 59 | California Baptist University | 40100 | 65600 | 0.3887 | 8,707 | 1024 | 0.8139 | |
| 60 | Union University | 43900 | 66000 | 0.3346 | 1,856 | 1242 | 0.5857 | |
| 61 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0506 | 43,633 | 1342 | 0.4343 | |
| 62 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49900 | 59400 | 0.16 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 63 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.039 | 29,335 | 1222 | 0.9015 | |
| 64 | The University of Alabama | 55700 | 58500 | 0.0478 | 35,621 | 1238 | 0.7117 | |
| 65 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 66 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 59100 | 61200 | 0.0342 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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