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 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0399 | |
| 2 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11500 | 29100 | 0.6053 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 2 | Wichita State University | 11500 | 29800 | 0.6134 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 4 | The University of Texas at El Paso | 11700 | 26900 | 0.5645 | 21,118 | 980 | 0.9992 | |
| 5 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11900 | 25700 | 0.5363 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 6 | University of Central Florida | 12000 | 25300 | 0.525 | 59,552 | 1280 | 0.4011 | |
| 6 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 8 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 29200 | 0.5745 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 9 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 10 | Fort Hays State University | 12800 | 22600 | 0.4363 | 10,172 | 1075 | 0.9026 | |
| 10 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 12800 | 26500 | 0.5164 | 12,507 | 1010 | 0.8897 | |
| 10 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 13 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 14 | Navajo Technical University | 13000 | 24900 | 0.4771 | 1,678 | 0 | 0 | |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 16 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 17 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 18 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 14200 | 22900 | 0.381 | 6,045 | 1193 | 0.8938 | |
| 19 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 20 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 21 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 17,432 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 22 | Lehigh University | 15400 | 89600 | 0.8286 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 23 | California State University-East Bay | 15500 | 30100 | 0.4857 | 9,909 | 940 | 0.9739 | |
| 23 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 15500 | 25800 | 0.3988 | 5,386 | 1050 | 0.9092 | |
| 25 | Western Michigan University | 15700 | 31200 | 0.4963 | 13,027 | 1115 | 0.846 | |
| 26 | Kansas State University | 15800 | 26100 | 0.3962 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 26 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 15800 | 38500 | 0.5888 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 28 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 15900 | 27700 | 0.4254 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 29 | North Carolina State University | 16400 | 28500 | 0.425 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 30 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 32900 | 0.4982 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 30 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 32 | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | 17200 | 20700 | 0.169 | 8,320 | 1090 | 0.8858 | |
| 33 | Morgan State University | 17600 | 28500 | 0.3823 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 34 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 35 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 37700 | 0.5256 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 36 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5379 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 37 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | 18100 | 25200 | 0.2812 | 6,835 | 1090 | 0.7147 | |
| 38 | Texas Tech University | 18300 | 27100 | 0.3253 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 38 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 40 | Youngstown State University | 18400 | 34000 | 0.4589 | 9,400 | 1115 | 0.8445 | |
| 41 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19400 | 29900 | 0.3535 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 42 | University of Alabama in Huntsville | 19800 | 30500 | 0.3506 | 6,800 | 1293 | 0.6857 | |
| 43 | Iowa State University | 19900 | 24200 | 0.1786 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 44 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 45 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 20400 | 23200 | 0.1207 | 20,444 | 1209 | 0.8499 | |
| 46 | South Carolina State University | 20700 | 30000 | 0.3095 | 2,950 | 930 | 0.8262 | |
| 47 | North Dakota State University | 20800 | 25700 | 0.1898 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 48 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 49 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 50 | Florida State University | 22500 | 32400 | 0.306 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 51 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22600 | 26900 | 0.1591 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 52 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 52 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 54 | Bradley University | 24100 | 49900 | 0.5161 | 3,596 | 1223 | 0.7676 | |
| 55 | Saint Ambrose University | 24200 | 55400 | 0.5628 | 1,939 | 1085 | 0.7733 | |
| 56 | Temple University | 24800 | 36100 | 0.3132 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 57 | Binghamton University | 25700 | 32700 | 0.2159 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 58 | St. Mary's University | 26400 | 59800 | 0.5587 | 2,149 | 1084 | 0.9776 | |
| 59 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 60 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 26800 | 30100 | 0.109 | 5,086 | 1124 | 0.949 | |
| 61 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 61 | University of Minnesota Duluth | 27100 | 31100 | 0.128 | 8,426 | 1235 | 0.8875 | |
| 63 | Kent State University at Kent | 27400 | 28400 | 0.0352 | 20,841 | 1105 | 0.8634 | |
| 64 | Oakland University | 27900 | 39300 | 0.2899 | 12,587 | 1130 | 0.8784 | |
| 65 | Colorado Christian University | 28000 | 64000 | 0.5624 | 8,200 | 1110 | 0.9764 | |
| 65 | Texas State University | 28000 | 28000 | 0 | 36,236 | 1100 | 0.8932 | |
| 67 | Francis Marion University | 28500 | 40200 | 0.2914 | 3,692 | 1015 | 0.8639 | |
| 68 | Oregon State University | 28800 | 36700 | 0.2152 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 68 | University of Iowa | 28800 | 31100 | 0.0733 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 70 | East Texas A&M University | 29400 | 36500 | 0.1945 | 9,992 | 1045 | 0.9224 | |
| 71 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 72 | Montana State University | 29600 | 31900 | 0.072 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 73 | Methodist University | 29700 | 65800 | 0.5484 | 1,467 | 1185 | 0.7514 | |
| 74 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30300 | 78100 | 0.6118 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 75 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30600 | 38500 | 0.2052 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 76 | Lamar University | 31200 | 38300 | 0.1855 | 8,184 | 1050 | 0.8641 | |
| 77 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 31500 | 41200 | 0.2357 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 77 | University of Louisville | 31500 | 42000 | 0.2498 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 79 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 80 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 80 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 82 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 83 | Liberty University | 33200 | 44600 | 0.2556 | 52,961 | 1174 | 0.9898 | |
| 84 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 33900 | 41000 | 0.1742 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 85 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34200 | 70200 | 0.5131 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 86 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 35300 | 56700 | 0.3775 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 87 | SUNY Maritime College | 35600 | 41600 | 0.1441 | 1,285 | 1215 | 0.7241 | |
| 88 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 89 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 90 | University of New Haven | 36800 | 67300 | 0.453 | 4,903 | 1164 | 0.6038 | |
| 91 | University of Connecticut | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3062 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 92 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 93 | Kettering University | 37500 | 71800 | 0.4776 | 1,212 | 1260 | 0.7867 | |
| 94 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 95 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 96 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 97 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 97 | University of San Diego | 41500 | 85900 | 0.517 | 5,851 | 1298 | 0.5238 | |
| 99 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43800 | 57100 | 0.2328 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 100 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 101 | Quinnipiac University | 44800 | 79200 | 0.4343 | 6,557 | 1245 | 0.7215 | |
| 102 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 103 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48500 | 51200 | 0.0543 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 104 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50300 | 83600 | 0.3982 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 105 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50800 | 84700 | 0.4003 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 106 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53200 | 61000 | 0.1291 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 107 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 108 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 53900 | 59200 | 0.0892 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 109 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 110 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 111 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.0358 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 112 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 63700 | 63700 | 0 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 113 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | 63900 | 63900 | 0 | 3,244 | 1224 | 0.9683 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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