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 | California Institute of Technology | 7500 | 91800 | 0.9183 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 2 | College of Staten Island CUNY | 7700 | 36100 | 0.7877 | 10,051 | 1064 | 0.9234 | |
| 3 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0399 | |
| 4 | Southeastern Oklahoma State University | 9800 | 20400 | 0.5201 | 3,224 | 1085 | 0.7643 | |
| 5 | Valdosta State University | 10500 | 24800 | 0.5775 | 7,166 | 1015 | 0.7229 | |
| 6 | Savannah State University | 10600 | 26700 | 0.6037 | 2,966 | 925 | 0.4614 | |
| 7 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 8 | University of North Florida | 12600 | 22400 | 0.438 | 13,735 | 1150 | 0.5324 | |
| 9 | University of South Florida | 12900 | 17100 | 0.2454 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 10 | University of Michigan-Flint | 13000 | 46300 | 0.719 | 5,011 | 1109 | 0.7046 | |
| 11 | East Texas A&M University | 13200 | 30000 | 0.5601 | 9,992 | 1045 | 0.9224 | |
| 11 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | 13200 | 25700 | 0.4862 | 28,674 | 980 | 0.9419 | |
| 11 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 13200 | 19400 | 0.3197 | 14,416 | 1210 | 0.8851 | |
| 14 | SUNY Polytechnic Institute | 13500 | 13500 | 0 | 1,973 | 1189 | 0.8135 | |
| 15 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 16 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 50700 | 0.7294 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 17 | Grand Valley State University | 14100 | 25300 | 0.4432 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 17 | University of Wisconsin-Green Bay | 14100 | 19600 | 0.2805 | 10,632 | 1075 | 0.8859 | |
| 19 | Alabama State University | 14200 | 31300 | 0.5476 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 20 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 21 | Dickinson State University | 14400 | 25000 | 0.4241 | 1,339 | 990 | 0.3702 | |
| 21 | Northwestern State University of Louisiana | 14400 | 37400 | 0.6144 | 7,622 | 1075 | 0.9254 | |
| 23 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 23 | Salisbury University | 14600 | 28700 | 0.4916 | 6,288 | 1250 | 0.8747 | |
| 25 | Wayne State College | 15100 | 20300 | 0.2561 | 3,902 | 0 | 0 | |
| 26 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 15900 | 38500 | 0.5862 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 27 | Jacksonville State University | 16000 | 27000 | 0.4081 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 27 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 16000 | 27700 | 0.4218 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 29 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | 16100 | 23400 | 0.3124 | 11,756 | 1124 | 0.8698 | |
| 30 | Grove City College | 16400 | 39700 | 0.5876 | 2,341 | 1266 | 0.7232 | |
| 31 | Goshen College | 16500 | 55900 | 0.7055 | 780 | 995 | 0.8407 | |
| 32 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 33 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny | 16800 | 44500 | 0.6221 | 352 | 1180 | 0.9647 | |
| 33 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16800 | 64800 | 0.7411 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 35 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Mont Alto | 17200 | 43500 | 0.6041 | 581 | 1132 | 0.9821 | |
| 36 | Morgan State University | 17600 | 28500 | 0.3823 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 36 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 17600 | 26600 | 0.3387 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 38 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 39 | Boston College | 17900 | 97600 | 0.8164 | 10,314 | 1490 | 0.1643 | |
| 40 | College of Charleston | 18000 | 33900 | 0.4696 | 10,880 | 1255 | 0.6003 | |
| 41 | State University of New York at Oswego | 18200 | 27700 | 0.3428 | 5,517 | 1180 | 0.8055 | |
| 41 | The University of Texas Permian Basin | 18200 | 28600 | 0.3634 | 4,218 | 1030 | 0.9489 | |
| 43 | SUNY Brockport | 18400 | 26200 | 0.2972 | 5,816 | 1195 | 0.7068 | |
| 43 | Towson University | 18400 | 29900 | 0.3842 | 16,264 | 1098 | 0.8197 | |
| 45 | University of Houston-Victoria | 18900 | 25000 | 0.2442 | 2,627 | 1095 | 0.959 | |
| 46 | Rutgers University-Newark | 19500 | 38000 | 0.4866 | 7,989 | 1159 | 0.7136 | |
| 46 | Saint Xavier University | 19500 | 53300 | 0.6329 | 3,098 | 1050 | 0.843 | |
| 48 | Norwich University | 19600 | 73800 | 0.7342 | 2,626 | 1186 | 0.7444 | |
| 49 | Pennsylvania Western University | 19700 | 29000 | 0.3212 | 7,586 | 1045 | 0.9433 | |
| 50 | Central Connecticut State University | 19800 | 29500 | 0.3286 | 8,170 | 1075 | 0.7333 | |
| 51 | SUNY Buffalo State University | 20200 | 29400 | 0.3124 | 5,255 | 1109 | 0.7295 | |
| 52 | Dakota State University | 20400 | 22500 | 0.0912 | 3,066 | 1192 | 0.8805 | |
| 53 | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota | 20800 | 57800 | 0.6401 | 1,932 | 1193 | 0.9278 | |
| 54 | University of Maryland-College Park | 20900 | 27300 | 0.2346 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 55 | Tarleton State University | 21000 | 23000 | 0.087 | 15,254 | 1080 | 0.8955 | |
| 56 | Albright College | 21200 | 49300 | 0.5699 | 1,230 | 1050 | 0.7633 | |
| 57 | Luther College | 21500 | 71900 | 0.7014 | 1,384 | 1226 | 0.7154 | |
| 58 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 59 | Lincoln University | 22100 | 24900 | 0.1124 | 1,926 | 0 | 0 | |
| 60 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 61 | Grambling State University | 22400 | 25700 | 0.1286 | 4,313 | 950 | 0.4486 | |
| 61 | Lenoir-Rhyne University | 22400 | 53000 | 0.5768 | 1,472 | 1075 | 0.8459 | |
| 63 | New Mexico Highlands University | 22500 | 27200 | 0.1726 | 1,603 | 0 | 0 | |
| 64 | Brigham Young University-Hawaii | 22600 | 25400 | 0.1104 | 2,906 | 1125 | 0.4696 | |
| 65 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton | 22900 | 45900 | 0.5015 | 502 | 1189 | 0.9641 | |
| 66 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 67 | Florida Memorial University | 23100 | 42000 | 0.4495 | 1,206 | 0 | 0.8526 | |
| 68 | Houghton University | 23200 | 44300 | 0.4763 | 1,162 | 1277 | 0.8866 | |
| 68 | Robert Morris University | 23200 | 58000 | 0.5998 | 4,325 | 1145 | 0.8989 | |
| 70 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 71 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 23700 | 34400 | 0.311 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 72 | University of Kentucky | 23900 | 36400 | 0.3441 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 73 | Dominican University | 24000 | 56000 | 0.5708 | 2,690 | 1005 | 0.9032 | |
| 74 | Bradley University | 24100 | 49900 | 0.5161 | 3,596 | 1223 | 0.7676 | |
| 75 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | 24200 | 36300 | 0.3337 | 5,444 | 1220 | 0.7064 | |
| 75 | Westfield State University | 24200 | 39000 | 0.3791 | 3,868 | 1085 | 0.8141 | |
| 77 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 24400 | 30600 | 0.2026 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 78 | Western Oregon University | 24600 | 24600 | 0 | 3,167 | 1040 | 0.981 | |
| 79 | Emporia State University | 24800 | 32000 | 0.2249 | 2,396 | 1075 | 0.9771 | |
| 80 | Doane University | 25300 | 71000 | 0.644 | 1,315 | 1125 | 0.9801 | |
| 81 | Fort Hays State University | 25800 | 36100 | 0.2851 | 10,172 | 1075 | 0.9026 | |
| 82 | Bethune-Cookman University | 26000 | 32700 | 0.205 | 2,738 | 910 | 0.8824 | |
| 83 | Minnesota State University Moorhead | 26200 | 28300 | 0.0744 | 3,375 | 1090 | 0.5876 | |
| 84 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 26300 | 28400 | 0.074 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 85 | Columbia College | 26400 | 46900 | 0.4371 | 5,207 | 1145 | 0.4714 | |
| 85 | Southern University at New Orleans | 26400 | 42300 | 0.3757 | 2,179 | 950 | 0.789 | |
| 87 | Benedictine University | 26500 | 48900 | 0.4581 | 1,972 | 1161 | 0.9523 | |
| 88 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 89 | Northwood University | 26800 | 54500 | 0.5087 | 2,045 | 1055 | 0.6451 | |
| 90 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 27000 | 30100 | 0.1032 | 5,086 | 1124 | 0.949 | |
| 91 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg | 27200 | 37700 | 0.2788 | 4,047 | 1219 | 0.976 | |
| 92 | Kennesaw State University | 27400 | 27400 | 0 | 42,760 | 1120 | 0.6919 | |
| 92 | University of North Georgia | 27400 | 38600 | 0.2905 | 18,322 | 1100 | 0.6794 | |
| 94 | Syracuse University | 27700 | 83100 | 0.6665 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 95 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 96 | Elmhurst University | 28600 | 67000 | 0.5734 | 3,213 | 1148 | 0.7364 | |
| 96 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 32300 | 0.1145 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 98 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | 28900 | 42400 | 0.3187 | 6,761 | 1105 | 0.8475 | |
| 98 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 100 | Clemson University | 29200 | 37100 | 0.2129 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 101 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | 29700 | 31600 | 0.0601 | 6,835 | 1090 | 0.7147 | |
| 102 | Fairmont State University | 29800 | 32200 | 0.0746 | 3,088 | 970 | 0.9862 | |
| 102 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | 29800 | 39700 | 0.2495 | 4,487 | 1115 | 0.6726 | |
| 104 | University of Toledo | 29900 | 42000 | 0.2884 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 105 | Mercy University | 30100 | 44500 | 0.3237 | 6,774 | 1135 | 0.8584 | |
| 105 | Northern Kentucky University | 30100 | 32100 | 0.0623 | 10,163 | 1090 | 0.6765 | |
| 107 | Oklahoma Baptist University | 30500 | 54700 | 0.4411 | 1,427 | 1025 | 0.4941 | |
| 108 | Central College | 30600 | 36800 | 0.1686 | 1,084 | 1145 | 0.8617 | |
| 109 | University of Northwestern-St Paul | 30700 | 54600 | 0.4379 | 3,163 | 1165 | 0.9347 | |
| 110 | Frostburg State University | 31000 | 43000 | 0.2792 | 3,422 | 1095 | 0.8918 | |
| 110 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 31000 | 36900 | 0.1612 | 5,552 | 1305 | 0.7255 | |
| 112 | Hampton University | 31400 | 54800 | 0.427 | 3,728 | 947 | 0.6225 | |
| 113 | Angelo State University | 31800 | 35400 | 0.1019 | 9,702 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 113 | University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown | 31800 | 49500 | 0.3579 | 1,813 | 1109 | 0.9484 | |
| 115 | Saint Michael's College | 31900 | 68500 | 0.5346 | 1,120 | 1240 | 0.8451 | |
| 116 | Washington Adventist University | 32400 | 37800 | 0.143 | 513 | 995 | 0.4618 | |
| 117 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32500 | 35100 | 0.0742 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 117 | University of Scranton | 32500 | 78700 | 0.5869 | 3,613 | 1250 | 0.8123 | |
| 119 | McKendree University | 32700 | 52900 | 0.3813 | 1,757 | 1098 | 0.7172 | |
| 120 | Suffolk University | 32900 | 70300 | 0.5319 | 4,326 | 1209 | 0.8233 | |
| 120 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 32900 | 45100 | 0.2705 | 10,767 | 1326 | 0.7243 | |
| 122 | Cleveland State University | 33500 | 37300 | 0.1019 | 9,482 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 123 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 124 | Immaculata University | 34000 | 47500 | 0.284 | 1,652 | 1245 | 0.8576 | |
| 124 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 124 | Thomas Jefferson University | 34000 | 68100 | 0.501 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8097 | |
| 127 | SUNY at Fredonia | 34100 | 39600 | 0.1391 | 2,771 | 1258 | 0.777 | |
| 128 | Charleston Southern University | 34300 | 48400 | 0.2912 | 3,126 | 1060 | 0.9646 | |
| 129 | Coastal Carolina University | 34700 | 45100 | 0.2304 | 10,811 | 1145 | 0.7527 | |
| 130 | California Lutheran University | 35100 | 70000 | 0.4988 | 2,297 | 1254 | 0.7567 | |
| 131 | Adelphi University | 35200 | 63300 | 0.4438 | 5,325 | 1237 | 0.6591 | |
| 131 | Stockton University | 35200 | 44500 | 0.2091 | 7,565 | 1135 | 0.8894 | |
| 133 | Averett University | 35400 | 57200 | 0.3813 | 1,244 | 1054 | 0.5659 | |
| 134 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 36500 | 41600 | 0.1226 | 5,386 | 1050 | 0.9092 | |
| 135 | Furman University | 36700 | 82900 | 0.5571 | 2,383 | 1359 | 0.4295 | |
| 136 | Loyola University Maryland | 36800 | 78800 | 0.5331 | 3,881 | 1303 | 0.7549 | |
| 137 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington | 36900 | 38100 | 0.0315 | 2,884 | 1175 | 0.9677 | |
| 137 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 36900 | 37100 | 0.0054 | 5,939 | 1065 | 0.5878 | |
| 139 | East Carolina University | 37100 | 42700 | 0.1313 | 21,445 | 1160 | 0.8921 | |
| 140 | DePaul University | 37800 | 66000 | 0.4275 | 14,188 | 1254 | 0.7589 | |
| 141 | Christopher Newport University | 38000 | 51000 | 0.2551 | 4,369 | 1189 | 0.8604 | |
| 142 | University of South Alabama | 39700 | 39700 | 0 | 9,241 | 1140 | 0.7096 | |
| 143 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2473 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 144 | Wayne State University | 40400 | 46200 | 0.1256 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 145 | Pace University | 40700 | 74800 | 0.4558 | 8,038 | 1260 | 0.7592 | |
| 146 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 147 | University of Mount Olive | 42300 | 50400 | 0.1608 | 1,944 | 1075 | 0.7575 | |
| 148 | Merrimack College | 43600 | 78800 | 0.4468 | 4,102 | 1115 | 0.7002 | |
| 148 | Radford University | 43600 | 45700 | 0.046 | 6,161 | 1070 | 0.8953 | |
| 150 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2297 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 151 | James Madison University | 45200 | 45200 | 0 | 20,973 | 1260 | 0.7152 | |
| 152 | Mercer University | 45300 | 65400 | 0.3078 | 4,690 | 1273 | 0.6889 | |
| 153 | University of Houston-Clear Lake | 46400 | 46600 | 0.0043 | 6,139 | 1070 | 0.9052 | |
| 154 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47000 | 59700 | 0.2127 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 154 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1843 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 156 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 157 | Drexel University | 48900 | 83900 | 0.4172 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 158 | University of California-Riverside | 49300 | 66000 | 0.2532 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 159 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84700 | 0.398 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 160 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.0392 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 160 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 51600 | 52800 | 0.0227 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 162 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 163 | Dallas Baptist University | 56400 | 63400 | 0.1104 | 2,785 | 1109 | 0.8884 | |
| 164 | Molloy University | 59800 | 62300 | 0.0402 | 3,240 | 1199 | 0.8174 | |
| 165 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine | 60400 | 64100 | 0.0577 | 1,236 | 1193 | 0.9811 | |
| 166 | Thiel College | 60600 | 69100 | 0.123 | 833 | 1065 | 0.7155 | |
| 167 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks | 61900 | 64200 | 0.0358 | 1,880 | 1185 | 0.9867 | |
| 168 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Beaver | 63900 | 63900 | 0 | 482 | 1195 | 0.9565 | |
| 169 | Fordham University | 70000 | 95100 | 0.2638 | 10,582 | 1406 | 0.5931 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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