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 | 6800 | 91800 | 0.9264 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 2 | University of Houston-Victoria | 7700 | 39700 | 0.8063 | 2,707 | 930 | 0.7671 | |
| 3 | CUNY Brooklyn College | 7800 | 31800 | 0.7558 | 11,562 | 1110 | 0.5836 | |
| 4 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | 8200 | 43500 | 0.8122 | 28,674 | 980 | 0.9401 | |
| 5 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8400 | 98000 | 0.9146 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 6 | College of Staten Island CUNY | 9200 | 48800 | 0.8117 | 10,049 | 1005 | 0.9234 | |
| 7 | Southeastern Oklahoma State University | 9600 | 36900 | 0.74 | 3,207 | 1050 | 0.8034 | |
| 8 | Coppin State University | 10400 | 39900 | 0.7385 | 1,810 | 950 | 0.4956 | |
| 9 | Valdosta State University | 10500 | 24800 | 0.5775 | 7,206 | 1015 | 0.7214 | |
| 10 | Savannah State University | 11400 | 40400 | 0.717 | 2,857 | 950 | 0.8368 | |
| 11 | University of Michigan-Flint | 11600 | 45600 | 0.7453 | 5,011 | 1103 | 0.7047 | |
| 12 | Concord University | 11800 | 39500 | 0.7015 | 1,609 | 990 | 0.9256 | |
| 12 | University of Wisconsin-Green Bay | 11800 | 19600 | 0.3978 | 10,656 | 1075 | 0.7289 | |
| 14 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 12200 | 41900 | 0.7083 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 15 | Saint Xavier University | 12600 | 53300 | 0.7625 | 3,039 | 1125 | 0.8575 | |
| 16 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 12700 | 34600 | 0.6336 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 17 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | 12900 | 23400 | 0.4493 | 11,756 | 1124 | 0.8727 | |
| 18 | University of California-Riverside | 13000 | 36500 | 0.6434 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 19 | Northern Illinois University | 13200 | 29000 | 0.5434 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 20 | SUNY Polytechnic Institute | 13500 | 13500 | 0 | 1,919 | 1245 | 0.7844 | |
| 21 | Fort Hays State University | 13600 | 40700 | 0.6658 | 10,206 | 1120 | 0.9177 | |
| 22 | Coastal Carolina University | 13700 | 27200 | 0.4964 | 10,811 | 1145 | 0.7527 | |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 31700 | 0.5674 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 24 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 13800 | 19400 | 0.2887 | 14,416 | 1205 | 0.8851 | |
| 25 | The University of Texas Permian Basin | 13900 | 46000 | 0.6974 | 4,218 | 1020 | 0.9307 | |
| 26 | University of North Florida | 14200 | 22400 | 0.3665 | 13,735 | 1150 | 0.5324 | |
| 27 | Northeastern University | 15100 | 89900 | 0.832 | 22,695 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 27 | University of North Georgia | 15100 | 21400 | 0.2944 | 18,329 | 1100 | 0.6794 | |
| 29 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Beaver | 15200 | 42500 | 0.6431 | 482 | 1195 | 0.9565 | |
| 30 | Alabama State University | 15300 | 37900 | 0.5964 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 30 | Grand Valley State University | 15300 | 25300 | 0.3957 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 32 | Dickinson State University | 15500 | 21700 | 0.2854 | 1,339 | 1005 | 0.3695 | |
| 33 | Wayne State College | 15700 | 20000 | 0.2149 | 3,902 | 1075 | 1 | |
| 34 | James Madison University | 15800 | 28900 | 0.4537 | 21,112 | 1260 | 0.7151 | |
| 35 | New Mexico Highlands University | 15900 | 31500 | 0.4949 | 1,710 | 945 | 0.9481 | |
| 36 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | 16000 | 46800 | 0.6586 | 6,550 | 1140 | 0.7456 | |
| 37 | University of South Alabama | 16200 | 22400 | 0.2773 | 9,241 | 1140 | 0.7096 | |
| 38 | Jacksonville State University | 16400 | 36100 | 0.5455 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 38 | Northwestern State University of Louisiana | 16400 | 42600 | 0.6153 | 7,595 | 1075 | 0.9226 | |
| 40 | Goshen College | 16500 | 55900 | 0.7055 | 780 | 995 | 0.8404 | |
| 40 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 16500 | 17700 | 0.0679 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 40 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 46200 | 0.643 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 43 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16700 | 64800 | 0.7426 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 44 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 17000 | 32200 | 0.4719 | 10,200 | 1346 | 0.6507 | |
| 45 | Southern University at New Orleans | 17500 | 34200 | 0.4881 | 1,773 | 885 | 0.6021 | |
| 46 | Boston College | 17800 | 96200 | 0.8146 | 9,654 | 1490 | 0.1619 | |
| 46 | SUNY at Fredonia | 17800 | 39600 | 0.5512 | 2,876 | 1193 | 0.792 | |
| 46 | SUNY Buffalo State University | 17800 | 44900 | 0.6031 | 5,205 | 1118 | 0.744 | |
| 49 | Georgia Southern University | 17900 | 26800 | 0.3326 | 23,618 | 1065 | 0.8789 | |
| 49 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 17900 | 52500 | 0.659 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 51 | Morgan State University | 18000 | 19700 | 0.0864 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 52 | Westfield State University | 18100 | 32400 | 0.4418 | 3,868 | 1105 | 0.8671 | |
| 52 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 18100 | 36500 | 0.5044 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 54 | Emporia State University | 18500 | 29800 | 0.3797 | 2,396 | 1075 | 0.9771 | |
| 55 | Florida Memorial University | 18600 | 44900 | 0.5858 | 1,299 | 0 | 0.7431 | |
| 55 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Mont Alto | 18600 | 42800 | 0.5648 | 581 | 1129 | 0.9821 | |
| 55 | State University of New York at Oswego | 18600 | 27700 | 0.3284 | 5,517 | 1174 | 0.8057 | |
| 58 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny | 18700 | 43800 | 0.5725 | 352 | 1180 | 0.9647 | |
| 59 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Schuylkill | 19100 | 32900 | 0.42 | 624 | 1115 | 0.9664 | |
| 59 | Stockton University | 19100 | 44500 | 0.5711 | 7,565 | 1135 | 0.8894 | |
| 59 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 19100 | 27500 | 0.3057 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 62 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington | 19700 | 38100 | 0.483 | 2,884 | 1175 | 0.9677 | |
| 63 | Lincoln University | 19900 | 40800 | 0.5128 | 1,707 | 920 | 0 | |
| 64 | Bradley University | 20100 | 48500 | 0.5849 | 3,596 | 1174 | 0.7675 | |
| 65 | Central College | 20400 | 36800 | 0.4455 | 1,084 | 1140 | 0.8617 | |
| 66 | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota | 20700 | 57800 | 0.6418 | 1,083 | 1205 | 0.9278 | |
| 67 | Albright College | 21100 | 49300 | 0.5719 | 1,328 | 1050 | 0.8615 | |
| 68 | Kennesaw State University | 21400 | 27200 | 0.2133 | 42,840 | 1120 | 0.6919 | |
| 68 | Luther College | 21400 | 71900 | 0.7025 | 1,384 | 1226 | 0.8402 | |
| 68 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 21400 | 40100 | 0.4662 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 71 | Elmhurst University | 21500 | 67000 | 0.6794 | 3,170 | 1148 | 0.7357 | |
| 71 | Rutgers University-Newark | 21500 | 38900 | 0.4474 | 7,417 | 1214 | 0.7873 | |
| 73 | Pennsylvania Western University | 21600 | 28200 | 0.2344 | 7,586 | 1070 | 0.9433 | |
| 74 | Averett University | 21900 | 57200 | 0.6175 | 1,180 | 1010 | 0.478 | |
| 75 | Northwestern University | 22200 | 88100 | 0.7483 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 75 | San Jose State University | 22200 | 41100 | 0.46 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 77 | SUNY Brockport | 22500 | 35100 | 0.359 | 5,816 | 1195 | 0.7068 | |
| 78 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg | 22600 | 47900 | 0.5278 | 4,047 | 1219 | 0.976 | |
| 79 | Lenoir-Rhyne University | 22800 | 58100 | 0.608 | 1,477 | 1075 | 0.8068 | |
| 80 | Dakota State University | 23100 | 25600 | 0.0977 | 3,066 | 1192 | 0.8814 | |
| 80 | University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown | 23100 | 44400 | 0.4794 | 1,809 | 1109 | 0.9484 | |
| 82 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton | 23200 | 45200 | 0.4871 | 502 | 1204 | 0.9641 | |
| 82 | Robert Morris University | 23200 | 58000 | 0.5998 | 3,769 | 1180 | 0.9057 | |
| 84 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 23400 | 36800 | 0.3643 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 85 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks | 23700 | 47300 | 0.4988 | 1,880 | 1185 | 0.9867 | |
| 86 | Houghton University | 23900 | 61900 | 0.6142 | 939 | 1277 | 0.8866 | |
| 87 | Dominican University | 24000 | 56000 | 0.5708 | 2,690 | 1035 | 0.9032 | |
| 88 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine | 24100 | 45300 | 0.4676 | 1,236 | 1203 | 0.9811 | |
| 89 | Bemidji State University | 24200 | 26400 | 0.0835 | 3,610 | 1110 | 0.9131 | |
| 90 | Minnesota State University Moorhead | 24400 | 26600 | 0.0828 | 3,413 | 1085 | 0.5295 | |
| 91 | Norwich University | 24700 | 88400 | 0.7208 | 2,642 | 1209 | 0.7361 | |
| 91 | Notre Dame of Maryland University | 24700 | 80400 | 0.6926 | 686 | 1030 | 0.8649 | |
| 93 | Northwood University | 25200 | 54500 | 0.5381 | 1,989 | 1075 | 0.839 | |
| 94 | Syracuse University | 25300 | 83100 | 0.6955 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 95 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | 25800 | 39200 | 0.3419 | 4,478 | 1065 | 0.8132 | |
| 96 | Columbia College | 25900 | 51600 | 0.4985 | 876 | 1025 | 0.8878 | |
| 96 | Doane University | 25900 | 77700 | 0.6663 | 1,323 | 1125 | 0.9801 | |
| 98 | Benedictine University | 26500 | 48900 | 0.4581 | 1,972 | 1150 | 0.9523 | |
| 99 | Furman University | 26600 | 79600 | 0.6655 | 2,383 | 1359 | 0.4295 | |
| 100 | Bethune-Cookman University | 26700 | 32700 | 0.1835 | 2,739 | 910 | 0.8824 | |
| 101 | Cleveland State University | 26900 | 37300 | 0.279 | 9,418 | 1005 | 0.913 | |
| 102 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 27100 | 43000 | 0.3694 | 5,789 | 1115 | 0.5774 | |
| 103 | Fairmont State University | 27500 | 32200 | 0.146 | 3,060 | 1005 | 0.9924 | |
| 103 | Thomas Jefferson University | 27500 | 67700 | 0.5937 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8098 | |
| 105 | George Fox University | 27700 | 76800 | 0.6393 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 106 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 33400 | 0.1437 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 107 | Mercy University | 28700 | 44500 | 0.3552 | 6,775 | 1074 | 0.8584 | |
| 108 | Radford University | 28800 | 32800 | 0.122 | 6,161 | 1070 | 0.8953 | |
| 109 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2156 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 109 | West Virginia Wesleyan College | 29100 | 52800 | 0.4491 | 938 | 1090 | 0.951 | |
| 111 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 29300 | 33900 | 0.1358 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 112 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 29500 | 42400 | 0.3041 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 113 | Northern Kentucky University | 29900 | 32100 | 0.0686 | 10,163 | 1090 | 0.8307 | |
| 114 | Oklahoma Baptist University | 30400 | 54700 | 0.4429 | 1,409 | 1110 | 0.6327 | |
| 115 | University of North Texas | 30600 | 48200 | 0.3651 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 115 | University of Northwestern-St Paul | 30600 | 54600 | 0.4397 | 3,163 | 1165 | 0.9347 | |
| 117 | Texas A&M University-Commerce | 30800 | 36500 | 0.1561 | 9,666 | 1040 | 0.7498 | |
| 117 | University of Toledo | 30800 | 42000 | 0.267 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 119 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31000 | 33200 | 0.0664 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 120 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | 31300 | 31300 | 0 | 6,853 | 1090 | 0.7147 | |
| 121 | Angelo State University | 31700 | 35400 | 0.1047 | 9,779 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 121 | Washington Adventist University | 31700 | 37800 | 0.1615 | 605 | 950 | 0.4536 | |
| 123 | McKendree University | 31900 | 52200 | 0.3882 | 1,605 | 1098 | 0.6388 | |
| 123 | Saint Michael's College | 31900 | 68500 | 0.5346 | 1,120 | 1240 | 0.8451 | |
| 125 | DePaul University | 32000 | 67100 | 0.5231 | 14,188 | 1218 | 0.7589 | |
| 126 | Grambling State University | 32200 | 38100 | 0.155 | 4,279 | 965 | 0.2368 | |
| 127 | Hampton University | 32300 | 62400 | 0.482 | 3,728 | 956 | 0.6225 | |
| 128 | University of Scranton | 32400 | 78700 | 0.5881 | 3,613 | 1220 | 0.812 | |
| 129 | Suffolk University | 32600 | 69700 | 0.5326 | 4,324 | 1209 | 0.822 | |
| 130 | Harding University | 32800 | 47000 | 0.3023 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 131 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 32900 | 45100 | 0.2705 | 10,767 | 1326 | 0.7243 | |
| 132 | Frostburg State University | 33200 | 43000 | 0.228 | 2,619 | 1082 | 0.892 | |
| 133 | Tarleton State University | 33300 | 33300 | 0 | 15,130 | 0 | 0.5256 | |
| 134 | Wilkes University | 33400 | 61900 | 0.4597 | 1,956 | 1153 | 0.9146 | |
| 135 | Elizabethtown College | 33700 | 55900 | 0.3974 | 1,903 | 1214 | 0.7787 | |
| 135 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 137 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54800 | 0.3798 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 138 | Salisbury University | 34200 | 41700 | 0.1797 | 6,288 | 1250 | 0.8747 | |
| 139 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 34600 | 37800 | 0.0848 | 5,086 | 1000 | 0.9821 | |
| 139 | Pace University | 34600 | 74800 | 0.5373 | 8,038 | 1274 | 0.7592 | |
| 141 | University of South Florida | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 142 | Adelphi University | 35100 | 63300 | 0.4454 | 5,325 | 1218 | 0.6591 | |
| 143 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 144 | Immaculata University | 35800 | 47800 | 0.2508 | 1,652 | 1245 | 0.8578 | |
| 145 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 36100 | 56300 | 0.3588 | 5,552 | 1305 | 0.7255 | |
| 146 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 36200 | 56800 | 0.3624 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 147 | Loyola University Maryland | 36300 | 78800 | 0.5394 | 3,881 | 1309 | 0.7549 | |
| 148 | Christopher Newport University | 36800 | 51000 | 0.2787 | 4,407 | 1209 | 0.8796 | |
| 149 | East Carolina University | 37100 | 40100 | 0.0748 | 21,445 | 1120 | 0.8922 | |
| 150 | University of Illinois Chicago | 37300 | 49300 | 0.2432 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 151 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 37400 | 41600 | 0.101 | 5,187 | 1005 | 0.9229 | |
| 152 | Towson University | 37600 | 46400 | 0.1897 | 16,264 | 1093 | 0.8198 | |
| 153 | California Lutheran University | 38700 | 72800 | 0.4686 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 154 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38900 | 53400 | 0.2716 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 155 | Stony Brook University | 39800 | 53000 | 0.2491 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 156 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42600 | 54700 | 0.2212 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 157 | University of Maryland-College Park | 42700 | 53400 | 0.2004 | 31,133 | 1456 | 0.448 | |
| 158 | CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | 43400 | 43400 | 0 | 16,086 | 1293 | 0.5117 | |
| 158 | Western Oregon University | 43400 | 43400 | 0 | 3,343 | 1120 | 0.9871 | |
| 160 | Merrimack College | 43500 | 78800 | 0.4481 | 4,199 | 1115 | 0.7361 | |
| 161 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43800 | 57100 | 0.2315 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 162 | CUNY Graduate School and University Center | 43900 | 43900 | 0 | 3,237 | 0 | 0.3861 | |
| 163 | CUNY Lehman College | 44400 | 45800 | 0.0306 | 11,217 | 1020 | 0.4601 | |
| 164 | City University of Seattle | 46300 | 46300 | 0 | 1,180 | 0 | 0.9025 | |
| 165 | Mercer University | 47100 | 63700 | 0.2607 | 4,690 | 1273 | 0.6889 | |
| 166 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 167 | University of Mount Olive | 48200 | 50400 | 0.0438 | 1,937 | 945 | 0.7775 | |
| 168 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | 48400 | 54600 | 0.1135 | 5,444 | 1214 | 0.7064 | |
| 169 | Drexel University | 48700 | 83800 | 0.4188 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 170 | University of Kentucky | 48800 | 56600 | 0.137 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 171 | Molloy University | 48900 | 62300 | 0.2152 | 3,240 | 1199 | 0.8174 | |
| 172 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84700 | 0.3991 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 173 | University of Utah | 51500 | 53700 | 0.0411 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 174 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 175 | University of Colorado Boulder | 55200 | 56600 | 0.0247 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 176 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 56700 | 58900 | 0.0374 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 177 | Thiel College | 60600 | 69100 | 0.123 | 831 | 1065 | 0.7189 | |
| 178 | College of Charleston | 61600 | 61600 | 0 | 10,880 | 1255 | 0.6003 | |
| 179 | Fordham University | 69800 | 95000 | 0.2651 | 10,307 | 1415 | 0.5628 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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