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 | Northern Kentucky University | 7500 | 25900 | 0.7114 | 10,136 | 1110 | 0.9666 | |
| 2 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22200 | 0.6405 | 34,354 | 1374 | 0.6862 | |
| 3 | Mississippi Valley State University | 9200 | 26500 | 0.6538 | 2,013 | 845 | 0.9238 | |
| 3 | Washington and Lee University | 9200 | 96300 | 0.9041 | 1,916 | 1484 | 0.1354 | |
| 5 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 10200 | 41500 | 0.7543 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 6 | Western Kentucky University | 10300 | 27500 | 0.6258 | 13,732 | 1090 | 0.9145 | |
| 7 | Eastern Kentucky University | 10900 | 27300 | 0.6018 | 13,448 | 1075 | 0.9683 | |
| 8 | Eastern Illinois University | 11800 | 24300 | 0.5134 | 6,731 | 1020 | 0.7073 | |
| 9 | Wayne State University | 12400 | 32900 | 0.6228 | 16,390 | 1183 | 0.8359 | |
| 10 | Boston University | 13000 | 93200 | 0.8604 | 18,289 | 1475 | 0.1283 | |
| 11 | Lewis University | 13400 | 57700 | 0.7675 | 4,914 | 1127 | 0.6916 | |
| 12 | Eastern Michigan University | 14200 | 33900 | 0.5802 | 10,034 | 1055 | 0.7772 | |
| 12 | Salem State University | 14200 | 38300 | 0.6288 | 4,867 | 1075 | 0.9588 | |
| 14 | University of Memphis | 14400 | 26400 | 0.4554 | 15,538 | 1080 | 0.7878 | |
| 15 | Mercy University | 14800 | 46400 | 0.6815 | 6,692 | 1135 | 0.8724 | |
| 16 | Murray State University | 14900 | 27000 | 0.4493 | 8,217 | 1124 | 0.8413 | |
| 17 | Texas State University | 15000 | 26700 | 0.4375 | 39,353 | 1080 | 0.9118 | |
| 18 | Northern Michigan University | 15200 | 33100 | 0.5408 | 6,650 | 1100 | 0.8505 | |
| 19 | Central Michigan University | 15400 | 38700 | 0.6019 | 10,238 | 1099 | 0.9104 | |
| 20 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15600 | 38800 | 0.5992 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8613 | |
| 21 | University of Central Missouri | 15700 | 26600 | 0.4094 | 10,397 | 1055 | 0.7439 | |
| 22 | University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne | 15800 | 79400 | 0.8005 | 1,567 | 980 | 0.9597 | |
| 23 | Keene State College | 16200 | 51400 | 0.6848 | 2,640 | 1064 | 0.8982 | |
| 24 | California State University-Long Beach | 16600 | 25800 | 0.3567 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 24 | Georgia Southern University | 16600 | 49700 | 0.6662 | 25,595 | 1045 | 0.695 | |
| 24 | Morgan State University | 16600 | 30700 | 0.4588 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 27 | University of Miami | 17400 | 96300 | 0.8194 | 13,241 | 1408 | 0.1761 | |
| 28 | State University of New York at Oswego | 17600 | 27700 | 0.3645 | 5,293 | 1179 | 0.7989 | |
| 29 | The University of Texas at Austin | 18000 | 28100 | 0.359 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 30 | San Jose State University | 18200 | 41100 | 0.5567 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 31 | University of Rhode Island | 18500 | 33900 | 0.4544 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 32 | Olivet Nazarene University | 18800 | 79300 | 0.7636 | 2,704 | 1104 | 0.5586 | |
| 32 | State University of New York at Plattsburgh | 18800 | 32000 | 0.4129 | 3,825 | 1175 | 0.7841 | |
| 34 | University of Houston | 19900 | 28400 | 0.2996 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 35 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 76400 | 0.7387 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 36 | SUNY at Fredonia | 20100 | 53600 | 0.6248 | 2,771 | 1258 | 0.777 | |
| 37 | Montana State University Billings | 20200 | 35100 | 0.4245 | 3,881 | 1090 | 1 | |
| 38 | Rowan University | 20300 | 41300 | 0.5088 | 17,157 | 1204 | 0.7654 | |
| 39 | South Dakota State University | 20400 | 25200 | 0.1898 | 10,883 | 1115 | 0.9618 | |
| 39 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 20400 | 26100 | 0.2181 | 31,845 | 1298 | 0.5651 | |
| 41 | Syracuse University | 20600 | 83600 | 0.7536 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 42 | Ferris State University | 21000 | 31000 | 0.3231 | 8,980 | 1015 | 0.8237 | |
| 43 | Iowa State University | 21400 | 25700 | 0.1685 | 26,346 | 1212 | 0.8793 | |
| 44 | University of Northern Iowa | 21500 | 24800 | 0.1327 | 7,800 | 1115 | 0.9313 | |
| 45 | Loras College | 21700 | 58400 | 0.6289 | 1,073 | 1110 | 0.6966 | |
| 46 | Freed-Hardeman University | 22000 | 35900 | 0.3872 | 1,873 | 1120 | 0.5968 | |
| 47 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 22300 | 34200 | 0.3483 | 15,273 | 1115 | 0.8089 | |
| 48 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 22400 | 26000 | 0.1383 | 21,138 | 1134 | 0.9039 | |
| 49 | Columbia College Chicago | 22500 | 63200 | 0.6443 | 4,346 | 0 | 0.738 | |
| 50 | The University of Alabama | 22600 | 33400 | 0.3232 | 35,621 | 1238 | 0.7117 | |
| 51 | Point Park University | 23300 | 54300 | 0.5707 | 2,498 | 1144 | 0.984 | |
| 52 | Central Washington University | 23400 | 27900 | 0.1615 | 10,033 | 1060 | 0.9061 | |
| 53 | Monmouth College | 23800 | 63400 | 0.6252 | 713 | 1120 | 0.9085 | |
| 54 | Dominican University | 24000 | 56000 | 0.5722 | 2,642 | 1005 | 0.8879 | |
| 55 | Campbellsville University | 24200 | 45100 | 0.4631 | 6,848 | 1075 | 0.7974 | |
| 55 | Oral Roberts University | 24200 | 52700 | 0.5407 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 57 | Seton Hall University | 24500 | 67400 | 0.6361 | 6,178 | 1328 | 0.6915 | |
| 58 | American University | 24700 | 125500 | 0.803 | 6,730 | 1393 | 0.6556 | |
| 59 | Temple University | 24800 | 36100 | 0.3132 | 21,031 | 1172 | 0.8622 | |
| 60 | Walla Walla University | 25600 | 51700 | 0.5047 | 1,314 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 61 | Westminster College | 25800 | 57600 | 0.552 | 1,110 | 1145 | 0.9167 | |
| 62 | Otterbein University | 25900 | 79200 | 0.6734 | 2,292 | 1126 | 0.8388 | |
| 63 | University of Akron Main Campus | 26100 | 28000 | 0.0677 | 11,691 | 1074 | 0.7722 | |
| 64 | William Paterson University of New Jersey | 26800 | 33000 | 0.1876 | 6,647 | 1153 | 0.9008 | |
| 65 | Hood College | 27000 | 71400 | 0.6215 | 1,157 | 1055 | 0.8517 | |
| 66 | Capital University | 27100 | 63800 | 0.5751 | 1,642 | 1045 | 0.6501 | |
| 67 | Saint Ambrose University | 27400 | 57700 | 0.5254 | 1,884 | 1065 | 0.8006 | |
| 68 | Winthrop University | 28300 | 38600 | 0.2664 | 4,289 | 1130 | 0.8281 | |
| 69 | Cleveland State University | 29300 | 38600 | 0.2411 | 9,418 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 70 | Southern Methodist University | 29600 | 96900 | 0.6943 | 7,545 | 1427 | 0.4764 | |
| 71 | Southern Adventist University | 29700 | 46900 | 0.3666 | 2,946 | 1142 | 0.7163 | |
| 72 | University of Northwestern-St Paul | 30500 | 54600 | 0.4412 | 3,120 | 1193 | 0.3992 | |
| 73 | Palm Beach Atlantic University | 30700 | 69000 | 0.5545 | 3,314 | 1094 | 0.8199 | |
| 74 | Southeastern University | 30900 | 79400 | 0.611 | 11,981 | 1110 | 0.4247 | |
| 75 | Suffolk University | 31000 | 83500 | 0.6288 | 4,247 | 1209 | 0.8228 | |
| 76 | Taylor University | 31100 | 59100 | 0.4739 | 2,769 | 1229 | 0.9881 | |
| 77 | Kent State University at Kent | 31200 | 37500 | 0.1676 | 21,144 | 1104 | 0.7603 | |
| 78 | Marquette University | 31400 | 75900 | 0.5862 | 8,206 | 1304 | 0.7802 | |
| 79 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4873 | 1,964 | 1159 | 0.9392 | |
| 80 | Rider University | 32500 | 60200 | 0.4601 | 3,052 | 1214 | 0.7741 | |
| 81 | University of Illinois Chicago | 32700 | 51300 | 0.3625 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 82 | Harding University | 33500 | 47800 | 0.2988 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 83 | Drake University | 33600 | 68500 | 0.509 | 2,504 | 1226 | 0.6494 | |
| 83 | Elizabethtown College | 33600 | 57500 | 0.4154 | 1,935 | 1214 | 0.8892 | |
| 85 | Lee University | 34200 | 39100 | 0.1253 | 3,425 | 1154 | 0.7138 | |
| 86 | University of Idaho | 34800 | 48700 | 0.2854 | 9,656 | 1104 | 0.7476 | |
| 87 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 34900 | 38500 | 0.0935 | 7,637 | 1115 | 0.1865 | |
| 88 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 41000 | 0.1318 | 34,021 | 1195 | 0.6906 | |
| 89 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 36400 | 54000 | 0.326 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 90 | Concordia University Ann Arbor | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3061 | 755 | 1163 | 0.6925 | |
| 91 | Xavier University | 37600 | 68100 | 0.4481 | 3,744 | 1286 | 0.848 | |
| 92 | Washington State University | 37800 | 53600 | 0.2946 | 21,400 | 1131 | 0.861 | |
| 93 | Baldwin Wallace University | 39000 | 69800 | 0.4415 | 2,532 | 1210 | 0.7739 | |
| 94 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41200 | 58700 | 0.2983 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.7819 | |
| 95 | Biola University | 41800 | 71100 | 0.4121 | 3,553 | 1281 | 0.7817 | |
| 96 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 97 | Illinois State University | 43800 | 49100 | 0.1077 | 19,513 | 1115 | 0.8555 | |
| 98 | Appalachian State University | 46500 | 46500 | 0 | 19,732 | 1174 | 0.9388 | |
| 99 | Lipscomb University | 48800 | 69900 | 0.3025 | 3,327 | 1214 | 0.6774 | |
| 100 | Quinnipiac University | 49300 | 79700 | 0.3816 | 6,610 | 1250 | 0.7031 | |
| 101 | University of Georgia | 52100 | 52100 | 0 | 32,824 | 1348 | 0.3425 | |
| 102 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53200 | 53300 | 0.0019 | 34,447 | 1273 | 0.8804 | |
| 103 | Hofstra University | 59100 | 83300 | 0.2906 | 6,599 | 1369 | 0.7267 | |
| 104 | Auburn University | 59400 | 59400 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 105 | University of Oregon | 69000 | 71300 | 0.0321 | 20,710 | 1193 | 0.8742 | |
| 106 | Gonzaga University | 70900 | 77700 | 0.0875 | 4,976 | 1328 | 0.7962 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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