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 | Trinity College | 4500 | 92800 | 0.9518 | 2,204 | 1393 | 0.2925 | |
| 2 | Pomona College | 5600 | 90000 | 0.9375 | 1,766 | 1520 | 0.0709 | |
| 3 | Smith College | 5700 | 96700 | 0.9415 | 2,549 | 1477 | 0.21 | |
| 4 | Amherst College | 5800 | 96100 | 0.9401 | 1,914 | 1514 | 0.0901 | |
| 5 | Davidson College | 6000 | 89900 | 0.9331 | 1,869 | 1454 | 0.1337 | |
| 6 | Swarthmore College | 6400 | 93800 | 0.9319 | 1,623 | 1520 | 0.0746 | |
| 7 | Colgate University | 6900 | 95700 | 0.9274 | 3,193 | 1488 | 0.1388 | |
| 8 | Bowdoin College | 7000 | 89900 | 0.9224 | 1,881 | 1505 | 0.0713 | |
| 9 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22000 | 0.6362 | 32,952 | 1374 | 0.6778 | |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania | 8100 | 92900 | 0.913 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 11 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8400 | 98000 | 0.9146 | 9,164 | 1494 | 0.2965 | |
| 12 | Grinnell College | 9400 | 91400 | 0.8973 | 1,788 | 1462 | 0.1451 | |
| 12 | Washington and Lee University | 9400 | 96000 | 0.9024 | 1,886 | 1488 | 0.1397 | |
| 14 | University of Richmond | 10000 | 88400 | 0.887 | 3,055 | 1484 | 0.222 | |
| 15 | Haverford College | 10200 | 97600 | 0.8956 | 1,431 | 1499 | 0.1237 | |
| 15 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38500 | 0.7358 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 17 | Wellesley College | 10400 | 91300 | 0.8862 | 2,407 | 1500 | 0.1405 | |
| 18 | Bates College | 10800 | 91900 | 0.8823 | 1,760 | 1438 | 0.1332 | |
| 18 | Hamilton College | 10800 | 89000 | 0.8783 | 2,037 | 1499 | 0.1362 | |
| 20 | Pitzer College | 11100 | 94100 | 0.8822 | 1,242 | 1279 | 0.2516 | |
| 20 | University of California-Merced | 11100 | 39600 | 0.7189 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 20 | Vassar College | 11100 | 92600 | 0.8802 | 2,462 | 1499 | 0.1857 | |
| 23 | Middlebury College | 11300 | 89900 | 0.8746 | 2,760 | 1499 | 0.1075 | |
| 24 | Duke University | 11400 | 93600 | 0.8784 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 25 | University of Michigan-Flint | 11600 | 45600 | 0.7453 | 5,011 | 1103 | 0.7047 | |
| 26 | Cornell University | 11800 | 93100 | 0.8735 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 27 | Lafayette College | 11900 | 85800 | 0.8618 | 2,775 | 1427 | 0.3145 | |
| 28 | Carleton College | 12200 | 74000 | 0.8357 | 2,128 | 1492 | 0.2041 | |
| 28 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 12200 | 41900 | 0.7083 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 30 | St Olaf College | 12300 | 75900 | 0.838 | 3,124 | 1378 | 0.4832 | |
| 31 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 12700 | 34600 | 0.6336 | 8,975 | 1065 | 0.9721 | |
| 32 | Northern Illinois University | 13200 | 29000 | 0.5435 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 32 | University of North Alabama | 13200 | 30800 | 0.5707 | 8,078 | 1124 | 0.7054 | |
| 34 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 35 | Denison University | 13500 | 69300 | 0.8058 | 2,406 | 1383 | 0.1693 | |
| 36 | Kansas State University | 13600 | 26100 | 0.4773 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 37 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 13800 | 64500 | 0.786 | 15,375 | 1179 | 0.866 | |
| 37 | University of Nebraska at Kearney | 13800 | 26000 | 0.469 | 4,214 | 1090 | 0.8949 | |
| 39 | Northeastern State University | 13900 | 20800 | 0.3312 | 5,085 | 1035 | 0.9935 | |
| 40 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 41 | University of California-Riverside | 14200 | 66000 | 0.7853 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 42 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 14300 | 28100 | 0.4911 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 43 | Trinity University | 14500 | 65800 | 0.7793 | 2,518 | 1402 | 0.2592 | |
| 44 | Stanford University | 14700 | 71200 | 0.7934 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 45 | Murray State University | 15000 | 27000 | 0.4438 | 8,281 | 1124 | 0.8568 | |
| 45 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 22,695 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 47 | Macalester College | 15200 | 90000 | 0.8308 | 2,144 | 1417 | 0.2852 | |
| 47 | University of North Georgia | 15200 | 48000 | 0.6836 | 18,329 | 1100 | 0.6794 | |
| 49 | Albion College | 15500 | 93700 | 0.8346 | 1,308 | 1065 | 0.807 | |
| 49 | University of Nevada-Reno | 15500 | 27600 | 0.4385 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 51 | University of North Florida | 15800 | 33000 | 0.5216 | 13,735 | 1150 | 0.5324 | |
| 52 | University of California-Berkeley | 17100 | 43500 | 0.6074 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 53 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,269 | 1499 | 0.1147 | |
| 54 | Whitman College | 18000 | 85500 | 0.7898 | 1,561 | 1399 | 0.3815 | |
| 55 | Occidental College | 18400 | 89200 | 0.7941 | 1,881 | 1447 | 0.4417 | |
| 56 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 19700 | 75200 | 0.7382 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 57 | Stetson University | 20300 | 79100 | 0.7437 | 2,349 | 1114 | 0.716 | |
| 57 | University of Rochester | 20300 | 93100 | 0.7822 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 59 | Georgia College & State University | 20400 | 52400 | 0.6106 | 6,006 | 1165 | 0.7823 | |
| 60 | Loyola University New Orleans | 20800 | 72100 | 0.7113 | 3,032 | 1145 | 0.9305 | |
| 61 | Niagara University | 21300 | 57400 | 0.6287 | 2,692 | 1160 | 0.3972 | |
| 62 | Luther College | 21500 | 71900 | 0.7017 | 1,384 | 1226 | 0.8402 | |
| 63 | Lake Forest College | 21600 | 75400 | 0.714 | 1,814 | 1323 | 0.5681 | |
| 64 | Pennsylvania Western University | 21700 | 28200 | 0.2309 | 7,586 | 0 | 0.9433 | |
| 65 | Sterling College | 22200 | 73100 | 0.6958 | 670 | 1090 | 0.8916 | |
| 66 | Cottey College | 22300 | 37300 | 0.4022 | 261 | 991 | 0.7023 | |
| 67 | New York University | 23600 | 91800 | 0.7427 | 29,060 | 1520 | 0.0923 | |
| 67 | Regis University | 23600 | 67200 | 0.6484 | 2,704 | 1199 | 0.8639 | |
| 69 | University of Central Missouri | 24400 | 35800 | 0.3181 | 7,584 | 1055 | 0.638 | |
| 70 | Wilson College | 24900 | 44400 | 0.4404 | 1,180 | 1040 | 0.9532 | |
| 71 | University of Kansas | 25300 | 39900 | 0.3647 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 72 | Scripps College | 25400 | 94900 | 0.7327 | 1,117 | 1475 | 0.3829 | |
| 73 | Westminster University | 26000 | 81400 | 0.6807 | 842 | 1233 | 0.6657 | |
| 74 | St. Francis College | 26300 | 39400 | 0.3329 | 1,934 | 1035 | 0.8153 | |
| 75 | Earlham College | 26400 | 75800 | 0.6515 | 696 | 1233 | 0.7311 | |
| 76 | College of Coastal Georgia | 26600 | 42100 | 0.3678 | 3,468 | 985 | 0.9813 | |
| 77 | Mount St. Mary's University | 27800 | 61400 | 0.5465 | 1,833 | 1164 | 0.7381 | |
| 78 | Creighton University | 28000 | 65300 | 0.5709 | 4,647 | 1328 | 0.7975 | |
| 79 | Knox College | 28600 | 68900 | 0.5846 | 1,136 | 1287 | 0.7079 | |
| 80 | Canisius University | 28800 | 64800 | 0.5559 | 1,724 | 1180 | 0.7224 | |
| 81 | The College of Wooster | 30800 | 82400 | 0.6264 | 1,738 | 1344 | 0.5953 | |
| 81 | University of Toledo | 30800 | 42000 | 0.2653 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 83 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31100 | 49800 | 0.3755 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 84 | Southern Nazarene University | 32200 | 48400 | 0.3353 | 1,465 | 1055 | 0.7703 | |
| 85 | LeTourneau University | 34100 | 54800 | 0.378 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 86 | Pace University | 34600 | 74800 | 0.5373 | 8,038 | 1274 | 0.7592 | |
| 87 | Agnes Scott College | 35200 | 69200 | 0.4911 | 843 | 1273 | 0.6215 | |
| 88 | New York Institute of Technology | 35500 | 83600 | 0.5753 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 89 | Baldwin Wallace University | 35700 | 66700 | 0.4649 | 2,862 | 1194 | 0.757 | |
| 90 | Berry College | 36000 | 60900 | 0.4091 | 2,254 | 1219 | 0.64 | |
| 91 | Western Kentucky University | 36600 | 42300 | 0.1348 | 14,151 | 1090 | 0.9387 | |
| 92 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38700 | 53400 | 0.2754 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 93 | University of Charleston | 39200 | 51200 | 0.2342 | 2,087 | 1075 | 0.6458 | |
| 94 | Oglethorpe University | 41900 | 68600 | 0.3885 | 1,361 | 1216 | 0.886 | |
| 95 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42600 | 54700 | 0.2212 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 96 | Sacred Heart University | 42800 | 67500 | 0.3662 | 6,960 | 1245 | 0.6768 | |
| 97 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68600 | 0.3665 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 98 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 61300 | 0.2229 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 99 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48700 | 92100 | 0.4715 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 100 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83800 | 0.4176 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 101 | University of Utah | 51600 | 53700 | 0.0398 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 102 | Woodbury University | 53800 | 69500 | 0.2258 | 825 | 1087 | 0.7287 | |
| 103 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 58100 | 66100 | 0.121 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 104 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 60800 | 63000 | 0.0339 | 38,093 | 1302 | 0.7821 | |
| 105 | University of Oregon | 66800 | 68900 | 0.031 | 20,622 | 1250 | 0.883 | |
| 106 | University of California-Irvine | 72800 | 74700 | 0.0254 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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