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 | 4300 | 90300 | 0.9522 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 1 | Rice University | 4300 | 85500 | 0.9496 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins University | 4400 | 88600 | 0.9502 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4700 | 86800 | 0.9456 | 4,576 | 1535 | 0.0485 | |
| 5 | Yale University | 5500 | 92300 | 0.9403 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 6 | Boston University | 5700 | 88800 | 0.9363 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | 5700 | 93000 | 0.9389 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 8 | Harvard University | 5900 | 90900 | 0.9353 | 7,038 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 6500 | 94100 | 0.9312 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 10 | Vanderbilt University | 7800 | 95000 | 0.9178 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 11 | Brown University | 8400 | 93900 | 0.9103 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 12 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 96200 | 0.904 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 13 | Duke University | 9800 | 93500 | 0.8955 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 14 | Cornell University | 10300 | 92000 | 0.8877 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 15 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11100 | 27200 | 0.5927 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 16 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 11300 | 34400 | 0.6706 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 17 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 12200 | 26200 | 0.5342 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 18 | Lehigh University | 12300 | 85700 | 0.857 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 18 | Northern Illinois University | 12300 | 29000 | 0.5744 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 27200 | 0.5443 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 21 | Northwestern University | 12600 | 87700 | 0.8563 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 22 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 13000 | 20300 | 0.3588 | 14,243 | 1125 | 0.7675 | |
| 23 | The University of Texas at Austin | 13100 | 30700 | 0.573 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 23 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 13100 | 38500 | 0.6596 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 25 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 26 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 32500 | 0.5829 | 19,119 | 1303 | 0.6356 | |
| 27 | Louisiana Tech University | 13800 | 24900 | 0.4451 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 28 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 13900 | 38000 | 0.6347 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 29 | West Virginia University | 14200 | 23300 | 0.3905 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 30 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 14500 | 41100 | 0.6478 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 30 | Union College | 14500 | 91000 | 0.8407 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 32 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 80400 | 0.8167 | 6,528 | 1485 | 0.3778 | |
| 33 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71300 | 0.792 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 34 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 15200 | 35700 | 0.5744 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 35 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15400 | 28100 | 0.452 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 36 | Florida State University | 15600 | 23100 | 0.3246 | 32,711 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 37 | Grand Valley State University | 16000 | 25300 | 0.368 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 38 | University of Arizona | 16100 | 30900 | 0.4797 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 39 | University of Southern California | 16600 | 76000 | 0.7815 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
| 40 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16700 | 64800 | 0.7426 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 41 | Tufts University | 16900 | 92400 | 0.8175 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 42 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 17200 | 27200 | 0.3671 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 43 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 17400 | 24700 | 0.2976 | 8,765 | 1209 | 0.8799 | |
| 44 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 17500 | 33600 | 0.4788 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 45 | Bucknell University | 17700 | 88400 | 0.7996 | 3,920 | 1284 | 0.2893 | |
| 45 | University of Rochester | 17700 | 93100 | 0.8101 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 47 | University of Maine | 17900 | 29000 | 0.3831 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 48 | University of Louisville | 18000 | 29100 | 0.3818 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 49 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 50 | Kansas State University | 19000 | 31400 | 0.3953 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 51 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.4823 | |
| 52 | University of Mississippi | 19400 | 27000 | 0.2814 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 53 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19500 | 29300 | 0.3339 | 1,984 | 1369 | 0.6328 | |
| 54 | Wayne State University | 19700 | 32300 | 0.3906 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 55 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20100 | 38800 | 0.4817 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 56 | Alabama State University | 20200 | 37400 | 0.4592 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 57 | Marshall University | 20500 | 36300 | 0.4356 | 9,165 | 1065 | 0.9572 | |
| 58 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20600 | 38100 | 0.4588 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 59 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 20800 | 69400 | 0.7007 | 2,705 | 1292 | 0.6239 | |
| 60 | University of Miami | 21100 | 70800 | 0.7023 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 61 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22700 | 26900 | 0.1563 | 2,170 | 1264 | 0.8525 | |
| 61 | University of Memphis | 22700 | 30000 | 0.2437 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 63 | University of South Dakota | 22800 | 26000 | 0.1232 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 64 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 22900 | 22900 | 0 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 65 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23400 | 48800 | 0.5206 | 1,642 | 1055 | 0.5713 | |
| 66 | Syracuse University | 23500 | 83100 | 0.7172 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 67 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23900 | 71600 | 0.6664 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 67 | Oral Roberts University | 23900 | 55600 | 0.5706 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 69 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 24100 | 83600 | 0.712 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 69 | University at Buffalo | 24100 | 34000 | 0.2912 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 69 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 37100 | 0.3508 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 72 | Montana State University | 24900 | 31400 | 0.207 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 73 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 25000 | 36600 | 0.3173 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 73 | University of Akron Main Campus | 25000 | 25000 | 0 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 75 | Binghamton University | 25700 | 32700 | 0.2159 | 14,669 | 1417 | 0.3861 | |
| 75 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5038 | 1,238 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 77 | The College of New Jersey | 26000 | 42000 | 0.3812 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6235 | |
| 78 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 26200 | 28400 | 0.0776 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 79 | University of Mount Union | 26400 | 50900 | 0.4805 | 1,927 | 1105 | 0.8013 | |
| 80 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5263 | 4,157 | 1209 | 0.8469 | |
| 81 | University of Arkansas | 26800 | 30800 | 0.1302 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 82 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 27600 | 36700 | 0.2476 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 82 | University of North Texas | 27600 | 37400 | 0.2622 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 84 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 27900 | 32800 | 0.1492 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 85 | California State University-Long Beach | 28000 | 38400 | 0.2712 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 86 | Dartmouth College | 28300 | 91100 | 0.689 | 4,570 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 87 | Regis College | 28500 | 70400 | 0.595 | 1,055 | 965 | 0.9009 | |
| 87 | University of Hartford | 28500 | 70100 | 0.5926 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 89 | George Fox University | 28700 | 67100 | 0.5727 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 89 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 28700 | 78100 | 0.6326 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 91 | Oregon State University | 28900 | 36700 | 0.2147 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 91 | University of Iowa | 28900 | 31100 | 0.0709 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 93 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2156 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 94 | Messiah University | 29300 | 54100 | 0.4586 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 95 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 29500 | 36500 | 0.1919 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 96 | University of Connecticut | 29600 | 33200 | 0.1086 | 19,388 | 1324 | 0.5395 | |
| 97 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 29900 | 31100 | 0.0385 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 98 | San Jose State University | 30300 | 41000 | 0.2608 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 99 | Gannon University | 30400 | 45300 | 0.329 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 100 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 30500 | 41800 | 0.2705 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 101 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5442 | 1,474 | 1214 | 0.7384 | |
| 102 | University of Toledo | 30800 | 42000 | 0.267 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 103 | University of Houston | 30900 | 35200 | 0.1223 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 104 | University of Rhode Island | 31300 | 46700 | 0.3298 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 105 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31800 | 36400 | 0.1262 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 106 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.487 | 2,304 | 1124 | 0.7089 | |
| 107 | Widener University | 32500 | 75300 | 0.5682 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 108 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 32600 | 38500 | 0.1533 | 7,890 | 1105 | 0.2056 | |
| 109 | California Lutheran University | 32700 | 65800 | 0.5027 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 110 | Harding University | 32800 | 47000 | 0.3023 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 110 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4017 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 112 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 33100 | 54600 | 0.3936 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 113 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 114 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54600 | 0.3772 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 114 | Valparaiso University | 34000 | 62700 | 0.4572 | 2,123 | 1247 | 0.8934 | |
| 116 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 34100 | 74600 | 0.5432 | 2,315 | 1382 | 0.7686 | |
| 116 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 34100 | 35100 | 0.0285 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 118 | University of South Florida | 34700 | 34700 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 119 | University of Nevada-Reno | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 120 | California Baptist University | 35100 | 65200 | 0.4616 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 121 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 122 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 35700 | 42400 | 0.158 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 123 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2815 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 124 | University of the Pacific | 36400 | 72100 | 0.4953 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 125 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 44,904 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 126 | Lawrence Technological University | 36800 | 67800 | 0.457 | 2,579 | 1155 | 0.7403 | |
| 127 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 62000 | 0.3968 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 127 | Wichita State University | 37400 | 39600 | 0.0556 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 129 | Loyola University Chicago | 37500 | 67600 | 0.4455 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 130 | University of Central Oklahoma | 37600 | 38500 | 0.0234 | 10,454 | 1095 | 0.8176 | |
| 131 | Washington State University | 38500 | 53900 | 0.2859 | 14,346 | 1139 | 0.8797 | |
| 132 | Hofstra University | 38800 | 74600 | 0.4797 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 132 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38800 | 52900 | 0.2664 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 134 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 39000 | 48900 | 0.2024 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 135 | University of Illinois Chicago | 39200 | 48000 | 0.1832 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 136 | Stony Brook University | 39800 | 53000 | 0.2491 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 137 | University of California-San Diego | 40300 | 61100 | 0.3405 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 138 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 68600 | 0.4116 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 139 | Temple University | 40500 | 56100 | 0.278 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 139 | Western New England University | 40500 | 67000 | 0.3957 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 141 | Endicott College | 40800 | 63200 | 0.3544 | 3,176 | 1215 | 0.7229 | |
| 142 | Marquette University | 41300 | 75100 | 0.4502 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 143 | CUNY City College | 41500 | 41500 | 0 | 12,982 | 1169 | 0.5997 | |
| 143 | Fairfield University | 41500 | 77900 | 0.467 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 145 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 41600 | 42500 | 0.0212 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 146 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 42200 | 42200 | 0 | 12,382 | 1242 | 0.8842 | |
| 147 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,019 | 1159 | 0.7781 | |
| 148 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 42500 | 52100 | 0.1843 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 148 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42500 | 54900 | 0.2261 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 150 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 42600 | 55100 | 0.227 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 151 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68600 | 0.3675 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 152 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 43500 | 50300 | 0.1352 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 152 | University of California-Riverside | 43500 | 66400 | 0.3448 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 152 | University of Florida | 43500 | 45600 | 0.046 | 36,567 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 155 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43800 | 57100 | 0.2315 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 156 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3575 | 5,371 | 1269 | 0.8356 | |
| 157 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 74500 | 0.3826 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 158 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 47200 | 85700 | 0.449 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 159 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 56200 | 0.1476 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 160 | University of California-Merced | 48500 | 52300 | 0.0726 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 161 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49000 | 85800 | 0.4288 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 162 | George Mason University | 49200 | 49200 | 0 | 28,331 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 163 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 49900 | 56400 | 0.1152 | 10,200 | 1346 | 0.6507 | |
| 164 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50400 | 81000 | 0.3776 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 165 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84200 | 0.3956 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 166 | University of Kentucky | 51000 | 56000 | 0.0893 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 167 | Drexel University | 51100 | 82600 | 0.3812 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 168 | University of Colorado Boulder | 51300 | 56300 | 0.0887 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 169 | University of Utah | 51500 | 53700 | 0.0411 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 170 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 52400 | 56100 | 0.0661 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 171 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 172 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54000 | 59200 | 0.0879 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 173 | University of California-Irvine | 55000 | 64800 | 0.1512 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 174 | Miami University-Oxford | 56100 | 56100 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 175 | Santa Clara University | 56500 | 84800 | 0.3339 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 176 | Hawaii Pacific University | 58700 | 60900 | 0.0362 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 177 | Michigan Technological University | 59100 | 59100 | 0 | 6,022 | 1256 | 0.8353 | |
| 178 | University of California-Davis | 63500 | 63500 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 179 | University of California-Berkeley | 74600 | 75500 | 0.0119 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 180 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,177 | 1204 | 0.8278 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
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