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 | Rice University | 4300 | 85500 | 0.9496 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4900 | 86800 | 0.9433 | 4,576 | 1535 | 0.0485 | |
| 3 | Yale University | 5500 | 92300 | 0.9403 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 4 | Harvard University | 5900 | 90900 | 0.9348 | 7,038 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 5 | Johns Hopkins University | 6700 | 88600 | 0.9243 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 6 | California Institute of Technology | 8000 | 90300 | 0.9112 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 7 | Vanderbilt University | 8800 | 95000 | 0.9072 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 8 | Washington University in St Louis | 9400 | 96200 | 0.9026 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 9 | University of California-Davis | 10100 | 37800 | 0.732 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 10200 | 94100 | 0.8919 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 11 | Cornell University | 10400 | 92000 | 0.8866 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 12 | University of Pennsylvania | 11500 | 93000 | 0.8765 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 13 | Marshall University | 11800 | 27100 | 0.5636 | 9,165 | 1065 | 0.9572 | |
| 14 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11900 | 27200 | 0.5632 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 15 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12300 | 24400 | 0.4964 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 16 | Northern Illinois University | 12400 | 29000 | 0.5718 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 16 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 27200 | 0.5443 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 18 | Northwestern University | 12600 | 87700 | 0.8563 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 19 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 12800 | 26200 | 0.5113 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 20 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 13200 | 38500 | 0.657 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 21 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 22 | Duke University | 13500 | 93500 | 0.8559 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 22 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 13500 | 22500 | 0.4006 | 14,243 | 1125 | 0.7675 | |
| 24 | Boston University | 13600 | 88800 | 0.8472 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 25 | Louisiana Tech University | 13800 | 24900 | 0.4451 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 26 | University of South Florida | 14100 | 17100 | 0.1753 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 27 | Case Western Reserve University | 14200 | 80400 | 0.8229 | 6,528 | 1485 | 0.3778 | |
| 27 | Kansas State University | 14200 | 26100 | 0.4563 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 29 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 14400 | 41100 | 0.6502 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 30 | University of North Texas | 14500 | 25400 | 0.4298 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 31 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71300 | 0.792 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 32 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 15200 | 35700 | 0.5744 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 33 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15300 | 28100 | 0.4555 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 33 | University of California-Riverside | 15300 | 36500 | 0.5804 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 35 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 15500 | 24800 | 0.3744 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 36 | Lehigh University | 16200 | 85700 | 0.8114 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 37 | University of Florida | 16300 | 22300 | 0.2692 | 36,567 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 38 | University of Arizona | 16500 | 30900 | 0.4668 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 39 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16800 | 64800 | 0.7406 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 40 | Tufts University | 16900 | 92400 | 0.8175 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 41 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 17200 | 27200 | 0.3671 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 42 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 17400 | 24700 | 0.2979 | 8,765 | 1209 | 0.8799 | |
| 43 | Bucknell University | 17700 | 88400 | 0.7996 | 3,920 | 1284 | 0.2893 | |
| 43 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 17700 | 33600 | 0.4728 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 45 | Union College | 18300 | 91000 | 0.799 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 45 | University of Louisville | 18300 | 29100 | 0.3715 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 45 | University of Maine | 18300 | 29000 | 0.3693 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 48 | University of Rhode Island | 18400 | 34400 | 0.4649 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 49 | The College of New Jersey | 18600 | 38200 | 0.5126 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6235 | |
| 50 | University of Southern California | 19200 | 76000 | 0.7473 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
| 51 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.4823 | |
| 52 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 52 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19400 | 28200 | 0.3121 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 54 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19800 | 29300 | 0.3237 | 1,984 | 1369 | 0.6328 | |
| 54 | University of Mississippi | 19800 | 27000 | 0.2666 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 56 | Alabama State University | 20200 | 37400 | 0.4592 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 57 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 20500 | 31000 | 0.3383 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 58 | The University of Texas at Austin | 20600 | 26900 | 0.2341 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 59 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20700 | 36200 | 0.4276 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 59 | West Virginia University | 20700 | 28800 | 0.2815 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 61 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 21000 | 69400 | 0.6978 | 2,705 | 1292 | 0.6239 | |
| 62 | University of Central Oklahoma | 21200 | 22700 | 0.0661 | 10,454 | 1095 | 0.8176 | |
| 63 | Brown University | 21300 | 93900 | 0.7729 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 64 | University of Miami | 21500 | 70800 | 0.6967 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 65 | Florida State University | 22600 | 25000 | 0.0962 | 32,711 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 66 | University of Memphis | 22700 | 30000 | 0.2437 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 67 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22800 | 26900 | 0.1515 | 2,170 | 1264 | 0.8525 | |
| 67 | University of California-Irvine | 22800 | 35300 | 0.3545 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 67 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22800 | 30300 | 0.2473 | 22,495 | 1247 | 0.7735 | |
| 70 | University of South Dakota | 22900 | 26000 | 0.1182 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 71 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 23200 | 35400 | 0.3442 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 72 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23400 | 33600 | 0.3037 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 72 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23400 | 48800 | 0.5206 | 1,642 | 1055 | 0.5713 | |
| 74 | Syracuse University | 23600 | 83100 | 0.716 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 75 | Oral Roberts University | 23800 | 55600 | 0.5718 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 76 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23900 | 71600 | 0.6664 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 76 | University of Kentucky | 23900 | 36000 | 0.3361 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 78 | University of Rochester | 24100 | 93100 | 0.7414 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 79 | Temple University | 24700 | 36300 | 0.3198 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 80 | Montana State University | 24900 | 31400 | 0.207 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 80 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 24900 | 28500 | 0.1265 | 12,382 | 1242 | 0.8842 | |
| 82 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5024 | 1,238 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 83 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 25800 | 35700 | 0.2775 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 84 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 85 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 26400 | 28400 | 0.073 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 85 | Marquette University | 26400 | 65700 | 0.5978 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 87 | University of Mount Union | 26500 | 50900 | 0.4791 | 1,927 | 1105 | 0.8013 | |
| 88 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5258 | 4,157 | 1209 | 0.8469 | |
| 89 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 30800 | 0.1324 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 90 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 26900 | 83600 | 0.6785 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 91 | Rowan University | 27500 | 40500 | 0.3209 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 92 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 27900 | 32800 | 0.1492 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 92 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 27900 | 31400 | 0.1115 | 14,019 | 1159 | 0.7781 | |
| 94 | California State University-Long Beach | 28000 | 38400 | 0.2712 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 95 | Grand Valley State University | 28200 | 35700 | 0.2101 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 96 | Mississippi State University | 28300 | 32300 | 0.126 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 97 | Regis College | 28500 | 70400 | 0.595 | 1,055 | 965 | 0.9009 | |
| 98 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 31500 | 0.0921 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 98 | University of Hartford | 28600 | 70100 | 0.5914 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 100 | George Fox University | 28700 | 67100 | 0.5727 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 101 | Dartmouth College | 28800 | 91100 | 0.6835 | 4,570 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 102 | University of Utah | 28900 | 32000 | 0.0961 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 103 | University of Iowa | 29000 | 31100 | 0.0667 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 104 | Clemson University | 29300 | 37100 | 0.2121 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 104 | Messiah University | 29300 | 54100 | 0.4586 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 106 | University of Toledo | 29500 | 32600 | 0.0943 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 106 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 29500 | 36500 | 0.1919 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 108 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 29900 | 31100 | 0.0385 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 108 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 29900 | 52900 | 0.435 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 110 | San Jose State University | 30300 | 41000 | 0.2608 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 111 | Gannon University | 30400 | 45300 | 0.329 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 112 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30500 | 78100 | 0.6096 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 113 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5437 | 1,474 | 1214 | 0.7384 | |
| 114 | University of Houston | 30900 | 35200 | 0.1223 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 115 | North Carolina State University | 31100 | 53000 | 0.4127 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 116 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31700 | 36400 | 0.129 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 117 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4871 | 2,304 | 1124 | 0.7089 | |
| 118 | Widener University | 32500 | 75300 | 0.5682 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 119 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 32600 | 38500 | 0.1533 | 7,890 | 1105 | 0.2056 | |
| 120 | California Lutheran University | 32700 | 65800 | 0.5027 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 121 | Harding University | 32900 | 47000 | 0.2995 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 122 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 123 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 35100 | 0.0342 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 124 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54600 | 0.3772 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 124 | Valparaiso University | 34000 | 62700 | 0.4572 | 2,123 | 1247 | 0.8934 | |
| 126 | University of Vermont | 34600 | 66300 | 0.4782 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 127 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 34700 | 74600 | 0.5351 | 2,315 | 1382 | 0.7686 | |
| 128 | California Baptist University | 35200 | 65200 | 0.4601 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 129 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 130 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 35700 | 42400 | 0.158 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 131 | Lawrence Technological University | 36200 | 67800 | 0.4659 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.7403 | |
| 132 | Florida International University | 36300 | 36800 | 0.0136 | 44,904 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 133 | University of the Pacific | 36500 | 72100 | 0.4939 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 134 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36900 | 38900 | 0.0533 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 135 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 62000 | 0.3968 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 136 | Wichita State University | 37600 | 39600 | 0.0504 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 137 | University of Connecticut | 37800 | 41800 | 0.0957 | 19,388 | 1324 | 0.5395 | |
| 138 | Washington State University | 38600 | 53900 | 0.2835 | 14,346 | 1139 | 0.8797 | |
| 139 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 39000 | 52900 | 0.2626 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 140 | Wayne State University | 39300 | 45500 | 0.1362 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 141 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 39600 | 53800 | 0.264 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 142 | Loyola University Chicago | 40000 | 67600 | 0.4085 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 143 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 40200 | 40200 | 0 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 144 | University of California-San Diego | 40300 | 61100 | 0.3405 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 145 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 68600 | 0.4116 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 146 | Western New England University | 40500 | 67000 | 0.3957 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 147 | Endicott College | 40700 | 63200 | 0.3559 | 3,176 | 1255 | 0.7229 | |
| 148 | CUNY City College | 41500 | 41500 | 0 | 12,982 | 1169 | 0.5997 | |
| 148 | Fairfield University | 41500 | 77900 | 0.467 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 150 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 41600 | 42500 | 0.0212 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 151 | Hofstra University | 41700 | 74600 | 0.4409 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 152 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 42500 | 52100 | 0.1843 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 152 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42500 | 54900 | 0.2261 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 154 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 42600 | 55100 | 0.227 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 154 | University at Buffalo | 42600 | 46800 | 0.0897 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 156 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43500 | 68600 | 0.3656 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 157 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 43800 | 50300 | 0.1293 | 34,242 | 1260 | 0.7333 | |
| 158 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2742 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 159 | Duquesne University | 45400 | 70500 | 0.3557 | 5,371 | 1269 | 0.8356 | |
| 160 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 74500 | 0.3826 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 161 | University of Delaware | 47200 | 53200 | 0.1127 | 19,119 | 1303 | 0.6356 | |
| 162 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 56200 | 0.1476 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 163 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 48400 | 85700 | 0.435 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 164 | University of California-Merced | 48500 | 52300 | 0.0726 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 165 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49100 | 85800 | 0.4277 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 166 | George Mason University | 49200 | 49200 | 0 | 28,331 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 167 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 49900 | 56400 | 0.1152 | 10,200 | 1346 | 0.6507 | |
| 168 | Binghamton University | 50000 | 52100 | 0.0398 | 14,669 | 1417 | 0.3861 | |
| 169 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50500 | 81000 | 0.3763 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 170 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 51000 | 84200 | 0.3944 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 171 | Drexel University | 51200 | 82600 | 0.38 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 172 | University of Colorado Boulder | 51500 | 56300 | 0.0852 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 173 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53400 | 61000 | 0.1257 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 174 | Miami University-Oxford | 56100 | 56100 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 175 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 56200 | 66500 | 0.1549 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 176 | Santa Clara University | 56800 | 84800 | 0.3303 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 177 | Hawaii Pacific University | 58800 | 60900 | 0.0341 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 178 | Michigan Technological University | 59100 | 59100 | 0 | 6,022 | 1256 | 0.8353 | |
| 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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