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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 | College of the Ozarks | 6700 | 34300 | 0.8058 | 1,500 | 1130 | 0.1097 | |
| 2 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 10100 | 41500 | 0.7567 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 3 | Cornell University | 10500 | 93700 | 0.8878 | 16,138 | 1528 | 0.0838 | |
| 4 | Eastern Kentucky University | 10900 | 27300 | 0.6018 | 13,448 | 1075 | 0.9683 | |
| 5 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 11100 | 32800 | 0.6612 | 46,627 | 1366 | 0.492 | |
| 5 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 11100 | 28300 | 0.6059 | 8,421 | 1054 | 0.9444 | |
| 7 | California State University-Fresno | 11300 | 54600 | 0.7923 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 8 | University of Illinois Chicago | 12100 | 30200 | 0.5993 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 9 | Fort Valley State University | 12300 | 54800 | 0.7754 | 2,699 | 1025 | 0.6587 | |
| 10 | Sul Ross State University | 12700 | 41100 | 0.6914 | 1,890 | 1020 | 0.9871 | |
| 10 | Texas A&M University-Commerce | 12700 | 30000 | 0.5767 | 9,666 | 1040 | 0.7498 | |
| 12 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 12900 | 26500 | 0.5126 | 13,039 | 1020 | 0.894 | |
| 13 | Louisiana Tech University | 13300 | 42900 | 0.6899 | 11,071 | 1189 | 0.9073 | |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 61700 | 0.7774 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 15 | Murray State University | 14600 | 27000 | 0.4597 | 8,217 | 1124 | 0.8413 | |
| 15 | Oklahoma Panhandle State University | 14600 | 17400 | 0.1605 | 1,021 | 985 | 1 | |
| 15 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 14600 | 29200 | 0.4991 | 6,045 | 1193 | 0.8938 | |
| 18 | Texas State University | 15000 | 26700 | 0.4375 | 39,353 | 1080 | 0.9118 | |
| 18 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 15000 | 54400 | 0.7248 | 15,735 | 1069 | 0.8797 | |
| 18 | West Virginia University | 15000 | 73100 | 0.7945 | 18,206 | 1120 | 0.8514 | |
| 21 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 15200 | 25800 | 0.4099 | 5,386 | 995 | 0.9092 | |
| 22 | California State University-Chico | 15400 | 23500 | 0.3443 | 13,599 | 1054 | 0.9107 | |
| 23 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15600 | 38800 | 0.5992 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8613 | |
| 24 | Kansas State University | 15900 | 26400 | 0.3957 | 16,555 | 1163 | 0.875 | |
| 25 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 16600 | 41200 | 0.5978 | 25,312 | 1134 | 0.7395 | |
| 26 | Sam Houston State University | 16800 | 30300 | 0.4452 | 17,822 | 1035 | 0.9372 | |
| 27 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 17500 | 29900 | 0.4164 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 27 | University of Kentucky | 17500 | 36500 | 0.5208 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 29 | Angelo State University | 18100 | 23100 | 0.2191 | 10,103 | 1045 | 0.7981 | |
| 30 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | 19200 | 24000 | 0.2024 | 5,063 | 1069 | 0.8756 | |
| 31 | Unity Environmental University | 19400 | 31900 | 0.3914 | 6,525 | 0 | 0.818 | |
| 32 | Alabama A & M University | 19900 | 51200 | 0.6118 | 6,370 | 915 | 0.5795 | |
| 33 | University of Rhode Island | 20000 | 47400 | 0.5782 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 34 | South Dakota State University | 20200 | 25200 | 0.2009 | 10,883 | 1115 | 0.9618 | |
| 35 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | 20500 | 57000 | 0.6399 | 1,894 | 1055 | 0.8401 | |
| 36 | Washington State University | 20600 | 35900 | 0.4276 | 21,400 | 1131 | 0.861 | |
| 37 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.3258 | 43,633 | 1342 | 0.4343 | |
| 37 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 10,900 | 1222 | 0.8914 | |
| 39 | Tarleton State University | 21000 | 23000 | 0.087 | 17,556 | 1090 | 0.5386 | |
| 39 | West Texas A & M University | 21000 | 29200 | 0.2806 | 7,110 | 1060 | 0.6681 | |
| 41 | Buena Vista University | 22200 | 59100 | 0.6244 | 836 | 1075 | 0.6497 | |
| 42 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 22300 | 26000 | 0.1421 | 21,138 | 1134 | 0.9039 | |
| 43 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24000 | 38500 | 0.3764 | 24,019 | 1404 | 0.5989 | |
| 44 | Montana State University | 24400 | 24400 | 0 | 15,142 | 1184 | 0.9938 | |
| 45 | Abilene Christian University | 24600 | 58800 | 0.5818 | 5,101 | 1149 | 0.6615 | |
| 45 | Wilson College | 24600 | 44400 | 0.4452 | 1,379 | 1055 | 0.9211 | |
| 47 | The University of Findlay | 24800 | 50600 | 0.5095 | 4,132 | 1090 | 0.6748 | |
| 48 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 25300 | 31100 | 0.1856 | 19,787 | 1197 | 0.8807 | |
| 49 | Delaware Valley University | 25700 | 95800 | 0.7318 | 1,680 | 1189 | 0.9268 | |
| 50 | Dordt University | 26000 | 52500 | 0.5045 | 1,716 | 1205 | 0.6847 | |
| 51 | University of Minnesota-Crookston | 26200 | 29500 | 0.1124 | 2,873 | 1095 | 0.8747 | |
| 52 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26400 | 40600 | 0.3497 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 53 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 44700 | 0.4019 | 29,252 | 1179 | 0.7388 | |
| 54 | North Dakota State University | 27400 | 30400 | 0.0976 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 55 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 28600 | 43100 | 0.3367 | 22,313 | 1341 | 0.2996 | |
| 56 | Iowa State University | 28700 | 45200 | 0.3663 | 26,346 | 1212 | 0.8793 | |
| 57 | Huntington University | 29000 | 44400 | 0.3465 | 1,512 | 1065 | 0.7518 | |
| 58 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 55500 | 0.4737 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 59 | Morehead State University | 29400 | 31600 | 0.0696 | 7,941 | 1080 | 0.8328 | |
| 60 | Mississippi State University | 29900 | 34400 | 0.1326 | 19,093 | 1205 | 0.8363 | |
| 61 | Centenary University | 30800 | 62900 | 0.5106 | 936 | 1070 | 0.8308 | |
| 62 | Tuskegee University | 31500 | 45600 | 0.3093 | 2,660 | 1090 | 0.4868 | |
| 63 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 32000 | 54400 | 0.4117 | 35,248 | 1289 | 0.6939 | |
| 64 | North Carolina State University | 32400 | 54800 | 0.4083 | 29,340 | 1374 | 0.3954 | |
| 64 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 32400 | 38400 | 0.1562 | 23,003 | 1164 | 0.7367 | |
| 66 | University of Vermont | 34300 | 66300 | 0.4821 | 12,159 | 1372 | 0.7304 | |
| 67 | University of Idaho | 34500 | 48700 | 0.2916 | 9,656 | 1104 | 0.7476 | |
| 68 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 41000 | 0.1318 | 34,021 | 1195 | 0.6906 | |
| 69 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 35900 | 54000 | 0.3352 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 70 | Tennessee Technological University | 36000 | 38500 | 0.0666 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 71 | North Carolina A & T State University | 36500 | 36700 | 0.0054 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.5125 | |
| 72 | Andrews University | 37100 | 76700 | 0.5161 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 73 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66700 | 0.4394 | 31,536 | 1366 | 0.5457 | |
| 74 | Middle Tennessee State University | 37800 | 48300 | 0.2174 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 75 | Lubbock Christian University | 38200 | 49400 | 0.2267 | 1,383 | 1074 | 0.7473 | |
| 76 | University of Wyoming | 39700 | 45300 | 0.1229 | 8,138 | 1163 | 0.9695 | |
| 77 | University of Maine | 40300 | 42800 | 0.0585 | 9,182 | 1195 | 0.9562 | |
| 78 | University of Arizona | 42500 | 48600 | 0.1254 | 43,294 | 1186 | 0.8351 | |
| 79 | University of Florida | 42800 | 45700 | 0.0635 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 80 | University of Maryland-College Park | 42900 | 58500 | 0.2665 | 31,875 | 1456 | 0.4503 | |
| 81 | Arkansas State University | 43000 | 44600 | 0.0358 | 11,189 | 1080 | 0.7818 | |
| 82 | Oregon State University | 44800 | 61900 | 0.2766 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 83 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47500 | 61500 | 0.2286 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 84 | University of Delaware | 47700 | 62400 | 0.2365 | 19,287 | 1302 | 0.6924 | |
| 85 | Michigan State University | 49200 | 56200 | 0.1245 | 41,415 | 1212 | 0.8324 | |
| 86 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 50600 | 63800 | 0.2065 | 42,565 | 1339 | 0.7887 | |
| 87 | University of Georgia | 52000 | 52100 | 0.0019 | 32,824 | 1348 | 0.3425 | |
| 88 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 54900 | 68800 | 0.2022 | 38,572 | 1455 | 0.3659 | |
| 89 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 58600 | 61200 | 0.0419 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 | |
| 90 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 59100 | 61600 | 0.0416 | 25,141 | 1256 | 0.7613 | |
| 91 | Auburn University | 59400 | 59400 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 92 | Clemson University | 61100 | 63700 | 0.0403 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 93 | University of California-Davis | 68100 | 69900 | 0.0258 | 31,695 | 1290 | 0.4435 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.