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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 | 6600 | 38400 | 0.8291 | 1,454 | 1135 | 0.1199 | |
| 2 | Utah State University | 9700 | 26700 | 0.6361 | 25,706 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 3 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 10600 | 26000 | 0.5929 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 4 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 5 | University of Wisconsin-River Falls | 11800 | 20500 | 0.4246 | 4,880 | 1124 | 0.8172 | |
| 6 | Fort Valley State University | 12400 | 29700 | 0.5823 | 2,699 | 1025 | 0.6587 | |
| 7 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 8 | New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 12800 | 26500 | 0.5164 | 12,507 | 1010 | 0.8897 | |
| 9 | Sul Ross State University | 12900 | 27100 | 0.5246 | 1,890 | 1020 | 0.9871 | |
| 10 | University of Delaware | 13500 | 34500 | 0.6079 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 11 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 12 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.485 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 12 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 47300 | 0.7099 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 14 | University of Wisconsin-Platteville | 14200 | 27800 | 0.4903 | 6,045 | 1193 | 0.8938 | |
| 15 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 16 | Murray State University | 14900 | 27000 | 0.4491 | 7,851 | 1115 | 0.8568 | |
| 17 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15100 | 37700 | 0.6009 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8609 | |
| 18 | Texas State University | 15200 | 25500 | 0.4042 | 36,236 | 1100 | 0.8932 | |
| 19 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15600 | 31000 | 0.4964 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 20 | Oklahoma Panhandle State University | 16300 | 16700 | 0.024 | 1,021 | 985 | 0.683 | |
| 21 | Arkansas State University | 16500 | 28100 | 0.413 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.8226 | |
| 21 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 23 | Sam Houston State University | 17000 | 27000 | 0.3705 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 24 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 17200 | 25700 | 0.3307 | 20,584 | 1134 | 0.9053 | |
| 25 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5379 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 26 | Angelo State University | 18300 | 23100 | 0.2067 | 9,702 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 26 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 28 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19400 | 29900 | 0.3535 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 28 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 19400 | 36900 | 0.4748 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 30 | Iowa State University | 19900 | 24200 | 0.1786 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 31 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 45200 | 0.5559 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 32 | Alabama A & M University | 20300 | 28200 | 0.2798 | 6,370 | 915 | 0.5795 | |
| 33 | SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill | 20500 | 26800 | 0.235 | 1,988 | 1080 | 0.8402 | |
| 34 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 34 | Stetson University | 20700 | 79100 | 0.7387 | 2,349 | 1179 | 0.716 | |
| 36 | Tarleton State University | 21000 | 23000 | 0.087 | 15,254 | 1080 | 0.8955 | |
| 37 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 38 | South Dakota State University | 21900 | 25200 | 0.1301 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 39 | California State University-Chico | 22300 | 31000 | 0.2803 | 13,792 | 1075 | 0.9272 | |
| 39 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 41 | Buena Vista University | 22400 | 59100 | 0.6212 | 1,436 | 1124 | 0.7761 | |
| 42 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 43 | Abilene Christian University | 24300 | 59000 | 0.5877 | 3,263 | 1189 | 0.6603 | |
| 44 | Unity Environmental University | 24500 | 29900 | 0.1809 | 6,507 | 0 | 0.818 | |
| 45 | Wilson College | 24800 | 44400 | 0.442 | 1,379 | 1055 | 0.9211 | |
| 46 | University of Minnesota-Crookston | 25600 | 28600 | 0.106 | 2,612 | 1095 | 0.8786 | |
| 47 | Michigan State University | 25800 | 28900 | 0.1089 | 41,234 | 1279 | 0.848 | |
| 48 | The University of Findlay | 26100 | 50600 | 0.4838 | 4,062 | 1124 | 0.8337 | |
| 49 | Dordt University | 26200 | 52500 | 0.5007 | 1,716 | 1205 | 0.6847 | |
| 50 | Tuskegee University | 26300 | 42100 | 0.3757 | 2,659 | 1090 | 0.4868 | |
| 51 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 52 | University of Idaho | 26800 | 45200 | 0.4067 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 53 | Kansas State University | 27000 | 31400 | 0.1414 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 54 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 55 | North Dakota State University | 27700 | 30400 | 0.0882 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 56 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 27800 | 31100 | 0.1056 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 57 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2176 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 58 | University of Connecticut | 29200 | 37000 | 0.2106 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 59 | Huntington University | 29300 | 44300 | 0.3384 | 1,588 | 1055 | 0.7564 | |
| 60 | East Texas A&M University | 29400 | 36500 | 0.1945 | 9,992 | 1045 | 0.9224 | |
| 61 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 30000 | 42200 | 0.2889 | 15,375 | 1103 | 0.866 | |
| 62 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 63 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32100 | 36700 | 0.1249 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 64 | Centenary University | 32200 | 63600 | 0.4936 | 936 | 1070 | 0.8308 | |
| 65 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4031 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 66 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 67 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 33900 | 41000 | 0.1742 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 68 | Andrews University | 35000 | 70100 | 0.5008 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 69 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 70 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 70 | Tennessee Technological University | 36200 | 38500 | 0.0592 | 9,187 | 1163 | 0.7613 | |
| 72 | Texas A&M University-Kingsville | 36400 | 41600 | 0.1268 | 5,386 | 1050 | 0.9092 | |
| 73 | California State University-Fresno | 36900 | 43800 | 0.1577 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 74 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38400 | 53100 | 0.2767 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 75 | Delaware Valley University | 39200 | 66900 | 0.4141 | 1,768 | 1208 | 0.9321 | |
| 76 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 77 | University of Wyoming | 40000 | 45300 | 0.1166 | 8,130 | 1179 | 0.9688 | |
| 78 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 79 | Washington State University | 40600 | 56300 | 0.28 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 80 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 81 | Middle Tennessee State University | 41400 | 46000 | 0.0999 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 82 | University of Mount Olive | 42100 | 50400 | 0.1643 | 1,944 | 1075 | 0.7575 | |
| 83 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 42600 | 56200 | 0.2421 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 84 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53600 | 0.1979 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 85 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 86 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2752 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 87 | University of Kentucky | 49000 | 58000 | 0.1551 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 88 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 89 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 52900 | 61200 | 0.1353 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 90 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 91 | Auburn University | 58500 | 58500 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 92 | University of California-Davis | 69800 | 69800 | 0 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.