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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 | United States Coast Guard Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,108 | 1334 | 0.2244 | |
| 1 | United States Naval Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4,474 | 1305 | 0.0927 | |
| 3 | Princeton University | 3800 | 82600 | 0.954 | 5,813 | 1535 | 0.0462 | |
| 4 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 4800 | 40700 | 0.8811 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 5 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 6 | United States Merchant Marine Academy | 7400 | 8600 | 0.1395 | 962 | 1214 | 0.3424 | |
| 7 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,535 | 1542 | 0.0455 | |
| 8 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0399 | |
| 9 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9007 | 7,377 | 1528 | 0.1166 | |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania | 9200 | 92900 | 0.9009 | 11,478 | 1536 | 0.054 | |
| 10 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 102300 | 0.9104 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 12 | Wellesley College | 9500 | 91300 | 0.8961 | 2,407 | 1500 | 0.1405 | |
| 13 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 14 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 10600 | 26000 | 0.5929 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 15 | University of Notre Dame | 10700 | 86200 | 0.8763 | 8,880 | 1500 | 0.1127 | |
| 16 | California State University-Fresno | 11300 | 19600 | 0.4226 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 17 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 18 | Florida Atlantic University | 11800 | 25800 | 0.5433 | 24,876 | 1130 | 0.6613 | |
| 19 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 20 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 21 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 22 | University of North Alabama | 13000 | 28200 | 0.5393 | 7,662 | 1140 | 0.8731 | |
| 23 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 24 | Mount Holyoke College | 13400 | 89900 | 0.8512 | 2,178 | 1449 | 0.3603 | |
| 25 | University of Delaware | 13500 | 34500 | 0.6079 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 26 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 27 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 47300 | 0.7099 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 28 | Middlebury College | 13800 | 89900 | 0.8466 | 2,760 | 1499 | 0.1075 | |
| 28 | Utah State University | 13800 | 20800 | 0.3369 | 25,706 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 30 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 31 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 32 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14600 | 26500 | 0.4513 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 33 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 17,432 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 34 | University of Maine at Augusta | 15200 | 30600 | 0.5036 | 4,313 | 0 | 0 | |
| 35 | Lehigh University | 15400 | 89600 | 0.8286 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 36 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 15900 | 27700 | 0.4254 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 37 | California State University-Sacramento | 16200 | 27600 | 0.4134 | 28,820 | 1035 | 0.9399 | |
| 38 | University of Florida | 16300 | 22500 | 0.2755 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 39 | The University of Texas at Austin | 16500 | 28000 | 0.4111 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 40 | Connecticut College | 16600 | 95300 | 0.8254 | 1,990 | 1421 | 0.3704 | |
| 41 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 16900 | 26300 | 0.3571 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 42 | Bennington College | 17100 | 89500 | 0.8094 | 797 | 1370 | 0.4453 | |
| 42 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 17100 | 29500 | 0.4201 | 3,781 | 1100 | 0.7568 | |
| 44 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,487 | 1499 | 0.0884 | |
| 44 | Keene State College | 17600 | 32100 | 0.4523 | 2,725 | 1085 | 0.9033 | |
| 44 | Prairie View A & M University | 17600 | 25400 | 0.3071 | 8,877 | 975 | 0.7931 | |
| 44 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 17600 | 27400 | 0.3575 | 27,132 | 1099 | 0.9617 | |
| 48 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 18400 | 30600 | 0.3971 | 38,093 | 1302 | 0.7821 | |
| 49 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 18800 | 31000 | 0.394 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 50 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 51 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19400 | 29900 | 0.3535 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 52 | Norwich University | 19600 | 73800 | 0.7342 | 2,626 | 1186 | 0.7444 | |
| 53 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19700 | 78700 | 0.7498 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 54 | University of New Orleans | 19900 | 30600 | 0.3502 | 5,419 | 1040 | 0.7431 | |
| 55 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 56 | Hampshire College | 20500 | 83900 | 0.756 | 844 | 1254 | 0.7528 | |
| 57 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 20700 | 30600 | 0.326 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 58 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 59 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 59 | Webb Institute | 21400 | 89600 | 0.7608 | 106 | 1475 | 0.1404 | |
| 61 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 62 | La Roche University | 21900 | 72600 | 0.6986 | 1,828 | 1059 | 0.7576 | |
| 62 | South Dakota State University | 21900 | 25200 | 0.1301 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 64 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 65 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23200 | 34500 | 0.3279 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 66 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 23700 | 34400 | 0.311 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 66 | University of Kentucky | 23700 | 36400 | 0.348 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 68 | Judson University | 24100 | 49100 | 0.5086 | 718 | 1015 | 0.4759 | |
| 69 | Indiana State University | 24200 | 32400 | 0.2532 | 6,224 | 1020 | 0.8077 | |
| 69 | University of Kansas | 24200 | 37600 | 0.3581 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 71 | University at Buffalo | 24700 | 34000 | 0.2736 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 72 | Drury University | 25200 | 52900 | 0.5235 | 1,391 | 1228 | 0.5758 | |
| 73 | Ball State University | 25500 | 25500 | 0 | 15,189 | 1170 | 0.855 | |
| 74 | Mount Mary University | 25900 | 57200 | 0.5463 | 752 | 1025 | 0.6233 | |
| 75 | Marywood University | 26100 | 67700 | 0.6142 | 1,833 | 1160 | 0.6058 | |
| 75 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 77 | University of Southern Mississippi | 26500 | 26500 | 0 | 10,193 | 1181 | 0.9912 | |
| 78 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 79 | University of Idaho | 26800 | 45200 | 0.4067 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 80 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 26900 | 88300 | 0.6952 | 1,794 | 1308 | 0.6399 | |
| 81 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 27500 | 43800 | 0.3725 | 17,450 | 1044 | 0.9518 | |
| 82 | North Dakota State University | 27700 | 30400 | 0.0882 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 83 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 84 | University of Utah | 28700 | 32000 | 0.1025 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 85 | Morgan State University | 29600 | 41900 | 0.2938 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 86 | Kent State University at Kent | 30000 | 37500 | 0.2 | 20,841 | 1105 | 0.8634 | |
| 86 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 30000 | 42200 | 0.2889 | 15,375 | 1103 | 0.866 | |
| 88 | Maine Maritime Academy | 30100 | 33400 | 0.0989 | 945 | 1180 | 0.5414 | |
| 89 | Portland State University | 30800 | 43100 | 0.2848 | 15,414 | 1094 | 0.9087 | |
| 90 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 31100 | 40200 | 0.2265 | 1,402 | 1120 | 0.947 | |
| 91 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 92 | Kean University | 31300 | 39500 | 0.2077 | 11,758 | 1040 | 0.759 | |
| 93 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 31500 | 41200 | 0.2357 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 93 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 95 | Ithaca College | 32000 | 72500 | 0.5585 | 4,268 | 1314 | 0.6901 | |
| 96 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 96 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 98 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4031 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 99 | Auburn University | 33700 | 34100 | 0.0117 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 99 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design | 33700 | 57400 | 0.4128 | 838 | 1143 | 0.6054 | |
| 101 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 102 | Thomas Jefferson University | 34000 | 68100 | 0.501 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8097 | |
| 103 | Chatham University | 34900 | 63300 | 0.449 | 1,550 | 1197 | 0.6196 | |
| 104 | Andrews University | 35000 | 70100 | 0.5008 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 105 | Temple University | 35400 | 56400 | 0.3724 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 106 | SUNY Maritime College | 35600 | 41600 | 0.1441 | 1,285 | 1215 | 0.7241 | |
| 106 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 38900 | 0.0848 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 108 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 109 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 110 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36700 | 38900 | 0.0586 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 111 | University of Connecticut | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3062 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 112 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 113 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,403 | 1241 | 0.9812 | |
| 114 | Delaware Valley University | 39200 | 66900 | 0.4141 | 1,768 | 1208 | 0.9321 | |
| 115 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 39600 | 39800 | 0.005 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 116 | University of Central Florida | 39700 | 39700 | 0 | 59,552 | 1280 | 0.4011 | |
| 117 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 117 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 119 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41200 | 57000 | 0.2773 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.782 | |
| 120 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 121 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 41900 | 53200 | 0.2124 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 122 | Anderson University | 42200 | 53600 | 0.2127 | 3,683 | 1209 | 0.5471 | |
| 123 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53600 | 0.1979 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 124 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 125 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59700 | 0.2122 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 125 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47100 | 57700 | 0.1838 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 127 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48400 | 91400 | 0.4706 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 128 | Drexel University | 48600 | 83900 | 0.4208 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 128 | University of Georgia | 48600 | 51600 | 0.0581 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 130 | Woodbury University | 52800 | 69500 | 0.2402 | 786 | 1087 | 0.8165 | |
| 131 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 52900 | 61200 | 0.1353 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 132 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53200 | 61000 | 0.1291 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 133 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 134 | University of San Francisco | 53800 | 84800 | 0.3655 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
| 135 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 136 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 137 | Howard University | 60000 | 66500 | 0.0978 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 138 | Maryland Institute College of Art | 60700 | 71200 | 0.1476 | 1,191 | 1232 | 0.7679 | |
| 139 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 61000 | 63200 | 0.0348 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 140 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.0358 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 141 | California College of the Arts | 65300 | 87600 | 0.2545 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 142 | Otis College of Art and Design | 66500 | 79800 | 0.1666 | 1,224 | 1335 | 0.8176 | |
| 143 | University of Oregon | 66700 | 68900 | 0.0331 | 20,622 | 1250 | 0.883 | |
| 144 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 145 | The Catholic University of America | 82500 | 82500 | 0 | 3,177 | 1140 | 0.8278 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.