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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 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 5 | United States Merchant Marine Academy | 7400 | 8600 | 0.1395 | 962 | 1214 | 0.3424 | |
| 6 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8200 | 90000 | 0.9093 | 4,535 | 1542 | 0.0455 | |
| 7 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8300 | 97100 | 0.915 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0399 | |
| 8 | Carnegie Mellon University | 9000 | 90900 | 0.9007 | 7,377 | 1528 | 0.1166 | |
| 9 | Washington University in St Louis | 9300 | 102300 | 0.9091 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania | 9400 | 92900 | 0.8988 | 11,478 | 1536 | 0.054 | |
| 11 | Wellesley College | 9500 | 91300 | 0.8961 | 2,407 | 1500 | 0.1405 | |
| 12 | Utah State University | 9700 | 26700 | 0.6361 | 25,706 | 1176 | 0.9247 | |
| 13 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 14 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy | 10100 | 21000 | 0.5192 | 1,402 | 1120 | 0.947 | |
| 15 | University of Notre Dame | 10700 | 86200 | 0.8763 | 8,880 | 1500 | 0.1127 | |
| 16 | Indiana State University | 11400 | 25900 | 0.5607 | 6,224 | 1020 | 0.8077 | |
| 17 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11500 | 29100 | 0.6053 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 18 | California State University-Sacramento | 11700 | 30700 | 0.6186 | 28,820 | 1035 | 0.9399 | |
| 18 | Cornell University | 11700 | 93100 | 0.8745 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 20 | University of Central Florida | 12000 | 25300 | 0.525 | 59,552 | 1280 | 0.4011 | |
| 20 | University of Houston | 12000 | 28400 | 0.5781 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 22 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 23 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 24 | California State Polytechnic University-Pomona | 12600 | 12600 | 0 | 25,255 | 1134 | 0.7517 | |
| 25 | University of North Alabama | 13000 | 28200 | 0.5393 | 7,662 | 1140 | 0.8731 | |
| 26 | Mount Holyoke College | 13400 | 89900 | 0.8512 | 2,178 | 1449 | 0.3603 | |
| 27 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 27 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 34500 | 0.606 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 29 | University of Georgia | 13700 | 26600 | 0.485 | 32,399 | 1382 | 0.377 | |
| 29 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 50700 | 0.7294 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 31 | Middlebury College | 13800 | 89900 | 0.8466 | 2,760 | 1499 | 0.1075 | |
| 32 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 33 | University of Idaho | 14100 | 25800 | 0.4543 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 34 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5047 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 35 | Northeastern University | 15000 | 89900 | 0.8331 | 17,432 | 1490 | 0.0522 | |
| 36 | University of Maine at Augusta | 15200 | 30600 | 0.5036 | 4,313 | 0 | 0 | |
| 37 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 38 | University of Kansas | 16000 | 34900 | 0.5405 | 22,085 | 1176 | 0.9348 | |
| 39 | Portland State University | 16100 | 26100 | 0.3818 | 15,414 | 1094 | 0.9087 | |
| 40 | Connecticut College | 16700 | 95300 | 0.8244 | 1,990 | 1421 | 0.3704 | |
| 41 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 16900 | 26300 | 0.3559 | 19,701 | 1214 | 0.8749 | |
| 42 | Bennington College | 17200 | 89500 | 0.8079 | 797 | 1370 | 0.4453 | |
| 43 | Keene State College | 17500 | 41400 | 0.5769 | 2,725 | 1085 | 0.9033 | |
| 44 | Barnard College | 17600 | 99700 | 0.8232 | 3,487 | 1499 | 0.0884 | |
| 45 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17700 | 17700 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 46 | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred | 17800 | 38700 | 0.5395 | 3,781 | 1100 | 0.7568 | |
| 47 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5397 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 48 | Texas Tech University | 18300 | 27100 | 0.3253 | 32,580 | 1200 | 0.7265 | |
| 48 | University of California-Berkeley | 18300 | 43500 | 0.5798 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 50 | Indiana University-Bloomington | 18400 | 30600 | 0.3971 | 38,093 | 1302 | 0.7821 | |
| 51 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 18800 | 31000 | 0.394 | 13,432 | 1225 | 0.8701 | |
| 52 | University of New Orleans | 19200 | 27200 | 0.2941 | 5,419 | 1040 | 0.7431 | |
| 52 | University of Rhode Island | 19200 | 33900 | 0.4337 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 54 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19300 | 29900 | 0.3558 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 55 | Norwich University | 19600 | 73800 | 0.7342 | 2,626 | 1186 | 0.7444 | |
| 56 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19900 | 78600 | 0.7467 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 57 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 58 | Hampshire College | 20600 | 83900 | 0.7548 | 844 | 1254 | 0.7528 | |
| 59 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 60 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 60 | Webb Institute | 21400 | 89600 | 0.7608 | 106 | 1475 | 0.1404 | |
| 62 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 63 | La Roche University | 21900 | 72600 | 0.6986 | 1,828 | 1059 | 0.7576 | |
| 64 | South Dakota State University | 22100 | 25200 | 0.1249 | 10,719 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 65 | University of New Mexico-Main Campus | 23000 | 27500 | 0.1618 | 17,450 | 1044 | 0.9518 | |
| 66 | University of Southern Mississippi | 23100 | 23100 | 0 | 10,193 | 1181 | 0.9912 | |
| 67 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 23400 | 34500 | 0.3221 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 68 | University of Kentucky | 23800 | 36400 | 0.3451 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 69 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 39300 | 0.3873 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 70 | Judson University | 24200 | 49100 | 0.5069 | 718 | 1015 | 0.4759 | |
| 71 | Drury University | 25300 | 52900 | 0.5216 | 1,391 | 1228 | 0.5758 | |
| 72 | Ball State University | 25500 | 25500 | 0 | 15,189 | 1170 | 0.855 | |
| 73 | Mount Mary University | 26000 | 57200 | 0.545 | 752 | 1025 | 0.6233 | |
| 74 | Marywood University | 26100 | 67700 | 0.6142 | 1,833 | 1160 | 0.6058 | |
| 75 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 26400 | 36800 | 0.2828 | 14,783 | 1124 | 0.8096 | |
| 76 | University of Arkansas | 26700 | 28900 | 0.0745 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 77 | University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 26800 | 31800 | 0.1573 | 27,132 | 1099 | 0.9617 | |
| 78 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 27100 | 88300 | 0.693 | 1,794 | 1308 | 0.6399 | |
| 79 | Syracuse University | 27700 | 83100 | 0.6665 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 80 | North Dakota State University | 27800 | 30400 | 0.084 | 9,762 | 1110 | 0.9496 | |
| 81 | Mississippi State University | 28200 | 32300 | 0.1283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 82 | University of Utah | 28900 | 32000 | 0.0984 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 83 | Morgan State University | 29700 | 41900 | 0.2914 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 84 | Kent State University at Kent | 30000 | 37500 | 0.2 | 20,841 | 1105 | 0.8634 | |
| 84 | University of Hawaii at Manoa | 30000 | 42200 | 0.2889 | 15,375 | 1103 | 0.866 | |
| 86 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 31200 | 48800 | 0.361 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 87 | Kean University | 31400 | 39500 | 0.2051 | 11,758 | 1040 | 0.759 | |
| 88 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31500 | 36700 | 0.1416 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 89 | Ithaca College | 32100 | 72500 | 0.5571 | 4,268 | 1314 | 0.6901 | |
| 90 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 32200 | 43100 | 0.2531 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 90 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 32200 | 36700 | 0.1214 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 92 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 93 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4007 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 94 | Prairie View A & M University | 32900 | 39600 | 0.1691 | 8,877 | 975 | 0.7931 | |
| 95 | Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design | 33600 | 57400 | 0.414 | 838 | 1143 | 0.6054 | |
| 96 | Auburn University | 33700 | 34100 | 0.0117 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4592 | |
| 97 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 33900 | 41000 | 0.174 | 22,364 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 97 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 99 | Thomas Jefferson University | 34000 | 68100 | 0.501 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8097 | |
| 100 | University of Oregon | 34700 | 40200 | 0.1383 | 20,622 | 1250 | 0.883 | |
| 101 | Andrews University | 35000 | 70100 | 0.5008 | 1,384 | 1143 | 0.8185 | |
| 101 | Chatham University | 35000 | 63300 | 0.4474 | 1,550 | 1197 | 0.6196 | |
| 103 | SUNY Maritime College | 35600 | 41600 | 0.1441 | 1,285 | 1215 | 0.7241 | |
| 103 | Temple University | 35600 | 56400 | 0.3689 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 105 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 36600 | 40000 | 0.085 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 106 | California State University-Fresno | 36800 | 43800 | 0.1588 | 21,954 | 995 | 0.9526 | |
| 106 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 36800 | 38900 | 0.0552 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 108 | University of Connecticut | 37300 | 53600 | 0.3043 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 109 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 66300 | 0.436 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 110 | Benedictine College | 37700 | 50800 | 0.2579 | 2,403 | 1241 | 0.9812 | |
| 111 | University of Illinois Chicago | 38300 | 50600 | 0.2431 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 112 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38600 | 53100 | 0.2729 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 113 | Delaware Valley University | 39200 | 66900 | 0.4141 | 1,768 | 1208 | 0.9321 | |
| 114 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 39600 | 39800 | 0.005 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 115 | Stony Brook University | 39900 | 53000 | 0.2481 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 116 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 40400 | 50000 | 0.1922 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 116 | University of California-Los Angeles | 40400 | 81800 | 0.5061 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 118 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 41400 | 57000 | 0.2738 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.782 | |
| 119 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 41500 | 55200 | 0.2481 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 120 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 41900 | 53200 | 0.2124 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 121 | Anderson University | 42200 | 53600 | 0.2127 | 3,683 | 1209 | 0.5471 | |
| 122 | University of Maryland-College Park | 43000 | 53600 | 0.1979 | 31,133 | 1463 | 0.4479 | |
| 123 | University of Florida | 43200 | 45700 | 0.0548 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 124 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 125 | Florida Atlantic University | 44400 | 44400 | 0 | 24,876 | 1130 | 0.6613 | |
| 126 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 127 | University of Colorado Boulder | 47000 | 57700 | 0.1842 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 128 | Maine Maritime Academy | 47200 | 49800 | 0.0522 | 945 | 1180 | 0.5414 | |
| 129 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 130 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48600 | 51200 | 0.0517 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 130 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48600 | 91400 | 0.4684 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 132 | Drexel University | 48800 | 83900 | 0.4184 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 133 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49800 | 59400 | 0.1617 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 134 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84700 | 0.3991 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 135 | Woodbury University | 52900 | 69500 | 0.2388 | 786 | 1087 | 0.8165 | |
| 136 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 53000 | 61200 | 0.1332 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 137 | University of San Francisco | 53800 | 84800 | 0.3655 | 5,321 | 1292 | 0.6171 | |
| 138 | Miami University-Oxford | 57400 | 57400 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 139 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58200 | 64100 | 0.092 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 140 | Howard University | 60000 | 66500 | 0.0978 | 11,519 | 1208 | 0.4134 | |
| 141 | Maryland Institute College of Art | 60700 | 71200 | 0.1476 | 1,191 | 1232 | 0.7679 | |
| 142 | Clemson University | 61500 | 63700 | 0.0338 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 143 | California College of the Arts | 65300 | 87600 | 0.2545 | 1,004 | 1079 | 0.911 | |
| 144 | Otis College of Art and Design | 66700 | 79800 | 0.1641 | 1,224 | 1335 | 0.8176 | |
| 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.