Recent Articles
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 | California Institute of Technology | 4300 | 90300 | 0.9522 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 1 | Rice University | 4300 | 85500 | 0.9496 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins University | 4400 | 88600 | 0.9502 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 4700 | 86800 | 0.9456 | 4,576 | 1535 | 0.0485 | |
| 5 | Yale University | 5500 | 92300 | 0.9403 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 6 | Boston University | 5700 | 88800 | 0.9363 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | 5700 | 93000 | 0.9389 | 10,013 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 8 | Harvard University | 5900 | 90900 | 0.9353 | 7,038 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 9 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 6500 | 94100 | 0.9312 | 9,157 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 10 | Vanderbilt University | 7800 | 95000 | 0.9178 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 11 | Brown University | 8400 | 93900 | 0.9103 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 12 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 96200 | 0.904 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 13 | Duke University | 9800 | 93500 | 0.8955 | 6,523 | 1539 | 0.0571 | |
| 14 | University of California-Davis | 10100 | 37800 | 0.732 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 15 | Cornell University | 10300 | 92000 | 0.8877 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0841 | |
| 16 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 11300 | 34400 | 0.6706 | 37,140 | 1442 | 0.4237 | |
| 17 | University of California-San Diego | 12000 | 34000 | 0.6466 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2677 | |
| 18 | Lehigh University | 12300 | 85700 | 0.857 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 18 | Northern Illinois University | 12300 | 29000 | 0.5744 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 20 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 12400 | 27200 | 0.5443 | 39,083 | 1412 | 0.4517 | |
| 21 | Northwestern University | 12600 | 87700 | 0.8563 | 8,846 | 1513 | 0.0722 | |
| 22 | The University of Texas at Austin | 13100 | 30700 | 0.573 | 43,165 | 1335 | 0.2664 | |
| 23 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,428 | 1090 | 0.9529 | |
| 24 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 13500 | 22500 | 0.4006 | 14,243 | 1125 | 0.7675 | |
| 25 | University of Delaware | 13600 | 32500 | 0.5829 | 19,119 | 1303 | 0.6356 | |
| 26 | University of South Florida | 13700 | 17100 | 0.1987 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 27 | Louisiana Tech University | 13800 | 24900 | 0.4451 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 28 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 13900 | 38000 | 0.6347 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 29 | West Virginia University | 14200 | 23300 | 0.3905 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 30 | University of California-Merced | 14300 | 40300 | 0.6446 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9152 | |
| 31 | Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville | 14500 | 41100 | 0.6478 | 8,975 | 1045 | 0.9721 | |
| 31 | Union College | 14500 | 91000 | 0.8407 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 33 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 80400 | 0.8167 | 6,528 | 1485 | 0.3778 | |
| 34 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71300 | 0.792 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 35 | University of California-Berkeley | 15000 | 43500 | 0.655 | 33,469 | 1407 | 0.1104 | |
| 36 | Florida International University | 15100 | 23700 | 0.3621 | 44,904 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 37 | California State University-Long Beach | 15400 | 25800 | 0.4032 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 37 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 15400 | 28100 | 0.452 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 39 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 15500 | 24800 | 0.3744 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 40 | Florida State University | 15600 | 23100 | 0.3246 | 32,711 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 41 | Grand Valley State University | 16000 | 25300 | 0.368 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 42 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5548 | 33,471 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 43 | North Carolina State University | 16500 | 28500 | 0.4223 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 44 | University of Southern California | 16600 | 76000 | 0.7815 | 21,023 | 1485 | 0.1002 | |
| 45 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16700 | 64800 | 0.7426 | 21,075 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 46 | Tufts University | 16900 | 92400 | 0.8175 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1153 | |
| 47 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 17400 | 24700 | 0.2976 | 8,765 | 1209 | 0.8799 | |
| 48 | Bucknell University | 17700 | 88400 | 0.7996 | 3,920 | 1284 | 0.2893 | |
| 48 | University of Rochester | 17700 | 93100 | 0.8101 | 6,580 | 1469 | 0.4008 | |
| 50 | The College of New Jersey | 17800 | 38200 | 0.5335 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6235 | |
| 50 | University of Arkansas | 17800 | 27700 | 0.3574 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 52 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 28100 | 0.3632 | 20,592 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 53 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 18300 | 78300 | 0.7664 | 17,901 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 54 | University of Mississippi | 18700 | 45500 | 0.5895 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 55 | Kansas State University | 19000 | 31400 | 0.3953 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8199 | |
| 56 | University of Memphis | 19100 | 26400 | 0.277 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 57 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.4823 | |
| 58 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 19500 | 29300 | 0.3339 | 1,984 | 1369 | 0.6328 | |
| 59 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 19600 | 27200 | 0.2797 | 31,112 | 1130 | 0.8129 | |
| 60 | Wayne State University | 19700 | 32300 | 0.3906 | 16,173 | 1174 | 0.7786 | |
| 61 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19800 | 31000 | 0.3619 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5732 | |
| 62 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 20100 | 38800 | 0.4817 | 36,588 | 1367 | 0.6535 | |
| 63 | Alabama State University | 20200 | 37400 | 0.4592 | 3,322 | 945 | 0.9564 | |
| 64 | Marshall University | 20500 | 36300 | 0.4356 | 9,165 | 1065 | 0.9572 | |
| 65 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 20800 | 69400 | 0.7007 | 2,705 | 1292 | 0.6239 | |
| 66 | Montana State University | 20900 | 27100 | 0.2285 | 15,053 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 67 | University of Miami | 21100 | 70800 | 0.7023 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 68 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22700 | 26900 | 0.1563 | 2,170 | 1264 | 0.8525 | |
| 68 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22700 | 30300 | 0.2506 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 70 | Washington State University | 22900 | 36800 | 0.3783 | 14,346 | 1139 | 0.8797 | |
| 71 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23400 | 48800 | 0.5206 | 1,642 | 1055 | 0.5713 | |
| 72 | Syracuse University | 23500 | 83100 | 0.7172 | 15,958 | 1363 | 0.4611 | |
| 73 | University of South Dakota | 23800 | 26000 | 0.0848 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 74 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 23900 | 71600 | 0.6664 | 3,135 | 1299 | 0.5493 | |
| 74 | Oral Roberts University | 23900 | 55600 | 0.5706 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 76 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 24100 | 83600 | 0.712 | 7,283 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 76 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 24100 | 37100 | 0.3508 | 23,920 | 1390 | 0.5973 | |
| 78 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 25000 | 36600 | 0.3173 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 78 | University of Akron Main Campus | 25000 | 25000 | 0 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 80 | Binghamton University | 25700 | 32700 | 0.2159 | 14,669 | 1417 | 0.3861 | |
| 80 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 25700 | 35700 | 0.2803 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 80 | Walla Walla University | 25700 | 51700 | 0.5038 | 1,238 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 83 | University of Mount Union | 26400 | 50900 | 0.4805 | 1,927 | 1105 | 0.8013 | |
| 84 | University of Arizona | 26500 | 35200 | 0.247 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 85 | Trine University | 26600 | 56100 | 0.5263 | 4,157 | 1209 | 0.8469 | |
| 86 | University of North Texas | 27600 | 37400 | 0.2622 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 87 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 27700 | 31400 | 0.1178 | 14,019 | 1159 | 0.7781 | |
| 88 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 27900 | 32800 | 0.1492 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 88 | University of Louisville | 27900 | 42200 | 0.3387 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 90 | Dartmouth College | 28300 | 91100 | 0.689 | 4,570 | 1528 | 0.054 | |
| 91 | Regis College | 28500 | 70400 | 0.595 | 1,055 | 965 | 0.9009 | |
| 91 | University of Hartford | 28500 | 70100 | 0.5926 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9579 | |
| 93 | George Fox University | 28700 | 67100 | 0.5727 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 93 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 28700 | 78100 | 0.6326 | 14,267 | 1363 | 0.6693 | |
| 95 | Messiah University | 29300 | 54100 | 0.4586 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 96 | University of Toledo | 29400 | 32600 | 0.0983 | 11,013 | 1159 | 0.9202 | |
| 97 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 29500 | 36500 | 0.1919 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 98 | University of Connecticut | 29600 | 33200 | 0.1086 | 19,388 | 1324 | 0.5395 | |
| 99 | San Jose State University | 30300 | 41000 | 0.2608 | 28,008 | 0 | 0.8461 | |
| 100 | Gannon University | 30400 | 45300 | 0.329 | 2,768 | 1174 | 0.7416 | |
| 101 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 30500 | 41800 | 0.2705 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 102 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5442 | 1,474 | 1214 | 0.7384 | |
| 103 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 30900 | 42400 | 0.2713 | 21,947 | 1335 | 0.3122 | |
| 103 | University of Houston | 30900 | 35200 | 0.1223 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 105 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 31000 | 33200 | 0.0664 | 14,504 | 1145 | 0.7637 | |
| 106 | University of Rhode Island | 31300 | 46700 | 0.3298 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 107 | North Carolina A & T State University | 31800 | 36400 | 0.1262 | 12,216 | 1020 | 0.4617 | |
| 108 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.487 | 2,304 | 1124 | 0.7089 | |
| 109 | Widener University | 32500 | 75300 | 0.5682 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 110 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 32600 | 38500 | 0.1533 | 7,890 | 1105 | 0.2056 | |
| 111 | California Lutheran University | 32700 | 65800 | 0.5027 | 2,297 | 1258 | 0.7567 | |
| 112 | Harding University | 32800 | 47000 | 0.3023 | 3,523 | 1193 | 0.3942 | |
| 113 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5882 | 11,677 | 1421 | 0.4709 | |
| 114 | LeTourneau University | 34000 | 54600 | 0.3772 | 3,184 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 114 | Valparaiso University | 34000 | 62700 | 0.4572 | 2,123 | 1247 | 0.8934 | |
| 116 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 34100 | 74600 | 0.5432 | 2,315 | 1382 | 0.7686 | |
| 117 | University of Vermont | 34500 | 66300 | 0.4793 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 118 | University of Nevada-Reno | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 18,895 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 119 | California Baptist University | 35100 | 65200 | 0.4616 | 8,417 | 1069 | 0.8535 | |
| 120 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 121 | University of Maine | 36100 | 45100 | 0.1996 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 122 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2815 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 123 | University of the Pacific | 36400 | 72100 | 0.4953 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 124 | Lawrence Technological University | 36800 | 67800 | 0.457 | 2,579 | 1155 | 0.7403 | |
| 125 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 37400 | 62000 | 0.3968 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5499 | |
| 125 | Wichita State University | 37400 | 39600 | 0.0556 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 127 | Loyola University Chicago | 37500 | 67600 | 0.4455 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 128 | University of Central Oklahoma | 37600 | 38500 | 0.0234 | 10,454 | 1095 | 0.8176 | |
| 129 | Hofstra University | 38800 | 74600 | 0.4797 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 129 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38800 | 52900 | 0.2664 | 30,564 | 1298 | 0.416 | |
| 131 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 39000 | 48900 | 0.2024 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 132 | Stony Brook University | 39800 | 53000 | 0.2491 | 18,263 | 1395 | 0.4904 | |
| 133 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 40200 | 40200 | 0 | 11,365 | 1216 | 0.8816 | |
| 134 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 40300 | 56700 | 0.2893 | 40,754 | 1391 | 0.3915 | |
| 135 | Temple University | 40500 | 56100 | 0.278 | 21,428 | 1245 | 0.8045 | |
| 135 | Western New England University | 40500 | 67000 | 0.3957 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 137 | Endicott College | 40800 | 63200 | 0.3544 | 3,176 | 1215 | 0.7229 | |
| 138 | Marquette University | 41300 | 75100 | 0.4502 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 139 | CUNY City College | 41500 | 41500 | 0 | 12,982 | 1169 | 0.5997 | |
| 139 | Fairfield University | 41500 | 77900 | 0.467 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 141 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 41600 | 42500 | 0.0212 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 142 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 42200 | 42200 | 0 | 12,382 | 1242 | 0.8842 | |
| 143 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 42500 | 52100 | 0.1843 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 143 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 42500 | 54900 | 0.2261 | 20,418 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 145 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 42600 | 55100 | 0.227 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 145 | University at Buffalo | 42600 | 46800 | 0.0897 | 20,360 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 147 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 43000 | 46200 | 0.0693 | 44,170 | 1327 | 0.4979 | |
| 148 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43400 | 68600 | 0.3675 | 3,677 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 149 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 43500 | 50300 | 0.1352 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 149 | University of California-Riverside | 43500 | 66400 | 0.3448 | 22,599 | 1199 | 0.7685 | |
| 149 | University of Florida | 43500 | 45600 | 0.046 | 36,567 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 152 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43800 | 57100 | 0.2315 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 153 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2748 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 154 | Duquesne University | 45300 | 70500 | 0.3575 | 5,371 | 1269 | 0.8356 | |
| 155 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 74500 | 0.3826 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 156 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 47200 | 85700 | 0.449 | 5,743 | 1438 | 0.6343 | |
| 157 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 56200 | 0.1476 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 158 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49000 | 85800 | 0.4288 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 159 | George Mason University | 49200 | 49200 | 0 | 28,331 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 160 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 49900 | 56400 | 0.1152 | 10,200 | 1346 | 0.6507 | |
| 161 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 50200 | 52300 | 0.0401 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 162 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50400 | 81000 | 0.3776 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 163 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50900 | 84200 | 0.3956 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 164 | University of Iowa | 51000 | 53200 | 0.0415 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 164 | University of Kentucky | 51000 | 56000 | 0.0893 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 166 | Drexel University | 51100 | 82600 | 0.3812 | 13,169 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 167 | University of Colorado Boulder | 51300 | 56300 | 0.0887 | 32,100 | 1290 | 0.8115 | |
| 168 | University of Utah | 51500 | 53700 | 0.0411 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 169 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 51700 | 51700 | 0 | 33,572 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 170 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53200 | 61000 | 0.1279 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 171 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 16,199 | 1214 | 0.783 | |
| 172 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 54000 | 59200 | 0.0879 | 24,457 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 173 | University of California-Irvine | 55000 | 64800 | 0.1512 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 174 | Miami University-Oxford | 56100 | 56100 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 175 | Santa Clara University | 56500 | 84800 | 0.3339 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 176 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 56700 | 58900 | 0.0374 | 26,500 | 1183 | 0.8857 | |
| 177 | Hawaii Pacific University | 58700 | 60900 | 0.0362 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 178 | Michigan Technological University | 59100 | 59100 | 0 | 6,022 | 1256 | 0.8353 | |
| 179 | Clemson University | 61400 | 63700 | 0.0346 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 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.