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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 | Johns Hopkins University | 2700 | 92000 | 0.9704 | 6,356 | 1543 | 0.0644 | |
| 2 | Yale University | 5500 | 92200 | 0.94 | 6,814 | 1507 | 0.0387 | |
| 3 | Harvard University | 5900 | 95600 | 0.9384 | 8,844 | 1535 | 0.0365 | |
| 4 | California Institute of Technology | 7400 | 91800 | 0.9194 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 5 | Vanderbilt University | 7700 | 96200 | 0.9195 | 7,221 | 1527 | 0.0586 | |
| 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 | University of Pennsylvania | 9200 | 92900 | 0.9009 | 11,478 | 1536 | 0.054 | |
| 8 | Washington University in St Louis | 9200 | 102300 | 0.9104 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 10 | Bucknell University | 9600 | 91800 | 0.8959 | 3,920 | 1396 | 0.2893 | |
| 11 | Rice University | 9800 | 89100 | 0.8903 | 4,789 | 1535 | 0.08 | |
| 12 | University of California-Davis | 10200 | 38100 | 0.7328 | 32,273 | 1290 | 0.4183 | |
| 13 | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | 10600 | 26000 | 0.5929 | 22,033 | 1321 | 0.3132 | |
| 14 | Duke University | 10900 | 93600 | 0.8838 | 6,523 | 1527 | 0.0571 | |
| 15 | Marshall University | 11100 | 33400 | 0.6675 | 9,146 | 1065 | 0.9573 | |
| 16 | Cornell University | 11500 | 93100 | 0.8767 | 16,128 | 1521 | 0.0876 | |
| 16 | University of California-San Diego | 11500 | 39700 | 0.7102 | 34,955 | 1375 | 0.2671 | |
| 16 | University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 11500 | 29100 | 0.6053 | 40,684 | 1331 | 0.3915 | |
| 19 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 11600 | 27800 | 0.5818 | 20,885 | 1420 | 0.1534 | |
| 20 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 12200 | 25000 | 0.5113 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 21 | Boston University | 12300 | 92800 | 0.8676 | 18,805 | 1475 | 0.1111 | |
| 22 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 12500 | 28100 | 0.5551 | 8,553 | 1045 | 0.8688 | |
| 23 | North Carolina A & T State University | 12800 | 17900 | 0.2857 | 12,497 | 1075 | 0.499 | |
| 24 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 13300 | 13300 | 0 | 18,288 | 1090 | 0.9068 | |
| 25 | The University of Texas at Dallas | 13500 | 19400 | 0.304 | 21,858 | 1283 | 0.6513 | |
| 25 | University of Delaware | 13500 | 34500 | 0.6079 | 20,026 | 1294 | 0.706 | |
| 27 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 34600 | 0.6076 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 28 | University of Houston | 13700 | 22000 | 0.3766 | 39,257 | 1249 | 0.7392 | |
| 28 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 47300 | 0.7099 | 38,040 | 1418 | 0.452 | |
| 30 | Brown University | 13900 | 94000 | 0.8521 | 7,910 | 1535 | 0.0539 | |
| 31 | University of California-Merced | 14000 | 41900 | 0.666 | 8,372 | 1070 | 0.9053 | |
| 32 | Grand Valley State University | 14100 | 25300 | 0.4432 | 19,002 | 1084 | 0.8302 | |
| 32 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 34 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28800 | 0.5048 | 11,348 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 35 | Florida Gulf Coast University | 14400 | 20300 | 0.29 | 14,463 | 1125 | 0.6344 | |
| 36 | Northwestern University | 14600 | 88300 | 0.8348 | 9,399 | 1527 | 0.0769 | |
| 37 | Case Western Reserve University | 14700 | 91300 | 0.8394 | 6,528 | 1475 | 0.3654 | |
| 38 | Stanford University | 14800 | 71700 | 0.794 | 7,904 | 1535 | 0.0361 | |
| 39 | Lehigh University | 15400 | 89600 | 0.8286 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 40 | Alabama State University | 15500 | 24300 | 0.3632 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 41 | California State University-Long Beach | 16100 | 25800 | 0.3761 | 36,082 | 1135 | 0.4627 | |
| 42 | University of California-Los Angeles | 16300 | 36700 | 0.5554 | 33,475 | 1399 | 0.0897 | |
| 43 | Wayne State University | 16500 | 32900 | 0.4982 | 16,012 | 1174 | 0.8116 | |
| 43 | West Virginia University | 16500 | 40900 | 0.5963 | 18,206 | 1125 | 0.89 | |
| 45 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 16700 | 35700 | 0.5323 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8304 | |
| 46 | University of Louisville | 17500 | 29100 | 0.399 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 47 | University of Miami | 17700 | 95700 | 0.8149 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 48 | Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 17900 | 37700 | 0.5256 | 20,591 | 1435 | 0.1407 | |
| 49 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 18000 | 39000 | 0.5379 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 50 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 18200 | 18200 | 0 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 51 | University of Vermont | 18300 | 37800 | 0.5164 | 12,276 | 1379 | 0.653 | |
| 52 | University of Mississippi | 18500 | 45000 | 0.5893 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 53 | University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 18700 | 24700 | 0.2425 | 9,351 | 1195 | 0.8234 | |
| 54 | University of Central Oklahoma | 19100 | 22700 | 0.1586 | 10,777 | 1075 | 0.7812 | |
| 55 | University of Nevada-Reno | 19200 | 28200 | 0.3189 | 19,117 | 1134 | 0.7371 | |
| 56 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 950 | 0.9315 | |
| 57 | Texas A&M University-College Station | 19400 | 29900 | 0.3535 | 60,710 | 1278 | 0.5743 | |
| 58 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 19700 | 78700 | 0.7498 | 17,885 | 1470 | 0.1681 | |
| 58 | Wichita State University | 19700 | 29800 | 0.3383 | 13,313 | 1073 | 0.9395 | |
| 60 | University of Colorado Boulder | 19900 | 31900 | 0.3767 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7808 | |
| 61 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 75900 | 0.7369 | 20,630 | 1492 | 0.0981 | |
| 62 | University of Rochester | 20100 | 93100 | 0.7843 | 6,580 | 1462 | 0.4008 | |
| 62 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 20100 | 45200 | 0.5559 | 31,035 | 1366 | 0.5478 | |
| 64 | SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry | 20300 | 29300 | 0.3067 | 2,381 | 1239 | 0.6328 | |
| 65 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 20600 | 28500 | 0.2776 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 65 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 20600 | 42900 | 0.5204 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6579 | |
| 67 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 20700 | 39200 | 0.4722 | 11,355 | 1222 | 0.8816 | |
| 68 | University of Memphis | 20900 | 29600 | 0.2942 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 69 | Louisiana Tech University | 21400 | 26100 | 0.1802 | 10,881 | 1189 | 0.864 | |
| 70 | Tufts University | 21600 | 98900 | 0.7813 | 7,126 | 1507 | 0.1149 | |
| 71 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 21800 | 37300 | 0.4156 | 26,221 | 1204 | 0.8854 | |
| 72 | University of Illinois Chicago | 22200 | 30100 | 0.2629 | 22,495 | 1252 | 0.7735 | |
| 72 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 22200 | 33600 | 0.339 | 21,210 | 1148 | 0.9262 | |
| 74 | Montana State University | 22300 | 27100 | 0.1769 | 15,046 | 1184 | 0.8214 | |
| 75 | Florida State University | 22500 | 32400 | 0.306 | 32,720 | 1360 | 0.2422 | |
| 76 | South Dakota School of Mines and Technology | 22600 | 26900 | 0.1591 | 2,216 | 1268 | 0.7987 | |
| 77 | Illinois Institute of Technology | 22900 | 69800 | 0.6723 | 3,135 | 1307 | 0.5493 | |
| 78 | Indiana Institute of Technology | 23000 | 48800 | 0.5288 | 1,650 | 1055 | 0.7039 | |
| 78 | San Jose State University | 23000 | 41100 | 0.4405 | 28,008 | 1124 | 0.8461 | |
| 80 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23600 | 24900 | 0.0522 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 80 | Washington State University | 23600 | 38700 | 0.3897 | 21,455 | 1125 | 0.8664 | |
| 82 | University of Kentucky | 23700 | 36400 | 0.3477 | 25,534 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 82 | University of South Dakota | 23700 | 26000 | 0.0876 | 7,619 | 1120 | 0.9878 | |
| 84 | Miami University-Oxford | 24300 | 27500 | 0.1165 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 85 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 24400 | 30600 | 0.2026 | 10,200 | 1325 | 0.6507 | |
| 86 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24600 | 40500 | 0.3927 | 25,900 | 1375 | 0.5808 | |
| 87 | The College of New Jersey | 24700 | 38400 | 0.3564 | 7,435 | 1248 | 0.6229 | |
| 88 | Walla Walla University | 25600 | 51700 | 0.5046 | 1,313 | 1113 | 0.5077 | |
| 89 | University of North Dakota | 25800 | 28600 | 0.0973 | 11,033 | 1150 | 0.769 | |
| 90 | Messiah University | 26000 | 54300 | 0.5209 | 2,618 | 1241 | 0.7897 | |
| 91 | Stony Brook University | 26100 | 33200 | 0.2129 | 18,263 | 1410 | 0.4904 | |
| 92 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 26200 | 28400 | 0.0802 | 14,504 | 1149 | 0.7637 | |
| 93 | University of Mount Union | 26400 | 50900 | 0.4812 | 2,207 | 1089 | 0.782 | |
| 94 | Regis College | 26500 | 70700 | 0.6252 | 987 | 965 | 0.6978 | |
| 94 | Trine University | 26500 | 56100 | 0.5276 | 4,373 | 1159 | 0.8548 | |
| 96 | University of Arkansas | 26600 | 28900 | 0.079 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.743 | |
| 97 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 41500 | 0.3564 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 98 | Kansas State University | 27000 | 31400 | 0.1414 | 15,650 | 1164 | 0.8169 | |
| 99 | University of Arizona | 27100 | 38100 | 0.2888 | 44,848 | 1233 | 0.8614 | |
| 100 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 27300 | 36500 | 0.2522 | 7,505 | 1073 | 0.9633 | |
| 101 | Rowan University | 27400 | 41300 | 0.3369 | 16,100 | 1219 | 0.7766 | |
| 102 | Syracuse University | 27800 | 83100 | 0.6653 | 15,957 | 1363 | 0.4592 | |
| 103 | Dartmouth College | 28100 | 96000 | 0.7074 | 4,637 | 1521 | 0.054 | |
| 104 | George Fox University | 28300 | 69400 | 0.5925 | 3,354 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 105 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28500 | 32300 | 0.1176 | 11,160 | 1069 | 0.5967 | |
| 105 | University of Hartford | 28500 | 70100 | 0.5933 | 4,223 | 1224 | 0.9575 | |
| 107 | University of Utah | 28700 | 32000 | 0.1025 | 28,064 | 1237 | 0.8598 | |
| 108 | University of North Texas | 28900 | 37400 | 0.2271 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 109 | Michigan Technological University | 29000 | 34700 | 0.1643 | 6,013 | 1256 | 0.9243 | |
| 110 | Clemson University | 29100 | 37100 | 0.2176 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 110 | Marquette University | 29100 | 63800 | 0.544 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 112 | Gannon University | 29500 | 52900 | 0.4427 | 2,768 | 1133 | 0.7416 | |
| 113 | University of Toledo | 29700 | 42000 | 0.2926 | 11,013 | 1229 | 0.9202 | |
| 114 | Rochester Institute of Technology | 30300 | 78100 | 0.6118 | 14,267 | 1381 | 0.6693 | |
| 115 | Alfred University | 30600 | 67100 | 0.5438 | 1,442 | 1239 | 0.7384 | |
| 115 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 30600 | 38500 | 0.2052 | 7,890 | 1110 | 0.2056 | |
| 117 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4872 | 2,303 | 1124 | 0.6959 | |
| 118 | Lawrence Technological University | 32300 | 71900 | 0.5507 | 2,579 | 1159 | 0.559 | |
| 118 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 120 | North Carolina State University | 32700 | 54800 | 0.4031 | 28,422 | 1378 | 0.4174 | |
| 121 | University of Rhode Island | 32900 | 46400 | 0.2907 | 14,376 | 1148 | 0.7216 | |
| 122 | California Baptist University | 33400 | 65600 | 0.4908 | 8,417 | 1070 | 0.8488 | |
| 123 | Harding University | 33500 | 47800 | 0.2987 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 124 | George Washington University | 33700 | 81800 | 0.5881 | 11,677 | 1430 | 0.4709 | |
| 125 | LeTourneau University | 33900 | 54800 | 0.3817 | 3,187 | 1178 | 0.3801 | |
| 125 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 33900 | 36100 | 0.0609 | 33,033 | 1264 | 0.8529 | |
| 127 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 34200 | 70200 | 0.5131 | 2,704 | 1277 | 0.5893 | |
| 128 | Valparaiso University | 34900 | 62700 | 0.4428 | 2,123 | 1189 | 0.8943 | |
| 129 | University of South Florida | 35000 | 35000 | 0 | 38,525 | 1239 | 0.4319 | |
| 130 | Stevenson University | 35300 | 59900 | 0.4105 | 3,106 | 1100 | 0.7891 | |
| 131 | New York Institute of Technology | 35400 | 83600 | 0.5769 | 3,646 | 1298 | 0.8102 | |
| 131 | Temple University | 35400 | 56400 | 0.3724 | 21,457 | 1135 | 0.8041 | |
| 133 | University of the Pacific | 35600 | 71500 | 0.5024 | 3,249 | 1298 | 0.7132 | |
| 134 | Mississippi State University | 36200 | 50500 | 0.283 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 135 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 36500 | 47500 | 0.2317 | 65,450 | 1203 | 0.8989 | |
| 135 | Florida International University | 36500 | 36800 | 0.0081 | 45,193 | 1175 | 0.5466 | |
| 137 | University of Connecticut | 37200 | 53600 | 0.3062 | 20,056 | 1329 | 0.5239 | |
| 138 | Hofstra University | 38200 | 76900 | 0.5032 | 6,581 | 1328 | 0.6808 | |
| 139 | Western New England University | 38700 | 69200 | 0.4409 | 2,616 | 1199 | 0.8348 | |
| 140 | University of Maine | 39900 | 45200 | 0.1173 | 9,601 | 1205 | 0.9664 | |
| 141 | Endicott College | 40300 | 64200 | 0.3722 | 3,194 | 1275 | 0.7121 | |
| 142 | Johnson & Wales University-Providence | 40400 | 66000 | 0.3874 | 3,908 | 1050 | 0.8841 | |
| 142 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | 40400 | 42500 | 0.0495 | 13,921 | 1119 | 0.7468 | |
| 144 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 40700 | 53600 | 0.2408 | 46,815 | 1378 | 0.6057 | |
| 145 | Loyola University Chicago | 41000 | 70600 | 0.4192 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 146 | Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | 41500 | 83200 | 0.5012 | 2,315 | 1404 | 0.7686 | |
| 147 | University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth | 41900 | 53200 | 0.2124 | 5,731 | 1174 | 0.9064 | |
| 148 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 42400 | 42400 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.784 | |
| 149 | University of Florida | 43100 | 45700 | 0.057 | 36,573 | 1399 | 0.242 | |
| 150 | Florida Institute of Technology | 43300 | 68600 | 0.3686 | 3,666 | 1224 | 0.577 | |
| 151 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43800 | 57100 | 0.2328 | 23,329 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 152 | University at Buffalo | 43900 | 46700 | 0.06 | 20,359 | 1303 | 0.7418 | |
| 153 | Oregon State University | 44900 | 61900 | 0.2752 | 31,253 | 1272 | 0.773 | |
| 154 | Duquesne University | 45200 | 70500 | 0.3586 | 5,371 | 1274 | 0.8356 | |
| 155 | Widener University | 45700 | 79400 | 0.4246 | 2,975 | 1184 | 0.7093 | |
| 156 | Fairfield University | 46000 | 84300 | 0.4542 | 5,391 | 1350 | 0.3329 | |
| 156 | Saint Louis University | 46000 | 80900 | 0.4312 | 10,413 | 1305 | 0.7504 | |
| 158 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 46100 | 86300 | 0.4656 | 5,741 | 1438 | 0.6347 | |
| 159 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 47900 | 67900 | 0.2945 | 3,965 | 1229 | 0.9121 | |
| 160 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48000 | 55800 | 0.1398 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 161 | Tulane University of Louisiana | 48400 | 91400 | 0.4706 | 8,192 | 1451 | 0.1398 | |
| 162 | Purdue University-Main Campus | 48500 | 51200 | 0.0543 | 44,819 | 1327 | 0.4987 | |
| 163 | Drexel University | 48600 | 83900 | 0.4208 | 13,309 | 1339 | 0.7944 | |
| 164 | University of California-Riverside | 49200 | 66000 | 0.2547 | 22,600 | 1199 | 0.7639 | |
| 165 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 49500 | 85800 | 0.4229 | 4,236 | 1445 | 0.4758 | |
| 166 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49700 | 59400 | 0.1633 | 43,165 | 1356 | 0.2664 | |
| 167 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 49800 | 62200 | 0.1995 | 37,140 | 1406 | 0.4237 | |
| 168 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 50300 | 83600 | 0.3982 | 5,558 | 1292 | 0.6016 | |
| 169 | Binghamton University | 50500 | 52800 | 0.0432 | 14,669 | 1415 | 0.3861 | |
| 170 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 50800 | 84700 | 0.4003 | 34,454 | 1435 | 0.1564 | |
| 171 | University of Iowa | 50900 | 53200 | 0.0429 | 22,738 | 1208 | 0.8362 | |
| 172 | University of Minnesota Twin Cities | 53200 | 61000 | 0.1291 | 41,303 | 1338 | 0.7975 | |
| 173 | George Mason University | 53500 | 61000 | 0.123 | 28,334 | 1268 | 0.8748 | |
| 174 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 53600 | 62800 | 0.1465 | 23,920 | 1397 | 0.5973 | |
| 175 | University of Missouri-Columbia | 53900 | 59200 | 0.0892 | 24,449 | 1256 | 0.7847 | |
| 176 | Santa Clara University | 57400 | 85400 | 0.3279 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 177 | Hawaii Pacific University | 63500 | 65800 | 0.0346 | 3,533 | 1120 | 0.8587 | |
| 178 | University of California-Berkeley | 70800 | 76100 | 0.0697 | 33,070 | 1407 | 0.1098 | |
| 179 | University of California-Irvine | 72000 | 75600 | 0.0476 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2857 | |
| 180 | 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.