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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 | California Institute of Technology | 6800 | 91800 | 0.9264 | 987 | 1557 | 0.0257 | |
| 2 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22000 | 0.6362 | 32,952 | 1374 | 0.6778 | |
| 3 | Washington University in St Louis | 9300 | 102300 | 0.909 | 8,220 | 1513 | 0.1206 | |
| 4 | Stephen F Austin State University | 10200 | 27800 | 0.632 | 9,129 | 1060 | 0.7445 | |
| 5 | The University of Texas at San Antonio | 10400 | 25000 | 0.5832 | 31,127 | 1115 | 0.8679 | |
| 6 | Valdosta State University | 10500 | 24800 | 0.5775 | 7,206 | 1015 | 0.7214 | |
| 7 | The University of Texas at El Paso | 11700 | 48200 | 0.7577 | 20,609 | 990 | 0.999 | |
| 7 | Wichita State University | 11700 | 29800 | 0.6086 | 14,280 | 1094 | 0.7211 | |
| 9 | Tennessee State University | 11800 | 48200 | 0.7544 | 5,057 | 980 | 0.7018 | |
| 10 | Midwestern State University | 12000 | 21600 | 0.4439 | 4,303 | 1055 | 0.9347 | |
| 11 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 12100 | 43000 | 0.7186 | 23,181 | 1354 | 0.3296 | |
| 12 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 12700 | 34600 | 0.6336 | 8,975 | 1065 | 0.9721 | |
| 13 | University of West Florida | 12900 | 21500 | 0.3995 | 9,661 | 1120 | 0.5687 | |
| 14 | Louisiana Tech University | 13000 | 36900 | 0.6476 | 11,071 | 1164 | 0.9073 | |
| 14 | West Virginia University | 13000 | 57700 | 0.7745 | 18,614 | 1125 | 0.778 | |
| 16 | Northern Illinois University | 13200 | 29000 | 0.5435 | 11,349 | 1070 | 0.6979 | |
| 17 | Middle Tennessee State University | 13400 | 23200 | 0.4223 | 18,042 | 1140 | 0.6909 | |
| 17 | University of Idaho | 13400 | 25800 | 0.4808 | 9,574 | 1119 | 0.7553 | |
| 17 | Youngstown State University | 13400 | 26800 | 0.4996 | 8,436 | 1065 | 0.8066 | |
| 20 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | 13600 | 27600 | 0.508 | 11,756 | 1124 | 0.8727 | |
| 21 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 13700 | 38900 | 0.6471 | 17,940 | 1281 | 0.6557 | |
| 22 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 13800 | 19400 | 0.2887 | 14,416 | 1205 | 0.8851 | |
| 23 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 13900 | 25700 | 0.4586 | 46,815 | 1339 | 0.6057 | |
| 24 | Arkansas Tech University | 14000 | 35900 | 0.6093 | 8,145 | 1035 | 0.9589 | |
| 25 | Union College | 14100 | 92400 | 0.8473 | 2,065 | 1393 | 0.4392 | |
| 26 | Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 14400 | 26500 | 0.4563 | 22,351 | 1159 | 0.7504 | |
| 26 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale | 14400 | 28000 | 0.4854 | 8,553 | 1054 | 0.8688 | |
| 28 | University of Georgia | 14800 | 26600 | 0.4446 | 31,514 | 1336 | 0.3719 | |
| 29 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15100 | 29000 | 0.4808 | 5,241 | 1075 | 0.8613 | |
| 29 | Troy University | 15100 | 32600 | 0.5365 | 10,222 | 1090 | 0.9604 | |
| 31 | University of California-Irvine | 15200 | 36300 | 0.5811 | 30,204 | 1333 | 0.2878 | |
| 32 | The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 15500 | 25600 | 0.3938 | 9,982 | 1125 | 0.7702 | |
| 32 | University of Maine at Farmington | 15500 | 23200 | 0.3313 | 1,677 | 1124 | 0.9672 | |
| 34 | Lehigh University | 15600 | 89600 | 0.8263 | 5,911 | 1436 | 0.2593 | |
| 35 | James Madison University | 15800 | 28900 | 0.4537 | 21,112 | 1260 | 0.7151 | |
| 35 | University of Memphis | 15800 | 26400 | 0.4023 | 15,770 | 1075 | 0.7203 | |
| 35 | University of North Florida | 15800 | 33000 | 0.5216 | 13,735 | 1150 | 0.5324 | |
| 38 | Sam Houston State University | 16000 | 30300 | 0.4716 | 17,787 | 1030 | 0.9026 | |
| 39 | Ohio University-Main Campus | 16100 | 23200 | 0.306 | 19,888 | 1209 | 0.8517 | |
| 40 | Lamar University | 16200 | 22900 | 0.2922 | 8,218 | 1045 | 0.857 | |
| 41 | Lewis University | 16400 | 57700 | 0.7155 | 4,326 | 1099 | 0.7128 | |
| 42 | Jacksonville State University | 16500 | 27000 | 0.3896 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 43 | Eastern Michigan University | 16600 | 32000 | 0.4795 | 10,470 | 1055 | 0.7964 | |
| 43 | University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 16600 | 22300 | 0.2554 | 24,868 | 1214 | 0.796 | |
| 45 | Texas State University | 16800 | 26800 | 0.3727 | 36,268 | 1100 | 0.8908 | |
| 46 | Georgia State University | 17400 | 45500 | 0.617 | 27,438 | 1089 | 0.5543 | |
| 46 | Greensboro College | 17400 | 37800 | 0.5396 | 899 | 1005 | 0.7014 | |
| 46 | Weber State University | 17400 | 41300 | 0.5782 | 31,672 | 1075 | 1 | |
| 49 | Francis Marion University | 17500 | 24100 | 0.2743 | 3,635 | 1015 | 0.8639 | |
| 50 | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | 17700 | 20700 | 0.1449 | 8,320 | 1074 | 0.8858 | |
| 50 | University of Miami | 17700 | 96300 | 0.8159 | 13,250 | 1406 | 0.189 | |
| 52 | The University of Texas at Tyler | 17800 | 50400 | 0.6471 | 7,683 | 1120 | 0.9402 | |
| 52 | University of Arkansas | 17800 | 27700 | 0.3585 | 28,859 | 1179 | 0.7431 | |
| 52 | Virginia State University | 17800 | 29500 | 0.3963 | 4,829 | 926 | 0.891 | |
| 55 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 17900 | 52500 | 0.659 | 21,210 | 1171 | 0.9232 | |
| 56 | Georgia Southern University | 18100 | 23800 | 0.2399 | 23,618 | 1065 | 0.8789 | |
| 56 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 18100 | 36500 | 0.5044 | 7,505 | 1059 | 0.9633 | |
| 58 | University of Arizona | 18600 | 30900 | 0.3987 | 45,025 | 1212 | 0.8614 | |
| 59 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 18900 | 18900 | 0 | 14,449 | 1195 | 0.7816 | |
| 60 | Jackson State University | 19300 | 28000 | 0.3102 | 4,650 | 965 | 0.4823 | |
| 60 | University of West Georgia | 19300 | 24900 | 0.225 | 9,157 | 1040 | 0.5161 | |
| 62 | University of Mississippi | 19400 | 27000 | 0.2814 | 21,585 | 1182 | 0.9658 | |
| 62 | Wheaton College | 19400 | 84800 | 0.7712 | 2,119 | 1351 | 0.8998 | |
| 64 | Bradley University | 20100 | 48500 | 0.5849 | 3,596 | 1174 | 0.7675 | |
| 64 | South Carolina State University | 20100 | 42000 | 0.5209 | 2,950 | 910 | 0.8262 | |
| 66 | Georgia College & State University | 20400 | 52400 | 0.6106 | 6,006 | 1165 | 0.7823 | |
| 66 | Grove City College | 20400 | 39700 | 0.4868 | 2,341 | 1256 | 0.7232 | |
| 66 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Erie-Behrend College | 20400 | 41300 | 0.5061 | 3,244 | 1224 | 0.9683 | |
| 69 | Boise State University | 20600 | 59700 | 0.655 | 24,030 | 1025 | 0.8721 | |
| 69 | Utica University | 20600 | 43400 | 0.5249 | 2,333 | 1120 | 0.8679 | |
| 71 | University of Wyoming | 20700 | 27900 | 0.2588 | 8,130 | 1159 | 0.9688 | |
| 72 | Loyola University New Orleans | 20800 | 72100 | 0.7113 | 3,032 | 1145 | 0.9305 | |
| 72 | Western Illinois University | 20800 | 31000 | 0.3286 | 4,525 | 1000 | 0.7118 | |
| 74 | University of the Incarnate Word | 20900 | 73100 | 0.7143 | 4,638 | 1035 | 0.9815 | |
| 75 | Tarleton State University | 21000 | 23000 | 0.087 | 15,130 | 1095 | 0.5256 | |
| 76 | Kennesaw State University | 21400 | 27200 | 0.2133 | 42,840 | 1120 | 0.6919 | |
| 76 | University of Louisiana at Lafayette | 21400 | 42700 | 0.499 | 13,179 | 1110 | 0.8883 | |
| 78 | Louisiana Christian University | 21500 | 26000 | 0.1733 | 803 | 1065 | 0.8379 | |
| 79 | Pennsylvania Western University | 21700 | 28200 | 0.2309 | 7,586 | 0 | 0.9433 | |
| 80 | Bentley University | 22000 | 85500 | 0.7426 | 4,526 | 1359 | 0.4505 | |
| 81 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 22100 | 59900 | 0.6309 | 34,242 | 1273 | 0.7333 | |
| 81 | South Dakota State University | 22100 | 25200 | 0.1243 | 10,728 | 1120 | 0.9834 | |
| 83 | West Texas A & M University | 22200 | 22400 | 0.0089 | 6,930 | 1060 | 0.5863 | |
| 84 | Southern Connecticut State University | 22500 | 59600 | 0.6225 | 7,252 | 965 | 0.9482 | |
| 85 | Allegheny College | 22700 | 75400 | 0.6994 | 1,171 | 1269 | 0.5452 | |
| 86 | SUNY Oneonta | 23400 | 49300 | 0.5258 | 4,681 | 1190 | 0.6959 | |
| 87 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 23800 | 26300 | 0.0952 | 30,187 | 1292 | 0.6015 | |
| 88 | University of Alabama in Huntsville | 23900 | 30500 | 0.2162 | 6,800 | 1245 | 0.6857 | |
| 88 | University of Kentucky | 23900 | 36100 | 0.3386 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 90 | Ave Maria University | 24000 | 45400 | 0.4712 | 1,250 | 1193 | 0.4481 | |
| 91 | Northern Arizona University | 24100 | 43700 | 0.4487 | 22,991 | 1145 | 0.8961 | |
| 91 | Our Lady of the Lake University | 24100 | 58100 | 0.5848 | 1,147 | 990 | 0.7246 | |
| 93 | University of Alabama at Birmingham | 24700 | 28500 | 0.1335 | 11,959 | 1260 | 0.8818 | |
| 94 | Northwood University | 25200 | 54500 | 0.5381 | 1,989 | 1075 | 0.839 | |
| 95 | Hope College | 25400 | 60100 | 0.5772 | 3,395 | 1245 | 0.7924 | |
| 96 | Northwest Nazarene University | 25500 | 75700 | 0.6635 | 1,043 | 1145 | 0.7159 | |
| 96 | The University of Tennessee-Martin | 25500 | 31500 | 0.1906 | 6,817 | 1110 | 0.882 | |
| 96 | University of Redlands | 25500 | 84200 | 0.6975 | 2,045 | 1226 | 0.8271 | |
| 99 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | 25800 | 39200 | 0.3419 | 4,478 | 1065 | 0.8132 | |
| 100 | East Tennessee State University | 25900 | 30600 | 0.1535 | 10,633 | 1124 | 0.8706 | |
| 100 | University of North Dakota | 25900 | 28600 | 0.0923 | 11,033 | 1189 | 0.769 | |
| 102 | Saginaw Valley State University | 26000 | 38900 | 0.3329 | 6,152 | 1050 | 0.7207 | |
| 102 | Westminster University | 26000 | 81400 | 0.6807 | 842 | 1233 | 0.6657 | |
| 104 | Aquinas College | 26200 | 53400 | 0.5098 | 1,019 | 1035 | 0.8988 | |
| 104 | Grand Valley State University | 26200 | 36300 | 0.2786 | 19,002 | 1233 | 0.8302 | |
| 104 | Iowa State University | 26200 | 42800 | 0.3878 | 25,628 | 1207 | 0.8866 | |
| 104 | Oklahoma Wesleyan University | 26200 | 61400 | 0.5725 | 824 | 1060 | 0.7703 | |
| 104 | University of Mary Hardin-Baylor | 26200 | 53800 | 0.5132 | 2,803 | 1085 | 0.9576 | |
| 109 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 26300 | 43000 | 0.388 | 5,789 | 1060 | 0.5774 | |
| 110 | Benedictine University | 26500 | 48900 | 0.4581 | 1,972 | 1150 | 0.9523 | |
| 110 | Oklahoma City University | 26500 | 62200 | 0.5738 | 1,514 | 1174 | 0.7702 | |
| 110 | Washburn University | 26500 | 36300 | 0.2697 | 5,331 | 1095 | 1 | |
| 113 | Oakland University | 26800 | 39700 | 0.325 | 12,587 | 1050 | 0.8784 | |
| 114 | Capital University | 27200 | 80300 | 0.6614 | 1,609 | 1084 | 0.7022 | |
| 115 | Cleveland State University | 27300 | 37300 | 0.2682 | 9,418 | 1105 | 0.913 | |
| 116 | Cornell College | 27500 | 74800 | 0.6322 | 1,085 | 1243 | 0.8066 | |
| 117 | George Fox University | 27700 | 76800 | 0.6393 | 3,401 | 1193 | 0.9351 | |
| 117 | Marquette University | 27700 | 66200 | 0.5813 | 8,045 | 1309 | 0.8134 | |
| 119 | Ottawa University-Ottawa | 27800 | 67800 | 0.5902 | 936 | 995 | 0.8003 | |
| 120 | Villanova University | 27900 | 88800 | 0.6856 | 7,006 | 1457 | 0.2698 | |
| 121 | John Brown University | 28200 | 48300 | 0.4166 | 1,882 | 1220 | 0.6764 | |
| 122 | Missouri Valley College | 28300 | 38200 | 0.2592 | 1,558 | 1010 | 0.5269 | |
| 123 | Beloit College | 30400 | 97600 | 0.6884 | 1,004 | 1298 | 0.6304 | |
| 124 | University of North Texas | 30500 | 37400 | 0.1844 | 34,458 | 1114 | 0.7223 | |
| 125 | Samford University | 30600 | 78000 | 0.6074 | 4,210 | 1199 | 0.8236 | |
| 126 | The College of Wooster | 30800 | 82400 | 0.6264 | 1,738 | 1344 | 0.5953 | |
| 127 | Azusa Pacific University | 30900 | 66600 | 0.5357 | 2,996 | 1138 | 0.7959 | |
| 127 | Wofford College | 30900 | 73200 | 0.5784 | 1,817 | 1305 | 0.5194 | |
| 129 | Carroll University | 31200 | 61500 | 0.4929 | 2,581 | 1174 | 0.6684 | |
| 130 | Coastal Carolina University | 31300 | 45100 | 0.3061 | 10,811 | 1145 | 0.7527 | |
| 131 | Angelo State University | 31800 | 35400 | 0.1027 | 9,779 | 1055 | 0.8301 | |
| 131 | University of Dayton | 31800 | 64200 | 0.5048 | 7,740 | 1284 | 0.6566 | |
| 133 | DePaul University | 32000 | 67100 | 0.5231 | 14,188 | 1218 | 0.7589 | |
| 133 | Rider University | 32000 | 60600 | 0.472 | 3,196 | 1214 | 0.794 | |
| 135 | Hampton University | 32300 | 62400 | 0.482 | 3,728 | 956 | 0.6225 | |
| 136 | Ohio Wesleyan University | 32400 | 93400 | 0.6533 | 1,525 | 1283 | 0.556 | |
| 137 | Belmont University | 32500 | 69900 | 0.5359 | 7,167 | 1273 | 0.9528 | |
| 138 | Suffolk University | 32600 | 69700 | 0.5326 | 4,324 | 1209 | 0.822 | |
| 139 | North Carolina State University | 32800 | 54800 | 0.4004 | 28,422 | 1335 | 0.4167 | |
| 140 | University of Louisville | 33500 | 42000 | 0.2026 | 17,086 | 1148 | 0.7941 | |
| 141 | Elizabethtown College | 33700 | 55900 | 0.3974 | 1,903 | 1214 | 0.7787 | |
| 142 | Loyola University Chicago | 34000 | 68100 | 0.5008 | 12,538 | 1303 | 0.816 | |
| 143 | Salisbury University | 34200 | 41700 | 0.1797 | 6,288 | 1250 | 0.8747 | |
| 144 | Hofstra University | 34700 | 77000 | 0.5492 | 6,581 | 1323 | 0.6808 | |
| 145 | State University of New York at Cortland | 35800 | 39900 | 0.1029 | 5,911 | 1175 | 0.5979 | |
| 146 | Cedarville University | 35900 | 57000 | 0.3709 | 4,916 | 1247 | 0.6488 | |
| 147 | Berry College | 36000 | 60900 | 0.4091 | 2,254 | 1219 | 0.64 | |
| 148 | Loyola University Maryland | 36300 | 78800 | 0.5394 | 3,881 | 1309 | 0.7549 | |
| 148 | Mississippi State University | 36300 | 50500 | 0.2801 | 18,567 | 1214 | 0.7764 | |
| 150 | Seattle University | 36500 | 74600 | 0.5105 | 4,103 | 1243 | 0.7703 | |
| 151 | Western Kentucky University | 36600 | 42300 | 0.1348 | 14,151 | 1090 | 0.9387 | |
| 152 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 36700 | 39900 | 0.0786 | 5,086 | 1000 | 0.9821 | |
| 153 | Clark Atlanta University | 36800 | 61700 | 0.4037 | 3,495 | 1000 | 0.6463 | |
| 154 | California State University-Long Beach | 37400 | 38600 | 0.0311 | 35,843 | 1135 | 0.4628 | |
| 155 | Xavier University | 37500 | 67500 | 0.4445 | 4,239 | 1218 | 0.8669 | |
| 156 | Saint Francis University | 37900 | 62800 | 0.3967 | 2,450 | 1150 | 0.7916 | |
| 157 | Westmont College | 38300 | 80300 | 0.523 | 1,311 | 1324 | 0.7704 | |
| 158 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 38700 | 53400 | 0.2754 | 30,564 | 1302 | 0.416 | |
| 159 | Arcadia University | 39400 | 71600 | 0.4491 | 2,030 | 1185 | 0.8022 | |
| 160 | Nichols College | 39600 | 59600 | 0.3359 | 1,152 | 1095 | 0.8814 | |
| 160 | University of Central Florida | 39600 | 39600 | 0 | 59,649 | 1280 | 0.4471 | |
| 162 | Seton Hall University | 39700 | 67400 | 0.4107 | 6,146 | 1313 | 0.7326 | |
| 163 | Arkansas State University | 40300 | 40800 | 0.012 | 9,985 | 1075 | 0.7959 | |
| 164 | Saint Vincent College | 41400 | 64600 | 0.3582 | 1,284 | 0 | 0.6173 | |
| 165 | Widener University | 42300 | 79400 | 0.4674 | 2,811 | 1155 | 0.8402 | |
| 166 | Susquehanna University | 42400 | 76800 | 0.4481 | 2,185 | 1204 | 0.7871 | |
| 167 | Appalachian State University | 43600 | 43600 | 0 | 19,560 | 1159 | 0.9014 | |
| 167 | Merrimack College | 43600 | 78800 | 0.4472 | 4,199 | 1115 | 0.7361 | |
| 169 | Mercyhurst University | 43800 | 66400 | 0.3405 | 2,274 | 1189 | 0.8102 | |
| 170 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 43900 | 57100 | 0.2302 | 23,351 | 1239 | 0.766 | |
| 171 | Saint Louis University | 44600 | 80900 | 0.4485 | 10,436 | 1260 | 0.7504 | |
| 172 | University of Maine | 45200 | 45200 | 0 | 591 | 1199 | 0.9684 | |
| 173 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 48300 | 60000 | 0.1949 | 31,112 | 1114 | 0.8129 | |
| 174 | Molloy University | 48900 | 62300 | 0.2152 | 3,240 | 1199 | 0.8174 | |
| 175 | Chapman University | 51400 | 94000 | 0.4534 | 7,713 | 1357 | 0.6543 | |
| 176 | Miami University-Oxford | 56600 | 56600 | 0 | 16,816 | 1299 | 0.754 | |
| 177 | Santa Clara University | 57700 | 85400 | 0.3244 | 6,577 | 1427 | 0.48 | |
| 178 | Presbyterian College | 59800 | 62700 | 0.0462 | 853 | 1105 | 0.6837 |
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.