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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 | University of Michigan-Flint | 5000 | 44000 | 0.8868 | 5,534 | 1079 | 0.6734 | |
| 2 | Northwestern University | 6600 | 88300 | 0.9254 | 9,060 | 1533 | 0.0769 | |
| 3 | Savannah State University | 6800 | 28000 | 0.756 | 2,966 | 950 | 1 | |
| 4 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 8900 | 96500 | 0.9082 | 9,164 | 1535 | 0.0386 | |
| 4 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 8900 | 38900 | 0.7719 | 38,572 | 1455 | 0.3659 | |
| 6 | Portland State University | 9400 | 73900 | 0.8726 | 14,932 | 1174 | 0.8586 | |
| 7 | Southeastern Oklahoma State University | 10300 | 42400 | 0.7566 | 3,224 | 1085 | 0.7643 | |
| 8 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell | 11400 | 40100 | 0.7156 | 12,122 | 1283 | 0.8296 | |
| 9 | Wayne State University | 12400 | 32900 | 0.6228 | 16,390 | 1183 | 0.8359 | |
| 10 | University of North Florida | 12600 | 22400 | 0.438 | 14,837 | 1124 | 0.6815 | |
| 11 | University of South Florida | 12800 | 16300 | 0.2143 | 39,093 | 1255 | 0.4071 | |
| 12 | Central Connecticut State University | 13200 | 34200 | 0.6138 | 9,463 | 1020 | 0.793 | |
| 12 | Texas A&M University-Commerce | 13200 | 27600 | 0.5213 | 9,666 | 1040 | 0.7498 | |
| 12 | University of Louisiana at Monroe | 13200 | 52800 | 0.7503 | 6,761 | 1105 | 0.8475 | |
| 15 | Valdosta State University | 13300 | 23500 | 0.4346 | 7,199 | 1005 | 0.7769 | |
| 16 | Coastal Carolina University | 13400 | 72300 | 0.8149 | 11,471 | 1160 | 0.7003 | |
| 17 | SUNY Polytechnic Institute | 13500 | 13500 | 0 | 1,973 | 1189 | 0.8142 | |
| 18 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 13600 | 38400 | 0.6464 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 19 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 13700 | 61700 | 0.7784 | 39,193 | 1418 | 0.4081 | |
| 20 | Fairmont State University | 13800 | 21600 | 0.3605 | 3,090 | 970 | 0.9862 | |
| 21 | University of South Carolina-Upstate | 13900 | 34500 | 0.5969 | 4,789 | 1040 | 0.6671 | |
| 22 | University of Wisconsin-Green Bay | 14100 | 19600 | 0.2805 | 10,995 | 1090 | 0.7476 | |
| 23 | Northern Illinois University | 14300 | 28100 | 0.4927 | 12,118 | 1070 | 0.7164 | |
| 23 | University of North Georgia | 14300 | 56800 | 0.7485 | 19,321 | 1100 | 0.9618 | |
| 25 | Northwestern State University of Louisiana | 14500 | 28600 | 0.4937 | 7,501 | 1055 | 0.9467 | |
| 26 | University of California-Riverside | 14600 | 118100 | 0.8761 | 24,034 | 1199 | 0.8609 | |
| 27 | Wayne State College | 14900 | 26400 | 0.4352 | 3,886 | 0 | 1 | |
| 28 | Coppin State University | 15100 | 51800 | 0.7078 | 1,908 | 950 | 0.4583 | |
| 28 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny | 15100 | 43300 | 0.6514 | 308 | 1144 | 0.9053 | |
| 30 | Alabama State University | 15500 | 24300 | 0.3632 | 3,521 | 945 | 0.9755 | |
| 30 | Jacksonville State University | 15500 | 42900 | 0.638 | 8,663 | 1069 | 0.7769 | |
| 32 | The University of Texas at Arlington | 15900 | 27700 | 0.4254 | 32,545 | 1129 | 0.799 | |
| 33 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 16600 | 64800 | 0.7439 | 22,007 | 1427 | 0.1672 | |
| 34 | Southern University at New Orleans | 16700 | 41400 | 0.5973 | 2,179 | 950 | 0.789 | |
| 35 | Boston College | 17100 | 122200 | 0.8597 | 9,677 | 1484 | 0.1422 | |
| 36 | College of Charleston | 17200 | 43600 | 0.6049 | 10,596 | 1234 | 0.73 | |
| 36 | University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown | 17200 | 43500 | 0.6051 | 1,829 | 1149 | 0.945 | |
| 38 | University of Kentucky | 17500 | 46800 | 0.6264 | 25,535 | 1193 | 0.9294 | |
| 39 | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | 17600 | 27400 | 0.3571 | 18,667 | 1090 | 0.9711 | |
| 40 | University of South Alabama | 17700 | 40600 | 0.5635 | 9,530 | 1140 | 0.9455 | |
| 41 | College of Staten Island CUNY | 18000 | 54300 | 0.6684 | 10,368 | 1064 | 0.999 | |
| 41 | Kennesaw State University | 18000 | 61500 | 0.7069 | 46,069 | 1119 | 0.7944 | |
| 43 | Notre Dame of Maryland University | 18100 | 68100 | 0.7344 | 711 | 1030 | 0.8214 | |
| 43 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | 18100 | 25200 | 0.2814 | 7,088 | 1100 | 0.7448 | |
| 43 | The University of Texas Permian Basin | 18100 | 28600 | 0.3669 | 3,991 | 1010 | 0.9654 | |
| 46 | Angelo State University | 18300 | 23100 | 0.2072 | 10,103 | 1045 | 0.7981 | |
| 47 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Hazleton | 18700 | 44600 | 0.5804 | 504 | 1200 | 0.9095 | |
| 47 | San Jose State University | 18700 | 41100 | 0.5452 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 49 | Texas A&M University-Victoria | 18900 | 25000 | 0.2442 | 2,627 | 1000 | 0.5253 | |
| 50 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Schuylkill | 19100 | 32900 | 0.42 | 653 | 1145 | 0.7972 | |
| 51 | Norwich University | 19600 | 76000 | 0.7417 | 2,626 | 1186 | 0.7444 | |
| 51 | Rutgers University-Newark | 19600 | 39200 | 0.5005 | 7,989 | 1159 | 0.7136 | |
| 51 | Saint Xavier University | 19600 | 57000 | 0.6559 | 3,100 | 1050 | 0.843 | |
| 54 | University of Illinois Chicago | 19700 | 30100 | 0.3453 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 55 | Syracuse University | 19800 | 83600 | 0.7632 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 56 | Dakota State University | 20400 | 22500 | 0.0912 | 3,085 | 1174 | 0.9241 | |
| 56 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 20400 | 25500 | 0.2 | 31,845 | 1298 | 0.5651 | |
| 58 | Grove City College | 20500 | 39700 | 0.4842 | 2,247 | 1248 | 0.667 | |
| 59 | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota | 20600 | 57800 | 0.6433 | 1,109 | 1175 | 0.9088 | |
| 60 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington | 20700 | 48100 | 0.5694 | 2,710 | 1218 | 0.9374 | |
| 61 | University of Maryland-College Park | 21000 | 35000 | 0.4004 | 31,875 | 1456 | 0.4503 | |
| 62 | Thiel College | 21200 | 88800 | 0.7617 | 830 | 1065 | 0.7189 | |
| 63 | Luther College | 21500 | 75400 | 0.7153 | 1,384 | 1226 | 0.8398 | |
| 64 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine | 21600 | 46000 | 0.5306 | 1,078 | 1217 | 0.9646 | |
| 64 | Salisbury University | 21600 | 29300 | 0.2628 | 6,477 | 1245 | 0.8826 | |
| 66 | Bradley University | 21800 | 59400 | 0.6334 | 3,258 | 1174 | 0.7459 | |
| 67 | Grand Valley State University | 21900 | 36600 | 0.4016 | 19,154 | 1074 | 0.9271 | |
| 68 | Texas Southern University | 22100 | 25500 | 0.1335 | 6,844 | 915 | 0.9691 | |
| 69 | Averett University | 22300 | 57400 | 0.612 | 1,244 | 1054 | 0.5659 | |
| 70 | Brigham Young University-Hawaii | 22600 | 25400 | 0.1104 | 2,907 | 1125 | 0.4696 | |
| 71 | Fort Hays State University | 22900 | 28500 | 0.196 | 10,172 | 1075 | 0.9026 | |
| 71 | Pennsylvania Western University | 22900 | 34400 | 0.334 | 7,586 | 1045 | 0.9433 | |
| 73 | Lamar University | 23000 | 37500 | 0.3867 | 8,387 | 1040 | 0.8353 | |
| 74 | Florida Memorial University | 23100 | 41500 | 0.4433 | 1,206 | 0 | 0.8526 | |
| 74 | Robert Morris University | 23100 | 58000 | 0.6012 | 4,325 | 1145 | 0.8989 | |
| 76 | Houghton University | 23200 | 44300 | 0.4763 | 958 | 1277 | 0.89 | |
| 77 | Columbia College | 23600 | 65100 | 0.6372 | 876 | 1025 | 0.8878 | |
| 78 | Dominican University | 24000 | 56000 | 0.5723 | 2,642 | 1005 | 0.8879 | |
| 79 | University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 24200 | 42000 | 0.4243 | 21,388 | 1369 | 0.5945 | |
| 80 | Western Oregon University | 24600 | 24600 | 0 | 3,034 | 1120 | 0.8345 | |
| 81 | Emporia State University | 24800 | 32000 | 0.2249 | 2,396 | 1075 | 0.9771 | |
| 82 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock | 24900 | 55700 | 0.5532 | 5,939 | 1065 | 0.5878 | |
| 83 | Concord University | 25000 | 41900 | 0.4038 | 1,638 | 1015 | 0.9728 | |
| 84 | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | 25200 | 28900 | 0.1282 | 8,673 | 1095 | 0.9156 | |
| 85 | Central College | 25600 | 38700 | 0.3388 | 1,050 | 1159 | 0.8698 | |
| 86 | Loyola University Maryland | 25800 | 78800 | 0.6727 | 4,013 | 1329 | 0.6986 | |
| 86 | Northwood University | 25800 | 75700 | 0.6596 | 2,045 | 1055 | 0.6451 | |
| 88 | University of North Texas | 25900 | 36900 | 0.2983 | 34,414 | 1094 | 0.7089 | |
| 89 | Minnesota State University Moorhead | 26000 | 28300 | 0.0809 | 3,375 | 1090 | 0.5885 | |
| 89 | West Virginia Wesleyan College | 26000 | 53800 | 0.5169 | 971 | 1030 | 0.9334 | |
| 91 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg | 26100 | 50000 | 0.4777 | 4,047 | 1219 | 0.976 | |
| 92 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 26300 | 36800 | 0.2855 | 15,273 | 1115 | 0.8089 | |
| 93 | Bemidji State University | 26400 | 26400 | 0 | 3,751 | 1075 | 0.5598 | |
| 94 | Benedictine University | 26500 | 48900 | 0.4581 | 2,082 | 1124 | 0.9576 | |
| 95 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | 26700 | 39800 | 0.3289 | 29,727 | 990 | 0.9229 | |
| 95 | Wright State University-Main Campus | 26700 | 43300 | 0.3837 | 7,747 | 1073 | 0.9617 | |
| 97 | Cleveland State University | 27100 | 38500 | 0.2959 | 9,418 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 98 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | 27600 | 27600 | 0 | 11,756 | 1124 | 0.8727 | |
| 99 | Bethune-Cookman University | 27700 | 32300 | 0.1422 | 2,739 | 910 | 0.8824 | |
| 100 | Elmhurst University | 28200 | 67000 | 0.5793 | 3,170 | 1133 | 0.7501 | |
| 101 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28600 | 36500 | 0.2167 | 11,691 | 1074 | 0.7722 | |
| 102 | Clemson University | 29000 | 37100 | 0.2179 | 23,401 | 1343 | 0.3834 | |
| 103 | Morgan State University | 29100 | 41800 | 0.3038 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 104 | California Lutheran University | 29600 | 109800 | 0.7307 | 2,160 | 1218 | 0.7631 | |
| 104 | Northern Kentucky University | 29600 | 34800 | 0.1493 | 10,136 | 1110 | 0.9666 | |
| 106 | Thomas Jefferson University | 29900 | 68700 | 0.5649 | 3,772 | 1255 | 0.8098 | |
| 106 | Towson University | 29900 | 39200 | 0.2374 | 16,361 | 1082 | 0.8057 | |
| 108 | Grambling State University | 30300 | 35800 | 0.1538 | 4,313 | 950 | 0.4486 | |
| 109 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Mont Alto | 30500 | 44300 | 0.3112 | 586 | 1140 | 0.9577 | |
| 109 | University of Northwestern-St Paul | 30500 | 54600 | 0.4413 | 3,120 | 1193 | 0.3992 | |
| 111 | University of Toledo | 30700 | 42000 | 0.269 | 10,726 | 1134 | 0.8889 | |
| 112 | Lincoln University | 30800 | 35000 | 0.12 | 1,926 | 920 | 0 | |
| 113 | Indiana University-Indianapolis | 30900 | 33200 | 0.069 | 14,834 | 1149 | 0.7803 | |
| 114 | Suffolk University | 31000 | 110800 | 0.7201 | 4,247 | 1209 | 0.8228 | |
| 114 | Westfield State University | 31000 | 41500 | 0.2532 | 3,868 | 1105 | 0.8671 | |
| 116 | Hampton University | 31600 | 54800 | 0.4233 | 4,046 | 1005 | 0.6358 | |
| 117 | SUNY Buffalo State University | 32000 | 39900 | 0.1981 | 5,196 | 1050 | 0.8422 | |
| 118 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 32300 | 35100 | 0.0799 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 119 | University of Scranton | 32400 | 78700 | 0.5879 | 3,689 | 1245 | 0.8006 | |
| 120 | McKendree University | 32500 | 52900 | 0.3848 | 1,757 | 1098 | 0.7172 | |
| 121 | State University of New York at Oswego | 32700 | 40200 | 0.1866 | 5,293 | 1179 | 0.7989 | |
| 122 | University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 32800 | 69700 | 0.529 | 11,087 | 1326 | 0.7397 | |
| 123 | SUNY Brockport | 33200 | 36500 | 0.0904 | 5,816 | 1195 | 0.7068 | |
| 124 | Tarleton State University | 33300 | 33300 | 0 | 17,556 | 1090 | 0.5386 | |
| 125 | Harding University | 33500 | 47800 | 0.299 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 126 | Elizabethtown College | 33700 | 69900 | 0.5181 | 1,935 | 1214 | 0.8892 | |
| 127 | Charleston Southern University | 34200 | 48400 | 0.295 | 3,126 | 1060 | 0.9646 | |
| 128 | George Washington University | 34300 | 81800 | 0.5808 | 11,495 | 1436 | 0.4713 | |
| 129 | Lenoir-Rhyne University | 34500 | 62800 | 0.4506 | 1,495 | 1075 | 0.8761 | |
| 129 | SUNY at Fredonia | 34500 | 41000 | 0.1586 | 2,771 | 1258 | 0.777 | |
| 131 | Adelphi University | 35000 | 63300 | 0.4467 | 5,097 | 1241 | 0.7215 | |
| 132 | Missouri University of Science and Technology | 36000 | 56300 | 0.3603 | 5,687 | 1305 | 0.7863 | |
| 133 | Colorado State University Pueblo | 36600 | 39900 | 0.0825 | 3,893 | 1015 | 0.9839 | |
| 134 | University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 36700 | 38800 | 0.0541 | 14,865 | 1175 | 0.9113 | |
| 135 | East Carolina University | 36900 | 42700 | 0.1356 | 21,693 | 1065 | 0.9003 | |
| 135 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona | 36900 | 47900 | 0.2294 | 2,280 | 1224 | 0.9675 | |
| 137 | Saint Michael's College | 37500 | 75600 | 0.5042 | 1,051 | 1280 | 0.8976 | |
| 137 | Stockton University | 37500 | 45300 | 0.1723 | 7,583 | 1134 | 0.901 | |
| 139 | Frostburg State University | 37600 | 55400 | 0.3214 | 3,436 | 1095 | 0.907 | |
| 140 | DePaul University | 37700 | 66400 | 0.432 | 14,338 | 1258 | 0.878 | |
| 141 | Christopher Newport University | 37900 | 50000 | 0.2421 | 4,369 | 1189 | 0.8604 | |
| 142 | Drexel University | 39600 | 107600 | 0.6318 | 12,318 | 1354 | 0.699 | |
| 143 | Stony Brook University | 39700 | 53000 | 0.2507 | 18,616 | 1410 | 0.4818 | |
| 144 | James Madison University | 39900 | 45100 | 0.1153 | 21,358 | 1259 | 0.6879 | |
| 145 | Immaculata University | 40000 | 60400 | 0.3378 | 1,889 | 1264 | 0.8656 | |
| 146 | Furman University | 40300 | 84600 | 0.5234 | 2,304 | 1372 | 0.4869 | |
| 147 | Pace University | 40500 | 75500 | 0.4636 | 5,520 | 1273 | 0.7827 | |
| 148 | Mercy University | 41300 | 46400 | 0.11 | 6,692 | 1135 | 0.8724 | |
| 149 | University of Mount Olive | 42100 | 50400 | 0.1645 | 1,944 | 1075 | 0.7575 | |
| 150 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 43200 | 108500 | 0.6019 | 35,358 | 1448 | 0.1642 | |
| 151 | Radford University | 43400 | 45700 | 0.0501 | 6,206 | 1050 | 0.8939 | |
| 152 | Merrimack College | 43500 | 78800 | 0.4479 | 4,123 | 1124 | 0.6927 | |
| 153 | Virginia Commonwealth University | 43600 | 53400 | 0.1837 | 21,469 | 1167 | 0.9061 | |
| 154 | Wentworth Institute of Technology | 43900 | 103500 | 0.5757 | 4,182 | 1317 | 0.8783 | |
| 155 | Mercer University | 45700 | 65400 | 0.3015 | 4,719 | 1263 | 0.643 | |
| 156 | University of Houston-Clear Lake | 46100 | 46600 | 0.0107 | 6,029 | 1075 | 0.9173 | |
| 157 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 47100 | 59800 | 0.2121 | 37,985 | 1390 | 0.5815 | |
| 158 | Ramapo College of New Jersey | 49100 | 58900 | 0.1663 | 5,492 | 1210 | 0.7026 | |
| 159 | University of Colorado Boulder | 50000 | 56000 | 0.1072 | 32,244 | 1351 | 0.7809 | |
| 160 | University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 50500 | 58800 | 0.1411 | 25,054 | 1225 | 0.7762 | |
| 161 | University of Utah | 51400 | 53700 | 0.0426 | 29,335 | 1222 | 0.9015 | |
| 162 | Rowan University | 53600 | 53600 | 0 | 17,157 | 1204 | 0.7654 | |
| 163 | Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 58300 | 63500 | 0.0819 | 42,604 | 1336 | 0.6056 | |
| 164 | Molloy University | 58600 | 62300 | 0.0594 | 3,396 | 1188 | 0.6633 | |
| 165 | Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 58900 | 61200 | 0.0374 | 26,490 | 1183 | 0.8863 | |
| 166 | New Jersey Institute of Technology | 62800 | 65000 | 0.0339 | 9,827 | 1329 | 0.6737 | |
| 167 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Beaver | 63600 | 63600 | 0 | 475 | 1195 | 0.9418 | |
| 168 | Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Berks | 65100 | 65100 | 0 | 1,709 | 1218 | 0.9653 | |
| 169 | Fordham University | 73700 | 103900 | 0.2907 | 10,582 | 1406 | 0.5931 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.