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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 | Northern Kentucky University | 7500 | 25900 | 0.7114 | 10,136 | 1110 | 0.9666 | |
| 2 | Brigham Young University | 8000 | 22200 | 0.6405 | 34,354 | 1374 | 0.6862 | |
| 3 | Mississippi Valley State University | 9200 | 26500 | 0.6538 | 2,013 | 845 | 0.9238 | |
| 3 | Washington and Lee University | 9200 | 96300 | 0.9041 | 1,916 | 1484 | 0.1354 | |
| 5 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | 10100 | 41500 | 0.7567 | 8,945 | 1099 | 0.975 | |
| 6 | Eastern Kentucky University | 10900 | 27300 | 0.6018 | 13,448 | 1075 | 0.9683 | |
| 7 | Eastern Illinois University | 11900 | 24300 | 0.5125 | 6,731 | 1020 | 0.7073 | |
| 8 | University of Illinois Chicago | 12200 | 30200 | 0.5969 | 24,260 | 1174 | 0.7576 | |
| 9 | Boston University | 12300 | 93200 | 0.868 | 18,289 | 1475 | 0.1283 | |
| 10 | Lewis University | 13400 | 57700 | 0.7675 | 4,914 | 1127 | 0.6916 | |
| 11 | Eastern Michigan University | 14200 | 33900 | 0.5826 | 10,034 | 1055 | 0.7772 | |
| 11 | Salem State University | 14200 | 38300 | 0.6288 | 4,867 | 1075 | 0.9588 | |
| 13 | University of Memphis | 14400 | 26400 | 0.4554 | 15,538 | 1080 | 0.7878 | |
| 14 | Mercy University | 14600 | 46400 | 0.6858 | 6,692 | 1135 | 0.8724 | |
| 15 | Texas State University | 15000 | 26700 | 0.4375 | 39,353 | 1080 | 0.9118 | |
| 16 | Missouri State University-Springfield | 15200 | 26000 | 0.4149 | 21,138 | 1134 | 0.9039 | |
| 16 | Northern Michigan University | 15200 | 33100 | 0.5408 | 6,650 | 1100 | 0.8505 | |
| 18 | Central Michigan University | 15400 | 38700 | 0.6019 | 10,238 | 1099 | 0.9104 | |
| 19 | Northwest Missouri State University | 15600 | 29800 | 0.4782 | 5,241 | 1095 | 0.8613 | |
| 20 | University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne | 15800 | 79400 | 0.8005 | 1,567 | 980 | 0.9597 | |
| 21 | Keene State College | 16300 | 51400 | 0.6835 | 2,640 | 1064 | 0.8982 | |
| 22 | Morgan State University | 16600 | 30700 | 0.4588 | 9,027 | 965 | 0.8223 | |
| 23 | Georgia Southern University | 16800 | 20100 | 0.1638 | 25,595 | 1045 | 0.695 | |
| 24 | University of Miami | 17400 | 96300 | 0.8194 | 13,241 | 1408 | 0.1761 | |
| 25 | State University of New York at Oswego | 17600 | 27700 | 0.3645 | 5,293 | 1179 | 0.7989 | |
| 26 | San Jose State University | 18200 | 41100 | 0.5567 | 29,890 | 1135 | 0.8039 | |
| 27 | Central Washington University | 18400 | 22700 | 0.1892 | 10,033 | 1060 | 0.9061 | |
| 28 | University of Rhode Island | 18500 | 33900 | 0.4544 | 14,466 | 1197 | 0.7456 | |
| 29 | Olivet Nazarene University | 18800 | 79300 | 0.7634 | 2,704 | 1104 | 0.5586 | |
| 29 | State University of New York at Plattsburgh | 18800 | 32000 | 0.4129 | 3,825 | 1175 | 0.7841 | |
| 31 | University of Houston | 19900 | 28400 | 0.2996 | 40,366 | 1224 | 0.7577 | |
| 32 | University of Southern California | 20000 | 76400 | 0.7387 | 20,768 | 1499 | 0.1119 | |
| 33 | SUNY at Fredonia | 20100 | 53600 | 0.6248 | 2,771 | 1258 | 0.777 | |
| 34 | Montana State University Billings | 20200 | 35100 | 0.4245 | 3,881 | 1090 | 1 | |
| 34 | University of Northern Iowa | 20200 | 24800 | 0.1844 | 7,800 | 1115 | 0.9313 | |
| 36 | Syracuse University | 20300 | 83600 | 0.7572 | 16,149 | 1374 | 0.4879 | |
| 37 | Washington State University | 20600 | 35900 | 0.4276 | 21,400 | 1131 | 0.861 | |
| 38 | Ferris State University | 20800 | 31000 | 0.3295 | 8,980 | 1015 | 0.8237 | |
| 39 | Iowa State University | 21100 | 25700 | 0.1794 | 26,346 | 1212 | 0.8793 | |
| 40 | Loras College | 21500 | 58400 | 0.6322 | 1,073 | 1110 | 0.6966 | |
| 41 | South Dakota State University | 21700 | 25200 | 0.1414 | 10,883 | 1115 | 0.9618 | |
| 42 | Freed-Hardeman University | 22000 | 35900 | 0.3872 | 1,873 | 1120 | 0.5968 | |
| 43 | Columbia College Chicago | 22500 | 63200 | 0.6443 | 4,346 | 0 | 0.738 | |
| 43 | Murray State University | 22500 | 27600 | 0.1838 | 8,217 | 1124 | 0.8413 | |
| 45 | The University of Alabama | 22600 | 33400 | 0.3232 | 35,621 | 1238 | 0.7117 | |
| 46 | Point Park University | 23300 | 54300 | 0.5707 | 2,498 | 1144 | 0.984 | |
| 47 | Monmouth College | 23600 | 63400 | 0.6282 | 713 | 1120 | 0.9085 | |
| 48 | Dominican University | 23800 | 56000 | 0.5754 | 2,642 | 1005 | 0.8879 | |
| 49 | University of Central Missouri | 24000 | 35800 | 0.3301 | 10,397 | 1055 | 0.7439 | |
| 50 | Campbellsville University | 24100 | 45100 | 0.4653 | 6,848 | 1075 | 0.7974 | |
| 51 | Oral Roberts University | 24200 | 52700 | 0.5403 | 5,017 | 1139 | 0.989 | |
| 52 | Seton Hall University | 24500 | 67400 | 0.6361 | 6,178 | 1328 | 0.6915 | |
| 53 | American University | 24700 | 125500 | 0.803 | 6,730 | 1393 | 0.6556 | |
| 54 | Bowling Green State University-Main Campus | 24900 | 36800 | 0.3235 | 15,273 | 1115 | 0.8089 | |
| 55 | Walla Walla University | 25500 | 51700 | 0.5077 | 1,314 | 1159 | 0.604 | |
| 56 | Westminster College | 25600 | 57600 | 0.5555 | 1,110 | 1145 | 0.9167 | |
| 57 | Otterbein University | 25800 | 79200 | 0.6746 | 2,292 | 1126 | 0.8388 | |
| 58 | Hood College | 26800 | 71400 | 0.6241 | 1,157 | 1055 | 0.8517 | |
| 58 | William Paterson University of New Jersey | 26800 | 33000 | 0.1876 | 6,647 | 1153 | 0.9008 | |
| 60 | Capital University | 27100 | 63800 | 0.5751 | 1,642 | 1045 | 0.6501 | |
| 60 | Saint Ambrose University | 27100 | 57700 | 0.5306 | 1,884 | 1065 | 0.8006 | |
| 62 | California State University-Long Beach | 27300 | 38800 | 0.2963 | 36,056 | 1135 | 0.4543 | |
| 63 | Wayne State University | 28100 | 46800 | 0.3998 | 16,390 | 1183 | 0.8359 | |
| 64 | University of Akron Main Campus | 28500 | 36500 | 0.2194 | 11,691 | 1074 | 0.7722 | |
| 65 | Cleveland State University | 29200 | 38600 | 0.2436 | 9,418 | 1069 | 0.913 | |
| 66 | Southern Methodist University | 29400 | 96900 | 0.6963 | 7,545 | 1427 | 0.4764 | |
| 66 | University of South Carolina-Columbia | 29400 | 34200 | 0.1402 | 31,845 | 1298 | 0.5651 | |
| 68 | Taylor University | 30100 | 60700 | 0.5048 | 2,769 | 1229 | 0.9881 | |
| 69 | University of Northwestern-St Paul | 30200 | 54600 | 0.4463 | 3,120 | 1193 | 0.3992 | |
| 70 | Palm Beach Atlantic University | 30600 | 69000 | 0.5568 | 3,314 | 1094 | 0.8199 | |
| 71 | Southern Adventist University | 30700 | 49000 | 0.3746 | 2,946 | 1142 | 0.7163 | |
| 72 | Southeastern University | 30800 | 79400 | 0.6123 | 11,981 | 1110 | 0.4247 | |
| 73 | Kent State University at Kent | 30900 | 37500 | 0.1751 | 21,144 | 1104 | 0.7603 | |
| 73 | Western Kentucky University | 30900 | 42800 | 0.2783 | 13,732 | 1090 | 0.9145 | |
| 75 | Suffolk University | 31000 | 83500 | 0.6288 | 4,247 | 1209 | 0.8228 | |
| 76 | Marquette University | 31400 | 75900 | 0.5862 | 8,206 | 1304 | 0.7802 | |
| 77 | Rockhurst University | 32000 | 62500 | 0.4873 | 1,964 | 1159 | 0.9392 | |
| 78 | Rider University | 32500 | 60200 | 0.4601 | 3,052 | 1214 | 0.7741 | |
| 79 | University of Oregon | 32900 | 40200 | 0.1826 | 20,710 | 1193 | 0.8742 | |
| 80 | Harding University | 33200 | 47800 | 0.3047 | 3,536 | 1184 | 0.7052 | |
| 81 | Winthrop University | 33400 | 52500 | 0.3638 | 4,289 | 1130 | 0.8281 | |
| 82 | Elizabethtown College | 33600 | 57500 | 0.4154 | 1,935 | 1214 | 0.8892 | |
| 83 | Drake University | 33900 | 68500 | 0.5057 | 2,504 | 1226 | 0.6494 | |
| 84 | Lee University | 34200 | 39100 | 0.1253 | 3,425 | 1154 | 0.7138 | |
| 85 | University of Idaho | 34500 | 48700 | 0.2916 | 9,656 | 1104 | 0.7476 | |
| 86 | Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 34900 | 38500 | 0.0935 | 7,637 | 1115 | 0.1865 | |
| 87 | Temple University | 35600 | 57200 | 0.3774 | 21,031 | 1172 | 0.8622 | |
| 87 | Texas Tech University | 35600 | 41000 | 0.1318 | 34,021 | 1195 | 0.6906 | |
| 89 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 35900 | 54000 | 0.3352 | 32,041 | 1324 | 0.4358 | |
| 90 | Rowan University | 36500 | 53600 | 0.3189 | 17,157 | 1204 | 0.7654 | |
| 91 | Concordia University Ann Arbor | 36900 | 53600 | 0.3117 | 755 | 1163 | 0.6925 | |
| 92 | Xavier University | 37600 | 68100 | 0.4481 | 3,744 | 1286 | 0.848 | |
| 93 | Baldwin Wallace University | 39000 | 69800 | 0.4415 | 2,532 | 1210 | 0.7739 | |
| 94 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 40900 | 58700 | 0.3035 | 2,401 | 1209 | 0.7819 | |
| 95 | Biola University | 41800 | 71100 | 0.4121 | 3,553 | 1281 | 0.7817 | |
| 96 | University of Florida | 42800 | 45700 | 0.0635 | 37,283 | 1406 | 0.2033 | |
| 97 | Illinois State University | 43500 | 49100 | 0.1134 | 19,513 | 1115 | 0.8555 | |
| 98 | Appalachian State University | 46500 | 46500 | 0 | 19,732 | 1174 | 0.9388 | |
| 99 | Lipscomb University | 48800 | 69900 | 0.3023 | 3,327 | 1214 | 0.6774 | |
| 100 | Quinnipiac University | 49000 | 79700 | 0.3854 | 6,610 | 1250 | 0.7031 | |
| 101 | The University of Texas at Austin | 49500 | 58900 | 0.1596 | 44,314 | 1356 | 0.2222 | |
| 102 | University of Georgia | 52000 | 52100 | 0.0019 | 32,824 | 1348 | 0.3425 | |
| 103 | University of Cincinnati-Main Campus | 53200 | 53300 | 0.0019 | 34,447 | 1273 | 0.8804 | |
| 104 | Hofstra University | 59100 | 83300 | 0.2906 | 6,599 | 1369 | 0.7267 | |
| 105 | Auburn University | 59400 | 59400 | 0 | 27,907 | 1324 | 0.4593 | |
| 106 | Gonzaga University | 70900 | 77700 | 0.0875 | 4,976 | 1328 | 0.7962 |
School data is from 2023–2024 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.