2026 Most Affordable Colleges in Illinois

Name: 2026 Most Affordable Colleges in Illinois (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

48 Illinois schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Most Affordable Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 48 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Most Affordable Colleges

University of Illinois - Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

77.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,776

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,771

#2 Most Affordable Colleges

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

Champaign

Acceptance rate

42.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$12,254

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#3 Most Affordable Colleges

The University of Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

4.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,256

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#4 Most Affordable Colleges

University of Illinois--Springfield

Springfield

Acceptance rate

85.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,645

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#5 Most Affordable Colleges

Governors State University

University Park

Acceptance rate

48.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$7,512

Avg. Cost after Aid

$10,000

#6 Most Affordable Colleges

Saint Xavier University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

85.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,960

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#7 Most Affordable Colleges

University of St. Francis

Joliet

Acceptance rate

63.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#8 Most Affordable Colleges

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Edwardsville

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,579

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#9 Most Affordable Colleges

Northwestern University

Evanston

Acceptance rate

7.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,276

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#10 Most Affordable Colleges

Augustana College

Rock Island

Acceptance rate

67.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$46,039

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,723

#11 Most Affordable Colleges

Northern Illinois University

DeKalb

Acceptance rate

70.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,608

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#12 Most Affordable Colleges

Illinois State University

Normal

Acceptance rate

89.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,932

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#13 Most Affordable Colleges

Lewis University

Romeoville

Acceptance rate

72.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,270

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#14 Most Affordable Colleges

Northeastern Illinois University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

70.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$10,091

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#15 Most Affordable Colleges

Dominican University

River Forest

Acceptance rate

79.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#16 Most Affordable Colleges

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago

Acceptance rate

55.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$48,555

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#17 Most Affordable Colleges

Aurora University

Aurora

Acceptance rate

85.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$26,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#18 Most Affordable Colleges

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst

Acceptance rate

75.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$39,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#19 Most Affordable Colleges

Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Carbondale

Acceptance rate

86.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,638

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#20 Most Affordable Colleges

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston

Acceptance rate

67.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$9,207

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#21 Most Affordable Colleges

Millikin University

Decatur

Acceptance rate

54.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#22 Most Affordable Colleges

Western Illinois University

Macomb

Acceptance rate

75.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,886

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#23 Most Affordable Colleges

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights

Acceptance rate

88.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#24 Most Affordable Colleges

Concordia University Chicago

River Forest

Acceptance rate

93.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,310

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#25 Most Affordable Colleges

National Louis University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

93.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$13,419

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

2026 Most Affordable Colleges in Illinois

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