Cheapest Colleges in Illinois
Sticker prices at the 50 four-year colleges we rank in Illinois run from $12,004 to $70,662 a year in tuition and fees, a gap of $58,658 between the cheapest school and the most expensive one.
The 12 public colleges here charge a median of $13,291 a year, $3,351 (34%) above the national public median of $9,940. The 37 private nonprofit colleges on the list charge a median of $38,676, under the $39,582 national private median. Sticker price alone rarely settles the cheapest private option, so check the net price column.
Governors State University ranks first at $12,004, ahead of University of Illinois Springfield ($12,252) and Northeastern Illinois University ($12,383).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- 4-year colleges whose main award is the bachelor's degree (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by in-state tuition & fees, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Illinois
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- A reported in-state tuition & fees value (schools without one are not ranked)
- Schools that report no tuition or a $0 price are not ranked
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Illinois has 50
- Data period
- In-state tuition and fees: full-time undergraduate sticker price, academic year 2024-25. Some community colleges report the in-district rate.
- Out-of-state tuition and fees: academic year 2024-25. Shown for public colleges only, because private colleges charge everyone the same price.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 50 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 4-year | $12,004 | $12,004 | $12,329 | 21% | 2,556 |
| 2 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 4-year | $12,252 | $22,017 | $9,833 | 57% | 2,263 |
| 3 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 4-year | $12,383 | $22,726 | $14,109 | 18% | 3,982 |
| 4 | National Louis University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $12,705 | — | $12,641 | 33% | 4,406 |
| 5 | Chicago State University Chicago, IL Public · 4-year | $12,754 | $12,754 | $12,335 | 16% | 1,384 |
| 6 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 4-year | $12,922 | $12,922 | $14,889 | 56% | 8,750 |
| 7 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 4-year | $13,248 | $13,248 | $13,391 | 49% | 11,301 |
| 8 | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 4-year | $13,334 | $13,334 | $13,297 | 59% | 8,494 |
| 9 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 4-year | $13,679 | $16,217 | $12,786 | 46% | 4,188 |
| 10 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 4-year | $14,338 | $29,884 | $10,974 | 61% | 22,170 |
| 11 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 4-year | $15,264 | $15,264 | $12,937 | 45% | 4,410 |
| 12 | Moody Bible Institute Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $15,786 | — | $22,221 | 62% | 1,510 |
| 13 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 4-year | $16,004 | $35,124 | $14,355 | 85% | 36,258 |
| 14 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 4-year | $16,144 | $28,210 | $19,398 | 65% | 19,057 |
| 15 | Trinity Christian College Palos Heights, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $20,605 | — | $19,125 | 61% | 820 |
| 16 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $21,315 | — | $20,194 | 38% | 2,849 |
| 17 | Chamberlain University-Illinois Addison, IL For-profit · 4-year | $21,536 | — | $31,837 | 45% | 14,027 |
| 18 | Millikin University Decatur, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $26,892 | — | $21,989 | 57% | 1,382 |
| 19 | Eureka College Eureka, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,096 | — | $17,349 | 41% | 522 |
| 20 | Aurora University Aurora, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $29,170 | — | $18,838 | 59% | 3,974 |
| 21 | Judson University Elgin, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $31,360 | — | $18,558 | 56% | 708 |
| 22 | Greenville University Greenville, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $32,200 | — | $19,533 | 46% | 955 |
| 23 | Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,088 | — | $26,598 | 50% | 5,368 |
| 24 | McKendree University Lebanon, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $34,740 | — | $24,717 | 57% | 1,752 |
| 25 | Benedictine University Lisle, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $35,940 | — | $22,313 | 51% | 1,942 |
| 26 | North Park University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $36,710 | — | $16,948 | 57% | 1,818 |
| 27 | Quincy University Quincy, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,140 | — | $20,359 | 44% | 1,010 |
| 28 | Concordia University-Chicago River Forest, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,488 | — | $18,436 | 41% | 1,323 |
| 29 | Rockford University Rockford, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,780 | — | $22,436 | 43% | 972 |
| 30 | Saint Xavier University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $37,940 | — | $10,970 | 58% | 3,096 |
| 31 | University of St Francis Joliet, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,110 | — | $13,006 | 66% | 1,223 |
| 32 | Illinois College Jacksonville, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,676 | — | $18,298 | 63% | 930 |
| 33 | Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,900 | — | $20,729 | 61% | 2,603 |
| 34 | Dominican University River Forest, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $38,978 | — | $11,745 | 59% | 2,561 |
| 35 | Lewis University Romeoville, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $39,200 | — | $17,028 | 65% | 4,015 |
| 36 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,160 | — | $22,719 | 74% | 3,574 |
| 37 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $42,955 | — | $24,185 | 68% | 3,006 |
| 38 | Monmouth College Monmouth, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,922 | — | $17,133 | 62% | 702 |
| 39 | Wheaton College Wheaton, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $45,546 | — | $26,975 | 86% | 2,121 |
| 40 | North Central College Naperville, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $45,726 | — | $21,044 | 68% | 2,428 |
| 41 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $45,999 | — | $30,902 | 69% | 14,090 |
| 42 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,598 | — | $22,736 | 76% | 2,490 |
| 43 | Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,386 | — | $18,425 | 74% | 2,833 |
| 44 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $53,710 | — | $36,079 | 75% | 11,737 |
| 45 | Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $56,402 | — | $28,673 | 74% | 1,813 |
| 46 | School of the Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $56,420 | — | $49,790 | 65% | 2,805 |
| 47 | Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,704 | — | $28,199 | 78% | 1,582 |
| 48 | Knox College Galesburg, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,903 | — | $24,595 | 68% | 1,127 |
| 49 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $68,322 | — | $29,167 | 96% | 9,201 |
| 50 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private nonprofit · 4-year | $70,662 | — | $14,860 | 95% | 7,569 |
How to compare these colleges
Start with the net price column rather than the sticker price. Net price is the average a student who receives aid pays after grants and scholarships, so a school that ranks lower here can still be the cheaper choice for your family. The out-of-state column applies only if you are not a legal resident of Illinois, and only public colleges charge a separate rate.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Illinois
Cheap colleges in Illinois for out-of-state students
23 schools
Community colleges in Illinois
11 schools
Best value colleges in Illinois
44 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Illinois
50 schools
Most affordable private colleges in Illinois
37 schools
Same list in nearby states
Cheapest colleges in Indiana
39 schools
Cheapest colleges in Missouri
36 schools
Cheapest colleges in Wisconsin
31 schools
All 74 colleges in Illinois See the national version of this ranking