Prairie State Wire

An Illinoisan attending the University of Illinois will spend nearly $8,000 more per year than a Missourian at Missouri State University-Springfield, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of 116 four-year public universities in 10 Midwestern states based on enrollment.

The Tribune divided schools into three groups, including those with more than 20,000 undergraduates, those with 10,000 to 20,000 undergraduates, and those with fewer than 10,000 undergraduates. Illinois schools outpace most of their peers at large, mid-sized and small four-year public universities, charging among the highest in-state tuition rates across the board

On top of leading all schools, U of I charges the highest in-state tuition among large universities.

How much higher?

Illinoisans pay ...

• 45 percent more to go to U of I than Hoosiers pay to go to Indiana University and 51 percent more than they pay to go to Purdue.
• 44 percent more than Wisconsin residents pay to go to University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 50 percent more than Ohioans pay to go to Ohio State University 
• 58 percent more than Missourians pay to go to University of Missouri-Columbia
• 31 percent more than Kentuckians pay to go to University of Kentucky
• 76 percent more than Iowans pay to go to University of Iowa and 76 percent more than Iowa State
• 76 percent more than Nebraskans pay to go to University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Northern Illinois University ($14,204), Illinois State University ($14,061), University of Illinois-Chicago ($13,664) and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale ($13,481) makeup four of the top five most expensive mid-size schools. Twenty of the 36 mid-size schools charge less than $10,000.

NIU tuition is more than twice as high as Southeast Missouri State (103 percent more) and at least 80 percent higher than what it costs to attend UW-Whitewater, U Nebraska-Omaha, UW-Oshkosh, Minnesota State-Mankato and UMKC.

Western Illinois University ($12,655) is the fifth-most expensive small school. It's one of just 14 out of 58 schools to charge more than $10,000.

Tuition at WIU is 35 percent higher than UW-Stout and Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan, 50 percent higher than Murray State University in Kentucky and 69 percent more than Purdue University-Calumet in Indiana. 

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In-state tuition at four-year public universities with 20,000+ students

Rank	State	School	Enrollment	2016-17 Tuition
1	Illinois	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	33,932	$15,058
2	Michigan	University of Michigan- Ann Arbor	28,983	$14,402
3	Minnesota	University of Minnesota- Twin Cities	34,870	$14,142
4	Michigan	Michigan State University	39,090	$14,062
5	Ohio	Ohio University	23,585	$11,744
6	Michigan	Grand Valley State University	22,209	$11,520
7	Kentucky	University of Kentucky	22,621	$11,484
8	Ohio	University of Cincinnati	25,820	$11,000
9	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Madison	30,958	$10,488
10	Indiana	Indiana University- Bloomington	39,184	$10,388
11	Ohio	Ohio State University	45,831	$10,037
12	Ohio	Kent State University	23,684	$10,012
13	Indiana	Purdue University	31,105	$10,002
14	Kentucky	Western Kentucky University	20,271	$9,912
15	Missouri	University of Missouri- Columbia	25,877	$9,518
16	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	20,968	$9,493
17	Indiana	Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ.-Indianapolis	21,748	$9,205
18	Iowa	University of Iowa	24,476	$8,575
19	Nebraska	University of Nebraska- Lincoln	20,833	$8,537
20	Iowa	Iowa State University	30,671	$8,219
21	Missouri	Missouri State Univ.- Springfield	20,316	$7,060

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In-state tuition at four-year public universities with 10,000-20,000 students

Rank	State	School	Enrollment	2016-17 Tuition
1	Ohio	Miami University-Oxford	16,981	$14,736
2	Illinois	Northern Illinois University	14,079	$14,204
3	Illinois	Illinois State University	18,643	$14,061
4	Illinois	University of Illinois-Chicago	17,959	$13,664
5	Illinois	Southern Illinois Univ.- Carbondale	12,182	$13,481
6	Michigan	Wayne State University	17,220	$12,269
7	Michigan	Central Michigan University	19,877	$12,150
8	Michigan	Oakland University	16,568	$12,064
9	Michigan	Western Michigan University	18,313	$11,493
10	Michigan	Ferris State University	12,866	$11,290
11	Kentucky	University of Louisville	15,826	$11,264
12	Michigan	Eastern Michigan University	17,862	$11,209
13	Ohio	Bowling Green State University	14,852	$11,057
14	Illinois	Southern Illinois Univ.- Edwardsville	11,720	$11,008
15	Ohio	University of Akron	17,417	$10,270
16	Ohio	Cleveland State University	12,352	$9,768
17	Indiana	Ball State University	17,011	$9,654
18	Ohio	University of Toledo	16,223	$9,547
19	Missouri	University of Missouri- St. Louis	13,898	$9,394
20	Kentucky	Northern Kentucky University	12,380	$9,384
21	Kentucky	Eastern Kentucky University	14,293	$8,868
22	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	10,085	$8,812
23	Indiana	Indiana State University	11,202	$8,746
24	Ohio	Wright State University	12,504	$8,730
25	Ohio	Youngstown State University	11,283	$8,317
26	Iowa	University of Northern Iowa	10,104	$8,309
27	Indiana	Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ.-Ft. Wayne	11,453	$8,213
28	Minnesota	Saint Cloud State University	13,878	$7,910
29	Minnesota	Minnesota State University- Mankato	13,192	$7,858
30	Missouri	University of Missouri- Kansas City	11,704	$7,846
31	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	11,409	$7,650
32	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh	12,484	$7,544
33	Nebraska	University of Nebraska- Omaha	12,536	$7,204
34	Missouri	Southeast Missouri State University	10,693	$6,990
35	Indiana	Vincennes University	18,897	$5,575
36	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin Colleges	11,940	$5,159

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In-state tuition at four-year public universities with >10,000 students

Rank	State	School	Enrollment	2016-17 Tuition
1	Michigan	Michigan Tech University	5,811	$14,634
2	Minnesota	University of Minnesota- Rochester	435	$13,232
3	Minnesota	University of Minnesota- Duluth	9,967	$13,139
4	Minnesota	University of Minnesota- Morris	1,771	$12,846
5	Illinois	Western Illinois University	8,543	$12,655
6	Michigan	University of Michigan- Dearborn	7,141	$12,032
7	Minnesota	University of Minnesota- Crookston	2,676	$11,700
8	Illinois	Eastern Illinois University	5,957	$11,580
9	Illinois	University of Illinois-Springfield	2,959	$11,413
10	Michigan	Lake Superior State University	2,099	$11,019
11	Illinois	Governor's State University	3,517	$10,516
12	Michigan	University of Michigan- Flint	6,585	$10,344
13	Illinois	Chicago State University	2,352	$10,252
14	Illinois	Northeastern Illinois University	7,665	$10,138
15	Michigan	Northern Michigan University	7,168	$9,766
16	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Stout	8,412	$9,395
17	Michigan	Saginaw Valley State University	8,335	$9,345
18	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse	9,751	$9,091
19	Minnesota	Winona State University	7,661	$9,075
20	Missouri	Missouri Univ. of Science & Technology	6,906	$9,057
21	Kentucky	Morehead State University	9,752	$8,496
22	Kentucky	Murray State University	8,877	$8,400
23	Minnesota	Bemidji State University	4,808	$8,394
24	Minnesota	Southwest Minnesota State University	7,495	$8,347
25	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point	8,297	$8,159
26	Minnesota	Minnesota State University- Moorhead	5,205	$8,114
27	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Superior	2,367	$8,088
28	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-River Falls	5,494	$7,981
29	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay	6,757	$7,878
30	Kentucky	Kentucky State University	1,568	$7,754
31	Indiana	University of Southern Indiana	9,585	$7,605
32	Minnesota	Metropolitan State University	7,571	$7,566
33	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Platteville	7,861	$7,484
34	Indiana	Purdue University-Calumet	8,321	$7,478
35	Indiana	Purdue University-North Central	6,064	$7,478
36	Missouri	Truman State University	6,039	$7,456
37	Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin-Parkside	4,248	$7,367
38	Ohio	Shawnee State University	3,621	$7,365
39	Missouri	Northwest Missouri State University	5,628	$7,343
40	Missouri	Missouri Western State University	5,120	$7,330
41	Missouri	University of Central Missouri	9,786	$7,322
42	Nebraska	Peru State College	2,215	$7,243
43	Ohio	Ohio State University- Marion	1,132	$7,140
44	Indiana	Indiana University-South Bend	6,653	$7,073
45	Indiana	Indiana University-Southeast	5,486	$7,073
46	Indiana	Indiana University-Northwest	5,244	$7,073
47	Indiana	Indiana University- East	4,287	$7,073
48	Indiana	Indiana University-Kokomo	3,977	$7,073
49	Missouri	Lincoln University	2,618	$7,042
50	Nebraska	University of Nebraska- Kearney	5,056	$6,844
51	Nebraska	Chadron State University	2,334	$6,510
52	Nebraska	Wayne State College	2,837	$6,462
53	Ohio	Central State University	1,729	$6,246
54	Ohio	Wright State University- Lake Campus	1,302	$5,842
55	Missouri	Missouri Southern State University	6,231	$5,523
56	Missouri	Harris-Stowe State University	1,464	$5,220
57	Ohio	Miami University-Hamilton	2,884	$5,173
58	Ohio	Miami University-Middletown	1,914	$5,173

Source: Higher Education Tribune; U.S. Department of Education