Normal, IL · Public · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for Illinois State University
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$73,660
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,900.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Illinois State University, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at Illinois State University
| Full price, in state | $31,464 |
| Full price, out of state | $44,513 |
| After grants, at your income | $17,570 |
At this income, 8 of Illinois's other 38 colleges cost less after grants, and 30 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. In state: Illinois State’s AIM HIGH Scholarship pays up to $2,000 a year to first-time students from Illinois with financial need. It lasts up to four years with a 2.75 GPA.
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Illinois State University, our scenarios for Illinois households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $9,200 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What Illinois State University says it awards for grades and test scores.
In state: Illinois State’s AIM HIGH Scholarship pays up to $2,000 a year to first-time students from Illinois with financial need. It lasts up to four years with a 2.75 GPA.
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what Illinois State University reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit. For a family that lives in Illinois, it also counts Illinois' tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan.
The $9,200 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in Illinois State University's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Illinois, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price Illinois State University at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Illinois State University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
Illinois State University's own budget for 2026-27 is $36,422 in state and $49,090 out of state. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
Illinois State University fixes tuition for four years for every class that starts in fall 2026 or later, under its Truth in Tuition lock. For students who start in fall 2027, our four-year figures keep that flat and let the rest of the cost rise.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Illinois State University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Northeastern Illinois University$14,926 a year
- Eastern Illinois University$16,741 a year
- Illinois State University$17,570 a year
- Millikin University$17,694 a year
- McKendree University$17,814 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Illinois college →