Illinois public college tuition 9th-highest in U.S. despite highest per-student spending
Every public university in Indiana charges less in tuition and fees than every one in Illinois.
In 2025, Indiana’s public colleges and universities agreed to Gov. Mike Braun’s request to freeze in-state undergraduate tuition and fees for two academic years.
Illinois students have not received the same relief.
The Indiana freeze does not cover room and board or every cost of attending college, but it prevents increases in tuition and mandatory fees for in-state undergraduates, keeping those charges at 2024-25 levels through 2026-27. The move would “put students and their families first,” Braun said.
Meanwhile, in 2025 Illinois public universities’ in-state tuition and fees ranked second-highest in the Midwest and ninth-highest nationally, according to the Education Data Initiative.
In-state tuition and fees at every Illinois public university are higher than those at every such school in Indiana. Illinois public universities’ in-state tuition increased at all but two schools in 2026, while tuition at Indiana public universities stayed the same.
It’s not a matter of underfunding higher education. Illinois already spends the most in the nation per full-time student at a four-year school.
Illinois ranked No. 1 in the U.S., spending $28,085 per student at four-year public universities, more than double the national average and almost four times what Indiana spends.
Illinois taxpayers spend more than double the national average on a higher education system whose students continue to face some of the nation’s highest tuition.
A bill introduced early this year in the Illinois General Assembly would require the state to study drivers of rising costs at state universities and develop a 10-year plan to make Illinois higher education more affordable, competitive and sustainable.
House Bill 5037, introduced by Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, would examine whether state funding supports educational outcomes and long-term workforce needs.
Indiana universities agreed to a tuition freeze even as the state reduced higher education funding.
Rather than spend more on higher education, Illinois lawmakers must figure out why the billions taxpayers provide have not translated into more affordable options for students and families.