Cost & financial aid brief
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does UIUC cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price—the actual cost after grants and scholarships—ranges from $2,038 in the lowest income band to $28,761 in the highest, with $5,373, $7,982, and $15,152 in the bands between.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $26,723, a pattern that shows aid is concentrated among lower-income families. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that for the 2024-25 academic year, 3,810 first-year students were determined to have financial need.
Among those with need, the average share of need met was 82%, with an average need-based grant of $25,878 and an average package of $26,429. Need was fully met for 1,253 of those students.
For the 2024-25 academic year, the university also awarded merit aid to 1,425 first-year students, averaging $6,027.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign publishes a cost of attendance of $33,642. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $2,038.
For the middle-income band ($48,001–$75,000), the average net price is $7,982, and for families earning over $110,000, it is $28,761. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $26,723.
Azimuth ranks the university #360 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $19,287.
The average net price across all aid recipients is $14,355, which is below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,279. The median federal student debt at completion is $19,500, with about 86.7% of federal aid recipients borrowing.
That median is below the peer median of $20,076 by $576. The median Parent PLUS borrowing is $34,511.
If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on the median federal debt is $222.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
The median federal debt for completers at the university is $19,500, a level below the $20,076 median among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $576. Median Parent PLUS borrowing for the separate parent-borrower population is $34,511.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 38% of graduates in a cohort of 7,523 borrowed from any source, averaging $22,040 per borrower. Of those borrowers, 37% held federal loans averaging $18,157 and 4% carried private loans averaging $39,659.
Earnings scenarios tied to the program mix at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign run from $56,542 in a downside case up to $131,532 in an upside case, anchored at $79,628 for the typical path. Four years after completion, the median for graduates working and not enrolled reaches $79,628, a level in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $5,699 more than expects for similar students, an outcome in the 73rd percentile. The median federal debt for completers who borrowed is $19,500, a figure that falls below the $20,076 median among comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $222.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $34,511. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $222.
Repayment figures are in the Financial GPS card below. Borrowing populations and model assumptions.
Parent loans: what can the family afford?
How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families
- Median Parent PLUS debt
- $34,511
- Estimated parent payment
- $438/mo
| Household income | Share of income above basic expenses | Risk level |
|---|---|---|
| $35,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $50,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $75,000 | 25.8% | High pressure |
| $100,000 | 11.6% | High pressure |
| $150,000 | 5.5% | Safe |
| $200,000 | 3.6% | Safe |
The 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS balance, as a share of household income above basic expenses ($54,640 a year: 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for a household of three). No room is High pressure. Open the parent tool for your own numbers. Read the assumptions and limits.
Student and parent loans: the monthly payments
Financial GPS
What does repayment look like?
- Institution median student debt
- $19,500
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $34,511
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $222/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $438/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $660/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Student payment as a share of available income
At median graduate earnings of $79,628, with a $23,940 annual allowance for basic expenses:
4.8% of income above the allowance · Excellent
- Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
- Good 8–under 12%
- Concerning 12–20%
- High risk Over 20%
How this estimate works
These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $23,940, uses the published framework’s 2026 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.
Payment assumptions
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.
Net price and borrowing. The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. College Scorecard data and documentation.
A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.
Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.