Analysis: 4-year public universities in Illinois, Michigan charge highest in-state tuition no matter the size

Residents in Illinois and Michigan pay the most in tuition, whether they're on a campus with 30,000 or 3,000 undergraduates – or anywhere in between, a Higher Education Tribune analysis of in-state tuition at four-year universities in 10 Midwest states shows.

The Tribune compared 116 Midwest colleges and universities in 10 states to their peers based on their enrollment, breaking down schools into those with more than 20,000 undergraduates, those with 10,000 to 20,000 undergraduates, and those with fewer than 10,000 undergraduates.

Ohioans pay among the highest prices at the state's large and mid-size universities, but not at small schools.

Minnesota in-state prices are among the most expensive for large and small schools, but not for mid-size schools. 

University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana is the priciest school for in-state students at large four-year public universities, while Miami (Ohio) University-Oxford tops the rankings of mid-sized schools and Michigan Tech University has the steepest price tag among small schools.

In each grouping, the most expensive school is more than twice the price of the cheapest school.

Thirteen of the 21 large schools charge state residents more than $10,000 a year to attend. Missouri State University- Springfield has the lowest in-state tuition: $7,060. 

Fifteen of the 36 mid-size schools charge more than $10,000. University of Wisconsin Colleges charges nearly a third of the most expensive school in the group with in-state tuition of just $5,159. 

Fourteen of 58 small schools charge $10,000 or more. Miami University-Middletown, with just 1,914 undergraduates, charges $5,173 a year. 

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

RankStateSchoolEnrollment
2016-17 Tuition
1IllinoisUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign33,932$15,058
2MichiganUniversity of Michigan- Ann Arbor28,983$14,402
3MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota- Twin Cities34,870$14,142
4MichiganMichigan State University39,090$14,062
5OhioOhio University23,585$11,744
6MichiganGrand Valley State University22,209$11,520
7KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky22,621$11,484
8OhioUniversity of Cincinnati25,820$11,000
9WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison30,958$10,488
10IndianaIndiana University- Bloomington39,184$10,388
11OhioOhio State University45,831$10,037
12OhioKent State University23,684$10,012
13IndianaPurdue University31,105$10,002
14KentuckyWestern Kentucky University20,271$9,912
15MissouriUniversity of Missouri- Columbia25,877$9,518
16WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee20,968$9,493
17IndianaIndiana Univ.-Purdue Univ.-Indianapolis21,748$9,205
18IowaUniversity of Iowa24,476$8,575
19NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska- Lincoln20,833$8,537
20IowaIowa State University30,671$8,219
21MissouriMissouri State Univ.- Springfield20,316$7,060

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

RankStateSchoolEnrollment2016-17 Tuition
1OhioMiami University-Oxford16,981$14,736
2IllinoisNorthern Illinois University14,079$14,204
3IllinoisIllinois State University18,643$14,061
4IllinoisUniversity of Illinois-Chicago17,959$13,664
5IllinoisSouthern Illinois Univ.- Carbondale12,182$13,481
6MichiganWayne State University17,220$12,269
7MichiganCentral Michigan University19,877$12,150
8MichiganOakland University16,568$12,064
9MichiganWestern Michigan University18,313$11,493
10MichiganFerris State University12,866$11,290
11KentuckyUniversity of Louisville15,826$11,264
12MichiganEastern Michigan University17,862$11,209
13OhioBowling Green State University14,852$11,057
14IllinoisSouthern Illinois Univ.- Edwardsville11,720$11,008
15OhioUniversity of Akron17,417$10,270
16OhioCleveland State University12,352$9,768
17IndianaBall State University17,011$9,654
18OhioUniversity of Toledo16,223$9,547
19MissouriUniversity of Missouri- St. Louis13,898$9,394
20KentuckyNorthern Kentucky University12,380$9,384
21KentuckyEastern Kentucky University14,293$8,868
22WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire10,085$8,812
23IndianaIndiana State University11,202$8,746
24OhioWright State University12,504$8,730
25OhioYoungstown State University11,283$8,317
26IowaUniversity of Northern Iowa10,104$8,309
27IndianaIndiana Univ.-Purdue Univ.-Ft. Wayne11,453$8,213
28MinnesotaSaint Cloud State University13,878$7,910
29MinnesotaMinnesota State University- Mankato13,192$7,858
30MissouriUniversity of Missouri- Kansas City11,704$7,846
31WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Whitewater11,409$7,650
32WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Oshkosh12,484$7,544
33NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska- Omaha12,536$7,204
34MissouriSoutheast Missouri State University10,693$6,990
35IndianaVincennes University18,897$5,575
36WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin Colleges11,940$5,159

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

RankStateSchoolEnrollment2016-17 Tuition
1MichiganMichigan Tech University5,811$14,634
2MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota- Rochester435$13,232
3MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota- Duluth9,967$13,139
4MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota- Morris1,771$12,846
5IllinoisWestern Illinois University8,543$12,655
6MichiganUniversity of Michigan- Dearborn7,141$12,032
7MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota- Crookston2,676$11,700
8IllinoisEastern Illinois University5,957$11,580
9IllinoisUniversity of Illinois-Springfield2,959$11,413
10MichiganLake Superior State University2,099$11,019
11IllinoisGovernor's State University3,517$10,516
12MichiganUniversity of Michigan- Flint6,585$10,344
13IllinoisChicago State University2,352$10,252
14IllinoisNortheastern Illinois University7,665$10,138
15MichiganNorthern Michigan University7,168$9,766
16WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Stout8,412$9,395
17MichiganSaginaw Valley State University8,335$9,345
18WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse9,751$9,091
19MinnesotaWinona State University7,661$9,075
20MissouriMissouri Univ. of Science & Technology
6,906$9,057
21KentuckyMorehead State University9,752$8,496
22KentuckyMurray State University8,877$8,400
23MinnesotaBemidji State University4,808$8,394
24MinnesotaSouthwest Minnesota State University
7,495$8,347
25WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
8,297$8,159
26MinnesotaMinnesota State University- Moorhead
5,205$8,114
27WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Superior2,367$8,088
28WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls5,494$7,981
29WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay6,757$7,878
30KentuckyKentucky State University1,568$7,754
31IndianaUniversity of Southern Indiana9,585$7,605
32MinnesotaMetropolitan State University7,571$7,566
33WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Platteville7,861$7,484
34IndianaPurdue University-Calumet8,321$7,478
35IndianaPurdue University-North Central6,064$7,478
36MissouriTruman State University6,039$7,456
37WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Parkside4,248$7,367
38OhioShawnee State University3,621$7,365
39MissouriNorthwest Missouri State University5,628$7,343
40MissouriMissouri Western State University5,120$7,330
41MissouriUniversity of Central Missouri9,786$7,322
42NebraskaPeru State College2,215$7,243
43OhioOhio State University- Marion1,132$7,140
44IndianaIndiana University-South Bend6,653$7,073
45IndianaIndiana University-Southeast5,486$7,073
46IndianaIndiana University-Northwest5,244$7,073
47IndianaIndiana University- East4,287$7,073
48IndianaIndiana University-Kokomo3,977$7,073
49MissouriLincoln University2,618$7,042
50NebraskaUniversity of Nebraska- Kearney5,056$6,844
51NebraskaChadron State University2,334$6,510
52NebraskaWayne State College2,837$6,462
53OhioCentral State University1,729$6,246
54OhioWright State University- Lake Campus
1,302$5,842
55MissouriMissouri Southern State University6,231$5,523
56MissouriHarris-Stowe State University1,464$5,220
57OhioMiami University-Hamilton2,884$5,173
58OhioMiami University-Middletown1,914$5,173

Source: U.S. Department of Education