The University of Wisconsin Colleges has the lowest tuition among mid-sized public universities in the Midwest, coming in at 65 percent less than the most expensive mid-sized school in the region, Miami University-Oxford in Ohio, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of in-state tuition at four-year universities in 10 Midwest states.
The Tribune compared 116 Midwest universities 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.
Wisconsin residents generally pay public-university tuitions in the middle of the pack, in the $7,000-to-$10,000 range. But students attending University of Wisconsin Colleges, with an enrollment of just under 12,000, pay only $5,159, compared to $14,736 for students at the Miami University-Oxford campus, with an enrollment of just under 17,000.
Among large schools, University of Wisconsin-Madison has the ninth most costly in-state tuition, at $10,488. But that cost is still well below the $15,058 the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign charges its students.
Among the smaller four-year schools, Wisconsinites pay in the middling range for their higher education. UW-Stout charges $9,395 for in-state tuition, which is 36 percent less than the most costly school in the group, Michigan Tech University, with an in-state tuition of $14,634. But UW-Stout’s tuition cost is also 82 percent more than the schools ranked least expensive, Miami University-Hamilton and Miami University-Middletown, which are both in Ohio. They charge in-state students $5,173.
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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: U.S. Department of Education