Iowa State University students pay $6,839 less in tuition than Illinois residents are charged to attend the similarly sized University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a 45 percent difference, 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.
Tuition to attend one of Iowa’s two large universities ranges from $8,219 at Iowa State University, which has 30,671 students, to $8,575 at the University of Iowa, with 24,476 students. Iowa State had the second lowest tuition among the large universities ranked in the study. The most expensive large school is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a tuition of $15,058.
Iowa has only one mid-sized university, the University of North Iowa, which charges $8,309. The school ranked No. 26 in tuition cost among the mid-sized schools in the study, coming in 44 percent below the most expensive school in the category, Miami University-Oxford in Ohio, which charges $14,736.
But Iowa has no four-year campuses with populations under 10,000 students, which can provide economical options. Ohio’s Miami University campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, for example, charge only $5,173 for in-state tuition.
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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