Illinois Higher Education $pending
Illinois spends more of its residents’ tax dollars on higher education than any other state in the U.S. but its public universities charge some of the highest tuition anyway.
What the data shows:
Illinois is No. 1 in the nation for per-student spending at four-year public universities ($28,085).
That is more than double the national average and almost four times what Indiana taxpayers spend.
Every single public university in Illinois charges more in tuition than every public university in Indiana.
While Indiana froze its in-state tuition two years ago, Illinois public universities raised tuition at almost every school in 2026.
Illinois taxpayers pay high state taxes to fund the state’s higher education institutions, but families end getting double-charged by also paying exorbitantly high tuition costs to access them. (To say nothing of the state’s property tax burden).
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