If you’re on the hunt for the cheapest places to live in Illinois, you’re in luck. The Land of Lincoln is brimming with affordable cities that offer a low living cost without compromising the quality of life.
We used Saturday Night Science to identify the cheapest places to live in Illinois based on the cost of living, home prices, and rents.
You don’t need to be a millionaire to enjoy what these inexpensive Illinois cities provide. So, grab a fried tenderloin sandwich or some deep dish and read on to learn there are affordable places to live in Illinois outside of just Chicago.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary
The 10 most affordable places to live in Illinois
What is the most affordable place to live in Illinois for 2024? The most affordable place in Illinois is Mattoon after crunching data from the US Census on median housing costs, median income, and overall cost of living for cities with over 5,000 residents in Illinois.
And even though Mattoon may be the cheapest, every place in the top ten lets you live like a king on a pauper’s salary.
Check out some more reading about Illinois and the cheapest places in the country:
The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Illinois For 2024
/10
Population: 16,830
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 75
Median Income: $45,953
Median Home Price: $102,983
Median Rent: $740
Mattoon is at the pinnacle of affordably priced locales in Illinois. Its average home price is $102,983, and its average rent is $740, both below the state average.
“Mattoon is a small town with a big sense of volunteerism and an even larger appetite for growth. We’re a place that ensures a quality education for your children and a great quality of life for your family,” explains Alexander Benishek, Community Development and Planning Director for the City of Mattoon. “We have access to quality bike trails, nature trails, and multiple lakes.”
More on Mattoon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 12,096
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 75
Median Income: $46,468
Median Home Price: $91,860
Median Rent: $718
Centralia, located near major railroad connections, boasts a population of 12,096 and emerges as a paragon of pocket-friendliness. Homeowners bask in the glow of median home values at $91,860.
The city’s cost of living index is pegged at 75, ranking it as the second most affordable spot in Illinois. You’ll save even more doing cheap things around Centralia, like spending an afternoon in Schwartz Orchard or listening to the Centralia Carillon.
More on Centralia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 18,796
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 76
Median Income: $28,519
Median Home Price: $35,320
Median Rent: $585
East St. Louis, located in southern Illinois, has the lowest median home value in the state, coupled with a low cost of living index at 76. It ranks as the third cheapest place in Illinois.
Particularly in intra-state rankings, home prices and rent will be the most significant factors in determining how expensive a place in Illinois is. And home prices usually reflect demand.
More on East St. Louis: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 14,740
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 76
Median Income: $48,786
Median Home Price: $100,313
Median Rent: $872
Next on our list we have Mount Vernon, the fourth least expensive city in Illinois. Located in Jefferson County, it’s $100,313 median home value pairs well with a $48,786 median income
The overall cost of living is 21.6% lower than the Illinoisan average. There are many budget-friendly activities to do in Mount Vernon, such as visiting the Jefferson County Historical Village or exploring the Shrode Art Center at Cedarhurst.
More on Mount Vernon: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 6,889
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 76
Median Income: $51,270
Median Home Price: $119,642
Median Rent: $816
Coming in as the fifth most affordable place in Illinois is Clinton, a city located an hour northeast of Springfield. With a median income of $51,270, Clinton has a slightly better home price to income and rent to income ratio than Litchfield. However, the median home price in Clinton is slightly higher at $119,642, bumping Clinton to the #2 spot. Additionally, the unemployment rate in Clinton is about double that of Litchfield, so you may have a tougher time locking down a job to appreciate the city’s affordability.
If you take advantage of the free things to do in Clinton, like hiking at Weldon Springs State Park, then you’ll have even more money in your bank account at the end of the week.
More on Clinton: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 6,058
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 76
Median Income: $37,380
Median Home Price: $112,189
Median Rent: $717
Vandalia, located in Fayette County within the heart of IL, ranks as the sixth most budget-friendly city, mainly due to its reasonable $112,189 median home price. A manageable 76 overall cost of living index is 21 points lower than the state average.
Vandalia’s low 3.13% unemployment rate underscores a strong job market. You can take advantage of fun things to do, like visiting the Vandalia Statehouse or a long weekend in St. Louis.
More on Vandalia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
I live in Vandalia and it certainly is chock full of redneckery and overloaded with hillbillery. It’s glorious.
/10
Population: 5,167
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 76
Median Income: $47,763
Median Home Price: $82,618
Median Rent: $672
When it comes to buying a home on a budget, there’s few better on this list than Pana. The city also has a super low unemployment rate, so you should have no trouble getting a job with a median income of $47,763. The median home price in Pana is $82,618, giving the city the 15th lowest ratio of home price to income in Illinois, the best of any city listed here. If you feed yourself on catfish from Pana Lake, you can further cut down on both your entertainment and food budget all at once.
Pana is located about an hour southeast of Springfield.
More on Pana: Data | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 7,228
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 78
Median Income: $55,536
Median Home Price: $115,900
Median Rent: $729
Located in southwestern Illinois about 70 miles east of Saint Louis, is Salem — the eighth most affordable place to live in Illinois. This stop off of I-57 boasts an overall cost of living about 20% lower than the state average thanks in large part to affordable costs of housing. The median home price is $115,900, while rent is the 27th cheapest in Illinois at $729.
In terms of what all of this affordability buys you, Salem offers affordable options for things to do with the whole family from local disc golf courses to the town’s aquatic center. You can also peruse the offerings at local, small town antique shops and fine dining on main street.
More on Salem: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 5,884
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 78
Median Income: $58,804
Median Home Price: $74,614
Median Rent: $697
Beardstown is the ninth most affordable city in Illinois, mostly because of its rock-bottom home prices. The median home price in Beardstown is $74,614, the lowest you’ll see on this list. Beardstown residents earn a median income of $58,804, giving Beardstown the second lowest ratio of home price to income in Illinois. The affordability of Beardstown goes way down for renters, who pay a median rent of $697, giving the city the worst income to rent ratio of any city on this list.
Beardstown is located an hour northwest of Springfield.
More on Beardstown: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
/10
Population: 12,179
Overall Cost Of Living Index: 79
Median Income: $46,305
Median Home Price: $61,537
Median Rent: $751
Kewanee holds the tenth place rank for affordability in Illinois. Located an hour southeast of Davenport, IA, it’s one of the northernmost cities in this ranking. The cost of living goes up as you move north.
Windmont Park and Liberty Park offer free outside activities to help you save more of your $46,305 median income. That frees up funds to spend big at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield once a year.
More on Kewanee: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Cheapest places to live in Illinois FAQs
The county in Illinois with the lowest cost of living is Kane County. The average living wage in Kane County is $100,148 according to MIT data. Kane County has the lowest cost of living because it has relatively less expensive childcare and housing costs compared to Illinois as a whole. Childcare costs $20,904 a year in Kane County for two children compared to the Illinois average of $17,909. Housing costs, defined as a blend of the average rent and average mortgage payment, are $15,588 per year in Kane County compared to $13,649 on average in Illinois.
The cost of living in Illinois is 5.3% higher than the US average. According to MIT, the required living wage for a family of four with two working parents in Illinois is $94,525 vs the national average for a family of four with two working parents of $89,744. The median income of a Illinois household is $68,428.
The cheapest housing market in Illinois is Park City. The average home value in Park City is $23,200, the lowest in the state. The average home value in Illinois is $202,100, almost 8.7 times higher than Park City.
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Prairie State for 2024
Determining affordability for places in Illinois boils down to how much it costs to live here.
You need to understand your costs relative to what people in the rest of the state are paying.
With that logic in mind, we derived several cost of living statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2018-2022 for Illinois using Saturday Night Science. We indexed the cost of living statistics across the following categories:
- Housing
- Transportation
- Services
- Groceries
- Healthcare
- Utilities
These are then weighted together to produce an overall cost of living index where 100 is the United States average. Anything below 100 is relatively affordable. Anything over 100 is relatively expensive.
We applied the biggest weight to housing as it typically accounts for 25% or more of your budget. Additionally, housing costs are the highest variant cost across a state. We then compare these cost of living metrics for each place in Illinois to figure out which is the least expensive.
The “Cost of Living Index” allows you to rank all of the 328 places in Illinois that have more than 5,000 people from least expensive to most expensive. Any ties went to the larger city.
The place in Illinois with the lowest cost of living according to the data is Mattoon.
We updated this article for 2024. This report reflects our tenth time ranking the cheapest places to live in Illinois.
Illinois Affordabilility Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Illinois for 2024, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Illinois.
The cheapest cities in Illinois are Mattoon, Centralia, East St. Louis, Mount Vernon, Clinton, Vandalia, Pana, Salem, Beardstown, and Kewanee.
Here’s a look at the most expensive cities in Illinois according to the data:
- South Barrington
- Winnetka
- Glencoe
For more Illinois reading, check out:
Cheapest Places To Live In Illinois
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mattoon | 16,830 | 75 | $45,953 | $102,983 | $740 |
| 2 | Centralia | 12,096 | 75 | $46,468 | $91,860 | $718 |
| 3 | East St. Louis | 18,796 | 76 | $28,519 | $35,320 | $585 |
| 4 | Mount Vernon | 14,740 | 76 | $48,786 | $100,313 | $872 |
| 5 | Clinton | 6,889 | 76 | $51,270 | $119,642 | $816 |
| 6 | Vandalia | 6,058 | 76 | $37,380 | $112,189 | $717 |
| 7 | Pana | 5,167 | 76 | $47,763 | $82,618 | $672 |
| 8 | Salem | 7,228 | 78 | $55,536 | $115,900 | $729 |
| 9 | Beardstown | 5,884 | 78 | $58,804 | $74,614 | $697 |
| 10 | Kewanee | 12,179 | 79 | $46,305 | $61,537 | $751 |
| 11 | Litchfield | 6,937 | 79 | $50,443 | $106,312 | $630 |
| 12 | Decatur | 70,975 | 80 | $49,039 | $86,713 | $770 |
| 13 | Wood River | 10,313 | 80 | $58,813 | $114,868 | $890 |
| 14 | Carlinville | 5,724 | 80 | $53,583 | $123,722 | $813 |
| 15 | Belleville | 42,155 | 81 | $60,573 | $133,846 | $925 |
| 16 | Danville | 29,100 | 81 | $42,424 | $66,019 | $760 |
| 17 | Granite City | 27,026 | 81 | $58,681 | $100,168 | $785 |
| 18 | Alton | 25,642 | 81 | $49,439 | $88,254 | $908 |
| 19 | Sterling | 14,852 | 82 | $49,007 | $118,457 | $757 |
| 20 | Taylorville | 11,318 | 82 | $49,471 | $106,867 | $702 |
| 21 | Harrisburg | 8,380 | 82 | $38,937 | $73,415 | $654 |
| 22 | Paris | 8,331 | 82 | $50,080 | $83,485 | $705 |
| 23 | West Frankfort | 7,168 | 82 | $41,974 | $79,938 | $663 |
| 24 | Greenville | 7,121 | 82 | $49,635 | $150,882 | $672 |
| 25 | Robinson | 7,089 | 82 | $57,500 | $84,400 | $809 |
| 26 | Kankakee | 24,795 | 83 | $42,180 | $125,881 | $955 |
| 27 | Freeport | 23,884 | 83 | $44,658 | $105,223 | $756 |
| 28 | Canton | 13,380 | 83 | $52,749 | $88,942 | $757 |
| 29 | Lincoln | 13,371 | 83 | $54,002 | $111,345 | $751 |
| 30 | Pontiac | 11,451 | 83 | $55,226 | $129,049 | $804 |
| 31 | Rock Falls | 8,904 | 83 | $48,390 | $97,930 | $756 |
| 32 | Pontoon Beach | 6,039 | 83 | $62,176 | $160,545 | $1,078 |
| 33 | East Alton | 5,782 | 83 | $48,313 | $93,466 | $789 |
| 34 | Pekin | 32,075 | 84 | $52,507 | $118,676 | $736 |
| 35 | Rantoul | 12,544 | 84 | $46,078 | $114,058 | $888 |
| 36 | Streator | 12,279 | 84 | $46,615 | $92,468 | $740 |
| 37 | Effingham | 12,244 | 84 | $62,358 | $222,659 | $686 |
| 38 | LaSalle | 9,562 | 84 | $49,583 | $106,677 | $957 |
| 39 | Monmouth | 8,764 | 84 | $58,991 | $92,195 | $653 |
| 40 | Jerseyville | 7,623 | 84 | $65,736 | $123,416 | $823 |
| 41 | Chester | 6,941 | 84 | $68,826 | $91,199 | $628 |
| 42 | Mount Zion | 6,255 | 84 | $99,798 | $172,130 | $754 |
| 43 | Du Quoin | 5,822 | 84 | $48,770 | $80,515 | $669 |
| 44 | Hillsboro | 5,673 | 84 | $48,302 | $108,541 | $676 |
| 45 | Milan | 5,066 | 84 | $60,304 | $156,283 | $943 |
| 46 | Carmi | 5,042 | 84 | $50,116 | $75,867 | $724 |
| 47 | Rock Island | 37,264 | 85 | $55,732 | $117,639 | $800 |
| 48 | Galesburg | 29,923 | 85 | $42,346 | $81,071 | $679 |
| 49 | Charleston | 17,795 | 85 | $47,533 | $133,440 | $823 |
| 50 | Jacksonville | 17,639 | 85 | $55,944 | $122,200 | $667 |
| 51 | Dixon | 15,573 | 85 | $52,208 | $150,051 | $783 |
| 52 | Peru | 9,831 | 85 | $61,809 | $152,196 | $844 |
| 53 | Murphysboro | 7,101 | 85 | $41,535 | $96,548 | $758 |
| 54 | Peoria Heights | 5,890 | 85 | $59,286 | $97,108 | $889 |
| 55 | Spring Valley | 5,518 | 85 | $60,861 | $114,087 | $909 |
| 56 | Quincy | 39,441 | 86 | $54,199 | $165,315 | $776 |
| 57 | Herrin | 12,344 | 86 | $54,555 | $95,611 | $862 |
| 58 | Olney | 8,995 | 86 | $57,260 | $112,070 | $724 |
| 59 | Benton | 6,999 | 86 | $48,784 | $96,475 | $711 |
| 60 | Mount Carmel | 6,978 | 86 | $44,723 | $88,088 | $688 |
| 61 | Pinckneyville | 5,104 | 86 | $36,893 | $103,250 | $443 |
| 62 | Rockford | 148,173 | 87 | $50,744 | $144,774 | $906 |
| 63 | Springfield | 114,214 | 87 | $62,419 | $147,947 | $913 |
| 64 | Belvidere | 25,389 | 87 | $59,216 | $212,890 | $914 |
| 65 | Loves Park | 22,935 | 87 | $56,370 | $164,667 | $999 |
| 66 | Bethalto | 9,281 | 87 | $67,569 | $177,611 | $883 |
| 67 | Mendota | 6,961 | 87 | $60,601 | $130,895 | $774 |
| 68 | Collinsville | 24,294 | 88 | $63,155 | $170,155 | $946 |
| 69 | East Moline | 20,937 | 88 | $60,032 | $133,196 | $776 |
| 70 | Marion | 16,867 | 88 | $54,052 | $161,860 | $823 |
| 71 | Princeton | 7,749 | 88 | $55,926 | $141,627 | $727 |
| 72 | Park City | 7,702 | 88 | $58,540 | $236,358 | $1,091 |
| 73 | Chillicothe | 6,130 | 88 | $59,161 | $148,452 | $880 |
| 74 | Metropolis | 5,963 | 88 | $46,397 | $97,183 | $688 |
| 75 | Bartonville | 5,952 | 88 | $65,347 | $115,990 | $876 |
| 76 | Machesney Park | 22,840 | 89 | $71,098 | $166,711 | $1,113 |
| 77 | Ottawa | 18,708 | 89 | $67,940 | $173,585 | $869 |
| 78 | Godfrey | 17,791 | 89 | $84,920 | $191,951 | $1,089 |
| 79 | Fairview Heights | 16,360 | 89 | $74,038 | $170,703 | $1,121 |
| 80 | Highland | 10,215 | 89 | $75,779 | $231,849 | $796 |
| 81 | Harvard | 9,705 | 89 | $67,938 | $231,377 | $1,112 |
| 82 | Rochelle | 9,417 | 89 | $55,974 | $165,052 | $855 |
| 83 | South Beloit | 7,943 | 89 | $78,781 | $200,918 | $943 |
| 84 | University Park | 7,328 | 89 | $63,380 | $171,754 | $1,316 |
| 85 | Eureka | 5,504 | 89 | $48,250 | $179,324 | $844 |
| 86 | Colona | 5,404 | 89 | $64,375 | $159,594 | $816 |
| 87 | Genoa | 5,044 | 89 | $80,408 | $259,567 | $1,046 |
| 88 | Urbana | 38,741 | 90 | $41,115 | $168,534 | $910 |
| 89 | East Peoria | 22,552 | 90 | $73,720 | $150,162 | $843 |
| 90 | Macomb | 15,207 | 90 | $35,064 | $98,189 | $674 |
| 91 | Waterloo | 11,012 | 90 | $88,019 | $276,117 | $849 |
| 92 | Rockton | 8,241 | 90 | $111,065 | $248,608 | $800 |
| 93 | Silvis | 7,936 | 90 | $67,622 | $140,040 | $929 |
| 94 | Peoria | 113,054 | 91 | $58,068 | $116,051 | $917 |
| 95 | Champaign | 88,628 | 91 | $58,273 | $200,186 | $1,056 |
| 96 | Moline | 42,452 | 91 | $63,553 | $139,456 | $883 |
| 97 | Carbondale | 22,039 | 91 | $27,360 | $118,743 | $754 |
| 98 | Mascoutah | 8,762 | 91 | $93,403 | $229,083 | $1,154 |
| 99 | Marengo | 7,471 | 91 | $71,196 | $300,906 | $992 |
| 100 | Geneseo | 6,421 | 91 | $64,010 | $214,898 | $919 |