The 10 Best Counties To Live In Illinois For 2025


The best counties in Illinois are Monroe County and Piatt County for 2025 based on Saturday Night Science.

By: Chris Kolmar | About HomeSnacks
Last Updated: October 2, 2025

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Illinois a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Illinois.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Prairie State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Illinois, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 102 counties in the state.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary

The 10 Best Counties To Live In Illinois For 2025

  1. Monroe County
  2. Piatt County
  3. Kendall County
  4. Woodford County
  5. Calhoun County
  6. Menard County
  7. Grundy County
  8. Jo Daviess County
  9. Putnam County
  10. McLean County

Monroe County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Illinois. And you should avoid Alexander County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Illinois. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Illinois and the cheapest places to live in Illinois.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The Best Counties To Live In Illinois For 2025

1. Monroe County

Columbia, IL

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Columbia
Population: 34,969
Median Income: $101,635 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $265,600 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.1% (best)
More on Monroe County: 

2. Piatt County

Monticello, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Dual Freq | GFDL

Biggest Place: Monticello
Population: 16,702
Median Income: $87,516 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $173,200 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (19th best)
More on Piatt County: 

3. Kendall County

Aurora, IL

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Aurora
Population: 135,053
Median Income: $110,474 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $298,900 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (27th best)
More on Kendall County: 

4. Woodford County

Metamora, IL

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Eureka
Population: 38,348
Median Income: $85,629 (11th best)
Median Home Price: $193,800 (15th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (11th best)
More on Woodford County: 

5. Calhoun County

Source: Public Domain

Biggest Place: Hardin
Population: 4,406
Median Income: $92,095 (9th best)
Median Home Price: $174,000 (2best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (29th best)
More on Calhoun County: 

6. Menard County

Athens, IL

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Petersburg
Population: 12,169
Median Income: $81,334 (15th best)
Median Home Price: $179,300 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (30th best)
More on Menard County: 

7. Grundy County

Biggest Place: Morris
Population: 52,920
Median Income: $93,060 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $259,200 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (49th best)
More on Grundy County: 

8. Jo Daviess County

Galena, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Chris Light of English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Galena
Population: 21,918
Median Income: $74,954 (23rd best)
Median Home Price: $193,900 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (9th best)
More on Jo Daviess County: 

9. Putnam County

Biggest Place: Granville
Population: 5,600
Median Income: $77,526 (19th best)
Median Home Price: $167,800 (27th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.4% (23rd best)
More on Putnam County: 

10. Mclean County

Bloomington, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Todd Ryburn from Bloomington, IL, United States | CC BY 2.0

Biggest Place: Bloomington
Population: 170,882
Median Income: $78,329 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $198,300 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (12th best)
More on Mclean County: 

Safest Places In Illinois

Methodology: How do you determine which Illinois county is the best?

To give you the best county in Illinois, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Illinois across each of the criteria from one to 102, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Illinois.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Prairie State.

We updated this article for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Illinois.

Read on to see why Monroe County is the best county, while Alexander County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Illinois.

Summary: The Best Counties In Illinois To Call Home For 2025

Living in Illinois can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Illinois are Monroe County, Piatt County, Kendall County, Woodford County, Calhoun County, Menard County, Grundy County, Jo Daviess County, Putnam County, and McLean County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Illinois according to the data:

  1. Alexander County
  2. Lawrence County
  3. Franklin County

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Illinois

Rank County Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Monroe County 34,969 $101,635 $265,600
2 Piatt County 16,702 $87,516 $173,200
3 Kendall County 135,053 $110,474 $298,900
4 Woodford County 38,348 $85,629 $193,800
5 Calhoun County 4,406 $92,095 $174,000
6 Menard County 12,169 $81,334 $179,300
7 Grundy County 52,920 $93,060 $259,200
8 Jo Daviess County 21,918 $74,954 $193,900
9 Putnam County 5,600 $77,526 $167,800
10 Mclean County 170,882 $78,329 $198,300
11 Mchenry County 311,366 $102,836 $286,900
12 Effingham County 34,505 $75,380 $179,800
13 Washington County 13,682 $75,652 $149,800
14 Clinton County 36,899 $82,314 $180,500
15 Tazewell County 130,555 $76,704 $164,500
16 Dupage County 927,263 $110,502 $374,100
17 Will County 698,450 $107,799 $298,000
18 Mercer County 15,619 $71,710 $139,300
19 Henry County 48,948 $69,912 $145,300
20 Shelby County 20,867 $68,457 $130,400
21 Jersey County 21,336 $79,104 $168,800
22 Brown County 6,320 $72,288 $142,200
23 Jasper County 9,233 $71,094 $122,900
24 Adams County 65,166 $64,962 $155,900
25 Lee County 34,058 $68,459 $155,100
26 Madison County 264,631 $74,800 $167,900
27 Cumberland County 10,378 $69,826 $117,700
28 Ogle County 51,536 $79,244 $184,100
29 Scott County 4,847 $73,013 $101,700
30 Sangamon County 195,217 $74,114 $170,300
31 Clark County 15,328 $70,625 $123,100
32 De Witt County 15,461 $64,802 $124,200
33 Pope County 3,757 $62,500 $165,300
34 Marshall County 11,715 $69,818 $137,800
35 Lake County 711,885 $108,917 $326,600
36 Livingston County 35,659 $70,796 $131,500
37 Lasalle County 109,049 $72,281 $154,900
38 Champaign County 206,098 $63,091 $205,100
39 Kane County 516,097 $100,678 $303,000
40 St. Clair County 254,777 $70,178 $168,800
41 Macoupin County 44,566 $68,518 $126,100
42 Williamson County 66,902 $65,521 $145,600
43 Bond County 16,627 $61,603 $133,100
44 Boone County 53,316 $81,638 $198,600
45 Logan County 27,870 $64,188 $125,900
46 Douglas County 19,686 $74,186 $142,600
47 Kankakee County 106,833 $68,325 $185,700
48 Dekalb County 100,512 $69,022 $231,900
49 Stark County 5,324 $62,284 $103,500
50 Morgan County 32,621 $65,175 $128,700
51 Moultrie County 14,469 $71,676 $121,500
52 Hancock County 17,434 $65,044 $108,400
53 Whiteside County 55,192 $64,536 $125,800
54 Christian County 33,684 $59,253 $112,100
55 Crawford County 18,588 $67,614 $113,700
56 Stephenson County 44,042 $61,943 $127,500
57 Macon County 102,591 $62,449 $121,800
58 Hardin County 3,623 $57,155 $91,700
59 Peoria County 179,831 $64,938 $152,600
60 Richland County 15,675 $60,404 $106,600
61 Randolph County 30,142 $68,870 $134,100
62 Cook County 5,185,812 $81,797 $305,200
63 Bureau County 33,027 $65,894 $121,900
64 Henderson County 6,284 $65,651 $101,600
65 Wabash County 11,199 $53,650 $103,900
66 Johnson County 13,350 $65,203 $148,200
67 Greene County 11,837 $60,976 $94,400
68 Edgar County 16,637 $56,909 $95,700
69 Ford County 13,396 $60,782 $118,100
70 Rock Island County 142,995 $66,768 $144,700
71 Mason County 12,878 $62,127 $106,100
72 Iroquois County 26,746 $62,439 $125,400
73 Fulton County 33,259 $58,617 $102,500
74 Montgomery County 28,078 $61,863 $102,200
75 Winnebago County 283,289 $64,363 $155,100
76 Massac County 13,958 $62,584 $118,000
77 Carroll County 15,621 $60,871 $113,500
78 Jefferson County 36,808 $61,102 $118,400
79 Wayne County 15,994 $53,107 $109,400
80 Schuyler County 6,826 $66,059 $106,200
81 Cass County 12,826 $64,907 $95,500
82 Perry County 20,810 $59,286 $105,200
83 Pike County 14,625 $58,029 $100,100
84 Hamilton County 7,972 $61,520 $108,800
85 Warren County 16,576 $64,650 $101,300
86 Fayette County 21,380 $57,113 $114,700
87 White County 13,708 $53,097 $100,100
88 Knox County 49,294 $53,291 $104,900
89 Coles County 46,689 $56,040 $121,900
90 Mcdonough County 27,102 $50,434 $103,500
91 Union County 16,972 $56,420 $131,700
92 Vermilion County 73,179 $54,537 $92,900
93 Edwards County 6,118 $59,386 $97,500
94 Marion County 37,294 $60,839 $100,100
95 Jackson County 52,706 $45,572 $125,000
96 Pulaski County 5,074 $43,227 $81,000
97 Gallatin County 4,857 $54,626 $84,700
98 Clay County 13,173 $57,266 $94,300
99 Saline County 23,387 $54,945 $92,900
100 Franklin County 37,541 $53,471 $87,700
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

 Best Counties, Rankings