The 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Illinois In 2024


The most affordable places to live in Illinois for 2024 are Mattoon, Centralia, and East St. Louis according to Saturday Night Science.

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

  1. Mattoon
  2. Centralia
  3. East St. Louis
  4. Mount Vernon
  5. Clinton
  6. Vandalia
  7. Pana
  8. Salem
  9. Beardstown
  10. Kewanee

Most Affordable Cities In Illinois Map

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

Mattoon, IL

Source: City Of Mattoon
Overall SnackAbility

6
/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

Centralia, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/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

East St. Louis, IL

Source: Wikipedia User FlickreviewR | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/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

Mount Vernon, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Hans Schönverrückt | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/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

Clinton, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Dual Freq | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/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

Vandalia, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Platek | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/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

Review Of Vandalia by HomeSnacks User

I live in Vandalia and it certainly is chock full of redneckery and overloaded with hillbillery. It’s glorious.

Pana, IL

Source: Wikipedia User DianePearse69 | CC BY-SA 4.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/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

Salem, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/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

Beardstown, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/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

Kewanee, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/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

Map Of The Cheapest Places To Live In Illinois
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:

  1. South Barrington
  2. Winnetka
  3. 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
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.