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.
About 13.6 percent of Illinois workers now work from home, the 19th-highest share in the country — our state-by-state commute breakdown shows what that flip did to carpooling.
$35,700 median income · $847 median rent · #1 home prices in Illinois
Located in
St. Clair County, Illinois
East St. Louis, located in southern Illinois, has the lowest median home value ($39,297) in the state, coupled with a low cost of living index at 76. It ranks as the 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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,171 median income · $1,110 median rent · #145 home prices in Illinois
Park City is a small city located in the Warren and Waukegan townships of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,570 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$54,409 median income · $719 median rent · #10 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Perry County, Illinois
With a median home price of $95,488, Du Quoin has the second lowest price tag on home ownership on this list. On the flip side, Du Quoin residents also have the lowest income of places on this list, with a median income of $54,409. Overall, Du Quoin has the tenth lowest ratio of home price to income in Illinois, so the two things average out just fine if you’re trying to buy (and if your income is well above the median, homes will seem dirt cheap to you). The median rent in Du Quoin is $719, which is the lowest you’ll see on this list. However, because of the slightly lower median income in Du Quoin, buying is still the most cost effective option for housing.
Du Quoin is located in the southwestern part of the state, an hour and a half southeast of St. Louis.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$60,861 median income · $882 median rent · #4 home prices in Illinois
Located about 2 hours south of Chicago and 2 hours northwest of Indianapolis, Hoopeston ranks as the fourth cheapest city in Illinois. At a median price tag of $81,733, Hoopeston has some of the least expensive home prices in the state. Folks in Hoopeston earn a median income of $60,861, giving Hoopeston the second best ratio of home price to income in Illinois. Even though rent in Hoopeston is quite low at $882/month, the slightly lower median income in Hoopeston makes renting less attractive than buying.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$50,886 median income · $797 median rent · #3 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Henry County, Illinois
Kewanee holds the fifth 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 $50,886 median income. That frees up funds to spend big at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield once a year.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$59,980 median income · $809 median rent · #45 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Richland County, Illinois
Olney ranks as one of the most affordable places to live in Illinois. With a population of 8,577, this city offers a median home value of $132,106 and median rent of $809, making it an ideal place for those looking for affordable housing options.
In addition to its low cost of living, Olney is known for a strong community spirit, excellent schools, and a low crime rate. With a median income of $59,980, residents here enjoy a comfortable lifestyle with plenty of amenities and things to do.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$54,123 median income · $798 median rent · #18 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Franklin County, Illinois
Benton is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,087 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$57,609 median income · $852 median rent · #32 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Livingston County, Illinois
Streator is a city in LaSalle and Livingston counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city is situated on the Vermilion River approximately 81 miles southwest of Chicago in the prairie and farm land of north-central Illinois. It is the center of the geographic region known as Streatorland. According to the 2010 census, the population of Streator was 13,710.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$53,927 median income · $777 median rent · #12 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Edgar County, Illinois
You may think that Paris is an expensive city, and you’d be right if we were talking about the one in France. Paris, Illinois, on the other hand, is the ninth cheapest place to live in the whole state.
A city of 8,276 situated near the Indiana border, Paris has some crazy cheap housing options. The housing portion of Paris’ cost of living score is nearly half the statewide average. Homes here go for a median price of $99,912, while your typical Paris rental is about $777.
The median household income in Paris is $53,927, and that’s up over 8% from last year — with growth like that, we can expect things to just keep becoming more and more affordable.
Just because Paris is cheap doesn’t mean it’s without its luxuries. For example, the Eagle Ridge Golf Course is a local favorite, and it won’t break the bank to sign up for a season.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$47,898 median income · $661 median rent · #7 home prices in Illinois
Located in
Franklin County, Illinois
West Frankfort is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,182 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Lakeland area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Illinois’s statewide median.
Illinois statewide median: $285,736
Illinois statewide median: $83,390
On the map
Where your money goes furthest in Illinois
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the most affordable places to live in the Prairie State for 2026
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 2020-2024 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 330 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 East St. Louis.
We updated this article for 2026. This report reflects our eleventh time ranking the cheapest places to live in Illinois. The median Illinois home is 55 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Cheapest Places To Live In Illinois
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Cost Of Living Index | Median Income | Home Prices | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East St. Louis | 17,999 | 76 | $35,700 | $39,297 | $847 |
| 2 | Park City | 7,827 | 80 | $60,171 | $272,660 | $1,110 |
| 3 | Du Quoin | 5,726 | 80 | $54,409 | $95,488 | $719 |
| 4 | Hoopeston | 5,034 | 80 | $60,861 | $81,733 | $882 |
| 5 | Kewanee | 11,913 | 81 | $50,886 | $76,580 | $797 |
| 6 | Olney | 8,577 | 81 | $59,980 | $132,106 | $809 |
| 7 | Benton | 6,863 | 81 | $54,123 | $104,191 | $798 |
| 8 | Streator | 12,330 | 82 | $57,609 | $122,609 | $852 |
| 9 | Paris | 8,276 | 82 | $53,927 | $99,912 | $777 |
| 10 | West Frankfort | 7,118 | 82 | $47,898 | $87,998 | $661 |
| 11 | Centralia | 11,856 | 83 | $47,807 | $109,743 | $765 |
| 12 | Rock Falls | 8,587 | 83 | $49,600 | $114,964 | $754 |
| 13 | Robinson | 7,084 | 83 | $73,993 | $101,121 | $907 |
| 14 | Murphysboro | 6,735 | 83 | $44,154 | $113,682 | $697 |
| 15 | Beardstown | 6,169 | 83 | $60,587 | $87,129 | $762 |
| 16 | Pinckneyville | 5,018 | 83 | $69,583 | $124,847 | $416 |
| 17 | Galesburg | 29,481 | 84 | $48,297 | $99,822 | $801 |
| 18 | Granite City | 26,549 | 84 | $59,205 | $111,237 | $834 |
| 19 | Freeport | 23,505 | 84 | $51,723 | $122,934 | $793 |
| 20 | Sterling | 14,717 | 84 | $57,350 | $137,875 | $859 |
| 21 | Harrisburg | 8,372 | 84 | $43,415 | $87,980 | $760 |
| 22 | Pana | 5,217 | 84 | $46,168 | $104,180 | $684 |
| 23 | Charleston | 17,062 | 85 | $49,300 | $162,022 | $817 |
| 24 | Mattoon | 16,586 | 85 | $51,597 | $123,517 | $740 |
| 25 | Monmouth | 8,581 | 85 | $61,138 | $105,665 | $733 |
| 26 | Jerseyville | 7,445 | 85 | $73,529 | $142,963 | $869 |
| 27 | Clinton | 6,985 | 85 | $62,323 | $143,892 | $934 |
| 28 | Mount Carmel | 6,854 | 85 | $47,009 | $106,343 | $804 |
| 29 | Litchfield | 6,834 | 85 | $53,958 | $121,157 | $675 |
| 30 | Metropolis | 5,864 | 85 | $50,399 | $117,765 | $752 |
| 31 | East Alton | 5,689 | 85 | $48,815 | $93,631 | $881 |
| 32 | Decatur | 69,815 | 86 | $51,592 | $104,058 | $845 |
| 33 | Danville | 28,595 | 86 | $45,957 | $75,761 | $846 |
| 34 | Alton | 25,279 | 86 | $54,568 | $103,097 | $1,015 |
| 35 | Dixon | 14,910 | 86 | $59,406 | $167,290 | $912 |
| 36 | Herrin | 12,226 | 86 | $59,975 | $105,723 | $1,002 |
| 37 | Taylorville | 10,646 | 86 | $57,552 | $131,270 | $828 |
| 38 | Wood River | 10,279 | 86 | $62,703 | $127,547 | $936 |
| 39 | Hillsboro | 5,803 | 86 | $50,158 | $139,939 | $715 |
| 40 | Jacksonville | 18,014 | 87 | $65,432 | $133,976 | $711 |
| 41 | Pontiac | 11,294 | 87 | $61,279 | $150,834 | $842 |
| 42 | Riverdale | 10,340 | 87 | $39,833 | $108,121 | $1,231 |
| 43 | Salem | 7,236 | 87 | $59,728 | $141,417 | $774 |
| 44 | Mendota | 6,994 | 87 | $51,632 | $173,549 | $773 |
| 45 | Chester | 6,797 | 87 | $80,625 | $114,646 | $760 |
| 46 | Vandalia | 5,796 | 87 | $45,469 | $125,377 | $778 |
| 47 | Carlinville | 5,480 | 87 | $57,708 | $140,570 | $824 |
| 48 | Belleville | 41,370 | 88 | $63,535 | $156,535 | $1,019 |
| 49 | Harvey | 20,230 | 88 | $42,429 | $100,310 | $960 |
| 50 | Marion | 16,836 | 88 | $56,912 | $171,752 | $921 |
| 51 | Macomb | 14,894 | 88 | $44,411 | $104,806 | $765 |
| 52 | Mount Vernon | 14,090 | 88 | $55,357 | $124,129 | $910 |
| 53 | Lincoln | 13,281 | 88 | $57,340 | $130,597 | $828 |
| 54 | Rantoul | 12,421 | 88 | $48,691 | $140,357 | $890 |
| 55 | Greenville | 7,235 | 88 | $62,089 | $171,260 | $783 |
| 56 | Spring Valley | 5,476 | 88 | $70,598 | $138,946 | $915 |
| 57 | Rockford | 147,521 | 89 | $54,752 | $177,225 | $985 |
| 58 | Quincy | 39,109 | 89 | $56,480 | $173,589 | $837 |
| 59 | Pekin | 31,781 | 89 | $60,790 | $138,124 | $819 |
| 60 | Kankakee | 23,996 | 89 | $47,514 | $149,624 | $1,023 |
| 61 | Canton | 13,144 | 89 | $53,254 | $91,365 | $766 |
| 62 | Pontoon Beach | 6,025 | 89 | $62,861 | $187,320 | $1,277 |
| 63 | Peoria Heights | 5,825 | 89 | $60,099 | $115,399 | $913 |
| 64 | Milan | 5,034 | 89 | $62,597 | $184,801 | $963 |
| 65 | Eureka | 5,007 | 89 | $56,048 | $205,468 | $692 |
| 66 | Rock Island | 36,151 | 90 | $59,041 | $122,693 | $842 |
| 67 | Belvidere | 24,752 | 90 | $64,528 | $255,895 | $991 |
| 68 | Loves Park | 23,502 | 90 | $61,868 | $195,133 | $1,120 |
| 69 | Carbondale | 22,158 | 90 | $32,128 | $134,809 | $771 |
| 70 | Ottawa | 18,447 | 90 | $71,413 | $206,707 | $920 |
| 71 | LaSalle | 9,498 | 90 | $57,732 | $123,171 | $1,045 |
| 72 | Steger | 9,418 | 90 | $66,575 | $165,484 | $1,076 |
| 73 | Colona | 5,139 | 90 | $79,700 | $177,130 | $838 |
| 74 | Moline | 42,197 | 91 | $67,701 | $144,032 | $900 |
| 75 | Collinsville | 24,031 | 91 | $67,612 | $192,078 | $1,038 |
| 76 | East Moline | 20,904 | 91 | $61,779 | $145,117 | $868 |
| 77 | Effingham | 12,342 | 91 | $72,377 | $226,769 | $725 |
| 78 | Peru | 9,775 | 91 | $74,808 | $177,236 | $921 |
| 79 | Sauk Village | 9,678 | 91 | $69,973 | $146,776 | $1,502 |
| 80 | Bethalto | 9,239 | 91 | $64,775 | $197,189 | $981 |
| 81 | Princeton | 7,975 | 91 | $61,946 | $167,664 | $782 |
| 82 | Silvis | 7,955 | 91 | $62,375 | $153,476 | $965 |
| 83 | Bartonville | 5,841 | 91 | $72,821 | $130,912 | $1,214 |
| 84 | Peoria | 112,169 | 92 | $59,410 | $128,838 | $1,005 |
| 85 | Calumet City | 35,100 | 92 | $55,369 | $150,472 | $1,177 |
| 86 | Chicago Heights | 26,736 | 92 | $54,798 | $166,838 | $1,038 |
| 87 | Park Forest | 21,156 | 92 | $61,072 | $149,728 | $1,365 |
| 88 | Harvard | 9,598 | 92 | $67,617 | $267,909 | $1,183 |
| 89 | South Beloit | 7,946 | 92 | $78,616 | $233,139 | $972 |
| 90 | Calumet Park | 6,855 | 92 | $53,556 | $159,230 | $1,288 |
| 91 | Geneseo | 6,673 | 92 | $70,147 | $238,661 | $1,015 |
| 92 | Mount Zion | 5,660 | 92 | $103,365 | $193,289 | $744 |
| 93 | Springfield | 113,330 | 93 | $66,064 | $163,198 | $975 |
| 94 | Lansing | 28,284 | 93 | $75,569 | $195,488 | $1,268 |
| 95 | Machesney Park | 22,630 | 93 | $75,489 | $201,575 | $1,102 |
| 96 | East Peoria | 22,324 | 93 | $71,833 | $176,420 | $886 |
| 97 | Rochelle | 9,529 | 93 | $66,307 | $187,170 | $985 |
| 98 | Round Lake Park | 7,919 | 93 | $55,813 | $220,881 | $1,402 |
| 99 | Chillicothe | 5,900 | 93 | $66,132 | $177,740 | $899 |
| 100 | Carterville | 5,818 | 93 | $62,337 | $178,566 | $909 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, cost-of-living data. 330 places with more than 5,000 residents.
Summary
Illinois Affordability Summary
This is an accurate list of the most affordable places to live in Illinois for 2026, if you’re looking at the cost of living numbers in Illinois.
The cheapest cities in Illinois are East St. Louis, Park City, Du Quoin, Hoopeston, Kewanee, Olney, Benton, Streator, Paris, and West Frankfort. Not sold on Illinois? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Most Affordable Places To Live In Illinois FAQs
What is the cheapest place to live in Illinois?
East St. Louis is the cheapest place to live in Illinois for 2026. It posts the lowest Cost of Living Index of the 330 places we analyzed; Park City and Du Quoin are next.
How cheap is housing in East St. Louis?
The median home value in East St. Louis is $39,297, versus $285,736 statewide, and the median rent is $847. Housing carries the biggest weight in our cost of living index, and it is the main reason East St. Louis takes the top spot.
What are the most affordable places to live in Illinois?
The most affordable places to live in Illinois are East St. Louis, Park City, and Du Quoin. We ranked all 330 places with more than 5,000 residents on housing, transportation, services, groceries, healthcare, and utilities costs; the full top ten is in the table above.
What is the most expensive place to live in Illinois?
Glencoe is the most expensive place to live in Illinois. It ranks last of the 330 places we scored on the Cost of Living Index, and the other priciest spots are listed next to the summary above.
How do you measure the cost of living in Illinois?
We index cost of living data from the Census American Community Survey across housing, transportation, services, groceries, healthcare, and utilities, with housing weighted heaviest since it eats the biggest share of a budget. A score of 100 is the national average; anything under 100 counts as affordable.
