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Place dossier plate
SheetIL-KEWANEE-IL · Kewanee, IL 12,280 pop · income 19th pct · 2 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Kewanee
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Kewanee on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Travelers Rest · lowest
49,655
Travelers Rest · lowest
49,655 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #1
Stone Mountain · near
49,661
Stone Mountain · near
49,661 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #2
Mifflintown · near
49,662
Mifflintown · near
49,662 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #3
Kewanee · this city
49,668
Kewanee · this city
49,668 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #4
South Vinemont · near
49,674
South Vinemont · near
49,674 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #5
Frazeysburg · near
49,676
Frazeysburg · near
49,676 median HH income
19.9% of the leader · rank #6
Upper Montcla… · highest
250,001
Upper Montcla… · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Kewanee on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 12,280.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Kewanee places in the 19th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
19th
percentile, household income
2nd
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Kewanee, IL
Kewanee is a small town in Illinois, home to 12,280 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Kewanee report a median income of $49,668 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 9.4%. Typical homes in Kewanee are valued around $70,000, and the median resident age is 43.6 years. About 15.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 51.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 3 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Building Boom), up 200% from five years earlier. The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 49.6°F with 39.6 inches of precipitation per year and 30.8 inches of snowfall.
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 100.0 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,063 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $240 across Illinois, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. The average commute for Kewanee workers runs 17.3 minutes, with 78.3% driving alone and 6.1% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 54.5 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Kewanee's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from within-city variation to population change to climate and hazard context to schools and households to comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Kewanee, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Within-city variation
What can 2 Census tracts reveal inside Kewanee?
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -349 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 3 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 49.6°F, with 39.6 inches of precipitation and 30.8 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Illinois is 54.5 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Which cities make useful reference points for Kewanee?
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Streator (12,274 residents, $54,953 income); Herrin (12,271 residents, $58,501 income); Effingham (12,258 residents, $65,718 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are San Marino, CA (12,279 residents); Upper Montclair, NJ (12,279 residents); Camp Verde, AZ (12,282 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Schools and households
What does the education layer cover for Kewanee?
The NCES join finds 8 public schools within the city match. 15.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Matched public schools
8
Bachelor's degree+
15.1%
Poverty estimate
9.4%
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Kewanee?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Household income
$49,668
Home value
$70,000
Value / income
1.4×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What does the journey to work look like in Kewanee?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.3%. The reported mean trip to work is 17.3 minutes.
Public transit
0.0%
Work from home
6.1%
Drive alone
78.3%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 5,023 workers age 16+.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
F
City profile score · Kewanee, IL
30/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate D
9.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living D
100.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income F
$49,668
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
15.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Kewanee profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.4%
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Household income: 20/100 (F) · $49,668
Bachelor's+ share: 20/100 (F) · 15.1%
How does Kewanee compare to other US cities?
Where Kewanee sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income19% higher than other cities
Home value2% pricier than other cities
Median rent18% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Kewanee against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Illinois only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Illinois-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Kewanee near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Kewanee ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Kewanee only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,102 of 1,311
16th percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#1,173 of 1,315
11th percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#497 of 1,335
62nd percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#817 of 1,336
38th percentile in Illinois
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Illinois only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
19th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Kewanee's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$70,000Among the most affordablemore affordable than 98% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Kewanee's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#281 of 15,516
More affordable than 98% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 1.4×, Kewanee sits in the affordable band:
national rank #281 of 15,516 and #4 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$49,668Kewanee, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Kewanee, IL median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Kewanee, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)15.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)51.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
12,280
Median Income
$49,668
Median Home Value
$70,000
Median Age
43.6
Poverty Rate
9.4%
Labor force participation
51.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
15.1%
Climate
Avg Temperature
49.6°F
Annual Precipitation
39.6"
Annual Snowfall
30.8"
Schools
Total Schools
8
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Kewanee's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
12,464 residents
2021
12,392 residents
2022
12,272 residents
2023
12,204 residents
2024
12,150 residents
2025
12,115 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
3
housing units authorized
Single-Family
3
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1
1
0
$0.3M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
1
1
0
$0.4M
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
3
3
0
$1.6M
Permit volume increased 200% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
17.3 minutes
Drive Alone
78.3%
Carpool
9.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
4.8%
Work from Home
6.1%
Other
1.7%
Based on 5,023 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Illinois statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $240
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Illinois at $240 (electricity about $100 , water and sewer about $50 ).
These are Illinois statewide averages, not a meter reading for Kewanee. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Illinois's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.0 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Kewanee is $1,063/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Illinois statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 54.5 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Illinois statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Kewanee sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Kewanee compares to similar-size Illinois cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.