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Place dossier plate
SheetIL-MORTON-IL · Morton, IL 16,503 pop · income 69th pct
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 Morton
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Morton on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mattoon · lowest
47,308
Mattoon · lowest
47,308 median HH income
44.6% of the leader · rank #1
Doe Valley · near
87,757
Doe Valley · near
87,757 median HH income
82.7% of the leader · rank #2
Morton · this city
87,760
Morton · this city
87,760 median HH income
82.7% of the leader · rank #3
Dayton · near
87,763
Dayton · near
87,763 median HH income
82.7% of the leader · rank #4
Rochester · near
87,767
Rochester · near
87,767 median HH income
82.7% of the leader · rank #5
Castlewood · near
87,768
Castlewood · near
87,768 median HH income
82.7% of the leader · rank #6
Stallings · highest
106,074
Stallings · highest
106,074 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, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Morton on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. 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: 16,503.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Morton - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Morton lands in the 69th percentile for household income and the 68th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
69th
percentile, household income
53rd
percentile, home value
18th
percentile, median rent
68th
percentile, safety
📝 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: Morton, IL
Morton is a small town in Illinois, home to 16,503 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Morton households earn a median of $87,760 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.6%. Typical homes in Morton are valued around $238,900, and the median resident age is 40.7 years. 42.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 59.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 12 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 72% from five years earlier. Morton reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 909.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Illinois tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Illinois scores 100.0 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. 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 Morton workers runs 15.1 minutes, with 80.2% driving alone and 10.7% 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 Morton'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 housing and income to comparison shortlist to population change to schools and households to work and mobility to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Morton, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Morton?
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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.6%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Which cities make useful reference points for Morton?
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. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Westchester (16,524 residents, $103,561 income); Country Club Hills (16,419 residents, $77,463 income); Mattoon (16,334 residents, $47,308 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Radford, VA (16,505 residents); Stallings, NC (16,495 residents); Payson, AZ (16,494 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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +393 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 12 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
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.
The NCES join finds 6 public schools within the city match. 42.9% 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.
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.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Morton?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.2%. The reported mean trip to work is 15.1 minutes.
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.
Drive alone
80.2%
Work from home
10.7%
Public transit
0.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 7,595 workers age 16+.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Morton?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 909.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 60% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
909.5
Violent rate
85.3
Property rate
824.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Above median income · poverty 4.6% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
B-
City profile score · Morton, IL
65/100
5 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.
Bachelor's+ share B+
42.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime B
85 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate B-
4.6%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B-
$87,760
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
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.
Morton profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 78/100 (B+) · 42.9%
Violent crime: 74/100 (B) · 85 /100k
Poverty rate: 68/100 (B-) · 4.6%
Household income: 67/100 (B-) · $87,760
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Where Morton sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Morton's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Morton highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Morton, IL (this city): home $238,900, crime 910/100k
Radford, VA : home $211,700, crime 1,115/100k
Stallings, NC : home $381,700, crime 723/100k
Payson, AZ : home $343,200, crime 1,484/100k
Tahlequah, OK : home $182,800, crime 2,477/100k
Kerman, CA : home $331,500, crime 1,852/100k
Grovetown, GA : home $226,000, crime 253/100k
Westchester, IL : home $297,400, crime 681/100k
Country Club Hills, IL : home $180,600, crime 2,876/100k
Mattoon, IL : home $96,000, crime 1,731/100k
Fairview Heights, IL : home $166,800, crime 3,436/100k
Marion, IL : home $145,300, crime 3,399/100k
How does Morton compare to other US cities?
Here's how Morton stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income69% higher than other cities
Home value53% pricier than other cities
Median rent18% pricier than other cities
Safety68% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Illinois, Morton ranks #219 of 455 Illinois cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Morton 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 Morton near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Morton ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Morton only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#310 of 1,311
76th percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#254 of 1,315
81st percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#879 of 1,335
34th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#160 of 1,336
88th 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
69th percentile nationally for median household income · 68th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Morton's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Morton's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Morton's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$238,90047th percentilemore affordable than 47% 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
Morton's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,146 of 15,516
More affordable than 67% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#569 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 2.7×, Morton sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,146 of 15,516 and #569 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
$87,760Morton, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Morton, 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 Morton, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)42.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.6%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)59.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,503
Median Income
$87,760
Median Home Value
$238,900
Median Age
40.7
Poverty Rate
4.6%
Labor force participation
59.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
42.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
909.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
85.3
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
824.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
6
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Morton's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
17,172 residents
2021
17,196 residents
2022
17,361 residents
2023
17,552 residents
2024
17,555 residents
2025
17,565 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
12
housing units authorized
Single-Family
12
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
43
7
36
$6.2M
2020
62
16
46
$8.1M
2021
150
10
140
$10.0M
2022
103
7
96
$6.8M
2023
7
7
0
$3.4M
2024
12
12
0
$5.5M
Permit volume decreased 72% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
15.1 minutes
Drive Alone
80.2%
Carpool
4.0%
Public Transit
0.1%
Walk
2.8%
Work from Home
10.7%
Other
2.2%
Based on 7,595 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 Morton. 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 Morton 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 Morton sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Morton 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, FBI UCR, 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.