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Place dossier plate
SheetIL-MOUNT-OLIVE-IL · Mount Olive, IL 1,979 pop · income 27th 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 Mount Olive
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Mount Olive on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Braddock · lowest
24,489
Braddock · lowest
24,489 median HH income
12.9% of the leader · rank #1
Mount Olive · this city
55,139
Mount Olive · this city
55,139 median HH income
29.0% of the leader · rank #2
Marceline · near
55,139
Marceline · near
55,139 median HH income
29.0% of the leader · rank #3
Onley · near
55,139
Onley · near
55,139 median HH income
29.0% of the leader · rank #4
Toledo · near
55,139
Toledo · near
55,139 median HH income
29.0% of the leader · rank #5
Goose Creek L… · near
55,147
Goose Creek L… · near
55,147 median HH income
29.0% of the leader · rank #6
Mill Plain · highest
190,250
Mill Plain · highest
190,250 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 Mount Olive 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: 1,979.
Nationally, Mount Olive sits in the 27th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
27th
percentile, household income
8th
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: Mount Olive, IL
1,979 people live in Mount Olive, Illinois - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $55,139 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.0%. Mount Olive's housing stock carries a median value of $96,600, and the median resident age is 50.6 years. 14.2% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 48.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 1 residential building permits were authorized in Mount Olive (Low Activity), per Census BPS data.
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. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Illinois run around $240, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. 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 Mount Olive'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 comparison shortlist to population change to housing and income to work and mobility to schools and households; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Mount Olive, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Mount Olive?
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.
Within Illinois, the closest population matches are Lake of the Woods (1,976 residents, $69,054 income); Roanoke (1,987 residents, $74,141 income); Channel Lake (1,988 residents, $63,958 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are El Portal, FL (1,979 residents); Braddock, PA (1,979 residents); Mill Plain, CT (1,980 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.
Is Mount Olive growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -76 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -3.8% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 1 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 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.
How far does income reach against housing in Mount Olive?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What does the journey to work look like in Mount Olive?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 96.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
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 Mount Olive?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 14.2% 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.
Poverty estimate
9.0%
Bachelor's degree+
14.2%
Matched public schools
2
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Below median income · poverty 9.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
100.0 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Illinois average
F
City profile score · Mount Olive, IL
33/100
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
9.0%
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
$55,139
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.2%
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).
Mount Olive profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 44/100 (D) · 9.0%
Cost of living: 40/100 (D) · 100.0 index
Household income: 27/100 (F) · $55,139
Bachelor's+ share: 18/100 (F) · 14.2%
How does Mount Olive compare to other US cities?
Here's how Mount Olive stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income27% higher than other cities
Home value8% 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 Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive near the bottom of Illinois's cities
Among the 1,336 Illinois cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Mount Olive ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Mount Olive only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#965 of 1,311
26th percentile in Illinois
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,336
0th percentile in Illinois
Median Home Value
#862 of 1,315
34th percentile in Illinois
Poverty Rate
#533 of 1,335
60th percentile in Illinois
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#866 of 1,336
35th 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
27th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Mount Olive's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$96,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 92% 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
Mount Olive's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#883 of 15,516
More affordable than 94% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#856 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 1.8×, Mount Olive sits in the affordable band:
national rank #883 of 15,516 and #856 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
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
$55,139Mount Olive, IL median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Mount Olive, 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 Mount Olive, IL.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)48.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,979
Median Income
$55,139
Median Home Value
$96,600
Median Age
50.6
Poverty Rate
9.0%
Labor force participation
48.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.2%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Mount Olive's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,012 residents
2021
1,989 residents
2022
1,968 residents
2023
1,959 residents
2024
1,949 residents
2025
1,936 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
1
housing units authorized
Single-Family
1
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
1
1
0
$0.2M
2021
2
2
0
$0.4M
2022
1
1
0
$0.2M
2023
1
1
0
$0.2M
2024
1
1
0
$0.2M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
96.8%
Carpool
1.4%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
1.9%
Based on 809 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 Mount Olive. 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 Mount Olive 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 Mount Olive sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Mount Olive 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, 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.