The 10 Worst Small Towns In Illinois For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in IL are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
April 7, 2022 - 50,483 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst small places to live in Illinois.

Most Americans have never been to Illinois. However, as the people who live there know, Illinois is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Illinois has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the Prairie State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 377 of Illinois's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Illinois where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Illinois for 2022:

  1. Madison
  2. Wamac
  3. Cairo
  4. Venice
  5. Alorton
  6. Centreville
  7. Washington Park
  8. Fairmont City
  9. Sheldon
  10. Ford Heights

So what is the worst small town to call home in Illinois for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Madison is the worst small town to live in Illinois.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Illinois has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Illinois or the worst places to live in Illinois.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Illinois For 2022

1. Madison

Madison, IL

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,941
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $43,800 (5th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 11.9% (18th worst)
More on Madison:  Data | Photos

2. Wamac

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,222
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $28,100 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.3% (56th worst)
More on Wamac:  Data

3. Cairo

Cairo, IL

Source: Wikipedia User Jonathunder | GFDL 1.2
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,884
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $29,400 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 9.9% (28th worst)
More on Cairo:  Data | Photos

4. Venice

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 2,040
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $48,100 (12th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 20.0% (3rd worst)
More on Venice:  Data

5. Alorton

Overall SnackAbility

2
/10

Population: 2,077
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $45,000 (8th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 23.2% (worst)
More on Alorton:  Data

6. Centreville

Centreville, IL

Source: Flickr User TomGazpacho | CC BY-ND 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 4,946
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $47,500 (10th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 15.8% (7th worst)
More on Centreville:  Data | Photos

7. Washington Park

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 3,909
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $32,900 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 18.7% (5th worst)
More on Washington Park:  Data

8. Fairmont City

Source: Public Domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,082
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $62,600 (29th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 2.6% (30worst)
More on Fairmont City:  Data

9. Sheldon

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,198
Rank Last Year: 39 (Up 30)
Median Home Value: $63,700 (30th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.7% (6th worst)
More on Sheldon:  Data

10. Ford Heights

Ford Heights, IL

Source: Wikipedia User User:Aneekr | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 2,705
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $44,700 (6th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 22.6% (2nd worst)
More on Ford Heights:  Data | Photos

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Illinois, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Illinois for 2022

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 377 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In Illinois

If you're analyzing teeny places in the Prairie State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Illinois, according to science:

  1. Kenilworth (Pop. 2,356)
  2. Third Lake (Pop. 1,160)
  3. Prestbury (Pop. 1,978)

For more Illinois reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Illinois

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Madison 2,941 11.9% $43,800
2 Wamac 1,222 8.3% $28,100
3 Cairo 1,884 9.9% $29,400
4 Venice 2,040 20.0% $48,100
5 Alorton 2,077 23.2% $45,000
6 Centreville 4,946 15.8% $47,500
7 Washington Park 3,909 18.7% $32,900
8 Fairmont City 2,082 2.6% $62,600
9 Sheldon 1,198 17.7% $63,700
10 Ford Heights 2,705 22.6% $44,700
11 Hodgkins 1,753 7.3% $33,100
12 Savanna 2,924 7.9% $68,600
13 Ina 2,243 8.2% $70,900
14 Griggsville 1,454 7.1% $76,800
15 South Roxana 2,304 9.5% $79,300
16 Carbon Cliff 1,937 8.2% $96,200
17 Onarga 1,134 7.4% $83,800
18 Louisville 1,106 6.1% $65,200
19 Martinsville 1,259 8.9% $61,700
20 Grayville 1,579 5.0% $64,300
21 Pleasant Hill 1,122 7.4% $62,300
22 Eldorado 4,000 8.0% $44,700
23 Phoenix 1,402 15.0% $67,800
24 Benld 1,594 8.7% $72,200
25 Sumner 2,916 7.1% $54,500
26 Dixmoor 3,570 9.9% $65,800
27 Zeigler 1,779 11.3% $47,000
28 Chatsworth 1,332 5.8% $80,200
29 Cuba 1,066 8.3% $55,200
30 Jonesboro 1,772 4.3% $86,200
31 Sandoval 1,099 8.5% $66,900
32 Marissa 1,263 8.0% $76,100
33 De Pue 1,724 5.5% $55,000
34 Colchester 1,347 9.4% $68,600
35 St. Elmo 1,466 8.7% $80,100
36 Albion 2,215 14.5% $80,800
37 Vienna 1,587 5.8% $82,600
38 Havana 3,178 9.2% $82,000
39 Abingdon 3,570 10.5% $70,700
40 Oquawka 1,352 4.5% $73,800
41 Tilton 2,797 3.7% $67,000
42 Ashmore 1,021 12.0% $76,700
43 Christopher 2,601 6.2% $62,300
44 Dupo 3,917 6.8% $78,700
45 Palestine 1,200 10.9% $60,700
46 Norris City 1,325 11.8% $55,800
47 Oakland 1,062 5.6% $78,000
48 Preston Heights 2,529 8.0% $118,000
49 Percy 1,110 2.5% $95,900
50 Loami 1,053 2.8% $87,300
51 Barry 1,698 6.6% $72,800
52 Wenona 1,077 5.4% $92,600
53 Cambria 1,071 10.4% $75,800
54 De Soto 1,652 7.3% $77,900
55 Rosiclare 1,020 7.6% $57,300
56 Oblong 1,520 7.9% $57,600
57 Shawneetown 1,272 9.5% $64,400
58 Lewistown 2,021 15.3% $80,500
59 Rockdale 2,416 9.5% $135,200
60 Golconda 1,136 10.2% $102,900
61 Toulon 1,291 3.8% $80,700
62 Cobden 1,018 2.8% $95,900
63 Milford 1,230 5.9% $60,800
64 New Milford 1,356 11.3% $105,000
65 Shelbyville 4,198 7.1% $86,500
66 Hartford 1,769 3.7% $69,100
67 Anna 4,149 5.8% $86,600
68 Fairfield 4,912 3.1% $77,600
69 Richmond 2,106 14.6% $194,000
70 Amboy 2,453 6.3% $84,600
71 Roxana 1,570 4.1% $81,900
72 Grandview 1,389 7.1% $65,100
73 La Harpe 1,318 5.2% $66,500
74 Flora 4,686 6.6% $77,600
75 South Chicago Heights 4,042 7.3% $102,500
76 Watseka 4,956 5.3% $79,700
77 Riverton 3,464 7.4% $137,000
78 Burnham 4,121 9.6% $101,300
79 Caseyville 4,203 2.5% $85,900
80 Johnston City 3,414 5.7% $65,300
81 Lawrenceville 4,365 3.7% $76,800
82 Central City 1,353 5.3% $50,500
83 Polo 2,210 4.8% $93,800
84 Gilman 1,734 6.4% $102,600
85 Gillespie 2,977 6.9% $89,200
86 Warsaw 1,600 13.7% $80,800
87 Galatia 1,095 6.1% $64,400
88 Sparta 4,302 4.6% $95,400
89 Mount Morris 3,182 5.2% $97,900
90 Carmi 4,865 5.0% $72,900
91 Astoria 1,154 4.0% $50,500
92 Mason City 2,342 2.5% $79,100
93 Roodhouse 1,656 7.0% $60,700
94 Hillcrest 1,672 7.6% $120,300
95 Stockton 1,656 4.7% $79,000
96 Pittsfield 4,215 5.2% $92,200
97 Royalton 1,107 0.0% $48,100
98 Galva 2,539 2.3% $67,900
99 Dallas City 1,064 9.3% $78,900
100 North Pekin 1,680 8.3% $94,900
Download The Entire Illinois Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

 Worst