Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Illinois

Andalusia, Illinois

Andalusia is a small town of about 1,200 people in Rock Island County, Illinois. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Chicago, is about 159 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,175
down 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$168,000
Rock Island County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$77,222
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Davenport area
89.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Rock Island, IL
To Chicago
159 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.9% below the U.S. average in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Andalusia itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Rockridge High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byTrinity Rock Island in Rock Island, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 159 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Andalusia meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$168,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Rock Island County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$825 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$77,222U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
87%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,714 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.1U.S. average = 100 (the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area, not Andalusia alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,1752020: 1,187
Median age
50.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
18%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Manufacturing (18%); schools, health care and social services (15%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (13%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
3%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Trinity Rock Island, Rock Island, IL, about 8 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Andalusia, run by Rockridge CUSD 300. The nearest public high school is Rockridge High School, about 4 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Illinois's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
13°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
118 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.3 inches a year
Snow
36 inches a year
Elevation
585 feet

Weather stations: Rock Island L&d 15 (10 miles away) and Moline Quad City Intl Ap (10 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Trinity Rock Island, Davenport, Chicago.

Rock Island County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Herbert Hoover National Historic Site36 miles

Read about Andalusia's history on Wikipedia.

Know Andalusia?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Taylor Ridge, IL (unincorporated)276 people, 4 miles
  • Edgington, IL (unincorporated)390 people, 4 miles
  • Montpelier, IA (unincorporated)209 people, 5 miles
  • Oak Grove, IL476 people, 7 miles
  • Reynolds, IL495 people, 8 miles
  • Coyne Center, IL (unincorporated)904 people, 8 miles
  • Rock Island Arsenal, IL (unincorporated)470 people, 11 miles
  • Fairport, IA (unincorporated)109 people, 11 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.