Living in Carrier Mills, Illinois: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Illinois outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 5.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byHarrisburg Medical Center in Harrisburg, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 109 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 Carrier Mills 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: $60,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 14%Saline County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $478 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $50,729U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 75%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $812 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940: 21%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Illinois outside metro areas)

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 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, not Carrier Mills 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: 1,5952020: 1,664
Median age: 42.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 11%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%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: Schools, health care and social services (23%); manufacturing (22%); other services (15%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 2%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 25%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Harrisburg Medical Center, Harrisburg, IL, about 6 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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

2 public schools in Carrier Mills, run by Carrier Mills-Stonefort CUSD 2.

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: 55%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 80%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: 24°F
July average high: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 43 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 95 a year
Rain and melted snow: 50.5 inches a year
Snow: 7 inches a year
Elevation: 394 feet

Weather stations: Harrisburg (7 miles away) and Dixon Springs Agric Ctr (17 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

Harrisburg Medical CenterEmergency room6

Evansville, INCity of 116,00063

St. Louis, MOMetro of 2.8 million109

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: Harrisburg Medical Center, Evansville, St. Louis.

Saline County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

Read about Carrier Mills's history on Wikipedia.

Know Carrier Mills?

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

Harrisburg, IL7,900 people, 6 miles
Eldorado, IL3,600 people, 13 miles
Marion, IL17,100 people, 17 miles
Johnston City, IL3,300 people, 19 miles
Goreville, IL1,100 people, 21 miles
West Frankfort, IL7,100 people, 22 miles

Smaller places

Stonefort, IL220 people, 6 miles
Crab Orchard, IL (unincorporated)394 people, 10 miles
Galatia, IL785 people, 11 miles
Raleigh, IL276 people, 11 miles
New Burnside, IL153 people, 11 miles
Creal Springs, IL491 people, 12 miles
Pittsburg, IL561 people, 14 miles

Sources

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.