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Towns / Illinois

Central City, Illinois

Central City is a small town of about 1,100 people in Marion County, Illinois. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, St. Louis, is about 61 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,067
down 3.3% since 2020
Household income
$44,896
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Illinois
87.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Centralia, IL
To St. Louis
61 mi
straight line

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Central City to say.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Central City 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 Centralia High School, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySSM Health St. Mary's Hospital -Centralia in Centralia, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 61 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 Central City 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

Home prices since then
Up 26%Marion County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$840 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$44,896U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$563 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
35%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, not Central City 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
1,0672020: 1,103
Median age
38.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
14%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
5%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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 (25%); manufacturing (20%); other services (14%)
Unemployment rate
7%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
1%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
29%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital -Centralia, Centralia, IL, about 2 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 Central City, run by Central City SD 133. The nearest public high school is Centralia High School, about 2 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
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%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
21°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
33 a year
Nights at or below freezing
109 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.3 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
492 feet

Weather stations: Iuka 12 SW (9 miles away) and Centralia (less than a mile 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: SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital -Centralia, St. Louis.

Marion 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Gateway Arch National Park57 miles

Read about Central City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Central City?

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

  • Junction City, IL517 people, 2 miles
  • Wamac, IL962 people, 4 miles
  • Odin, IL903 people, 6 miles
  • Hoffman, IL431 people, 7 miles
  • Irvington, IL566 people, 8 miles
  • Huey, IL160 people, 10 miles
  • Hoyleton, IL502 people, 11 miles
  • Dix, IL456 people, 12 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.