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Towns / Illinois

Colchester, Illinois

Colchester is a small town of about 1,100 people in McDonough County, Illinois. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.4 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, St. Louis, is about 127 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,070
down 3.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$91,700
McDonough County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$63,981
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Illinois
87.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Macomb, IL
To St. Louis
127 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 moneyA typical home costs 1.4 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 Colchester 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 town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMc Donough District Hospital in Macomb, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 127 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 Colchester 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
$91,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%McDonough County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$808 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$63,981U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,522 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
3%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 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, not Colchester 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
1,0702020: 1,108
Median age
41.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (34%); manufacturing (16%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (9%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mc Donough District Hospital, Macomb, IL, about 7 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

3 public schools in Colchester, run by West Prairie CUSD 103.

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
73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
15°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
24 a year
Nights at or below freezing
134 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.1 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
696 feet

Weather stations: La Harpe (14 miles away) and Macomb (7 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: Mc Donough District Hospital, Peoria, St. Louis.

McDonough 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Moses King Brick and Tile Works.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Philadelphia National Historic Site51 miles

Read about Colchester's history on Wikipedia.

Know Colchester?

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

  • Blandinsville, IL544 people, 10 miles
  • Good Hope, IL349 people, 11 miles
  • Plymouth, IL416 people, 11 miles
  • Industry, IL383 people, 12 miles
  • Bardolph, IL203 people, 13 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.