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Divernon, Illinois

Divernon is a small town of about 1,100 people in Sangamon County, Illinois. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.9 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 72 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,107
down 2.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$133,700
Sangamon County prices up 19% since 2022
Household income
$71,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Springfield area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
16 miles
Springfield, IL
To St. Louis
72 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Springfield metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.9 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 Divernon 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 Pawnee Jr/sr High Sch, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySt. Johns Hospital in Springfield, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 72 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 Divernon 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
$133,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 19%Sangamon County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,034 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$71,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
78%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,207 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Springfield 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 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Springfield metro area, not Divernon 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
1,1072020: 1,138
Median age
37 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
21%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%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 (15%); professional and business services (13%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
21%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: St. Johns Hospital, Springfield, IL, about 16 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

1 public school in Divernon, run by Auburn CUSD 10. The nearest public high school is Pawnee Jr/sr High Sch, 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
55%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
81%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
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
25 a year
Nights at or below freezing
101 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.4 inches a year
Snow
16 inches a year
Elevation
610 feet

Weather station: Virden (8 miles away). 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: St. Johns Hospital, Springfield, St. Louis.

Sangamon County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, 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:

  • Lincoln Home National Historic Site16 miles
  • Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument16 miles

Read about Divernon's history on Wikipedia.

Know Divernon?

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

  • Thayer, IL615 people, 6 miles
  • Farmersville, IL668 people, 9 miles
  • Tovey, IL445 people, 11 miles
  • Bulpitt, IL204 people, 12 miles
  • Loami, IL790 people, 13 miles
  • Waggoner, IL180 people, 13 miles
  • Curran, IL209 people, 14 miles
  • Nilwood, IL198 people, 14 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.