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Girard, Illinois

Girard is a small town of about 1,800 people in Macoupin County, Illinois. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 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, St. Louis, is about 61 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,768
down 2.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$98,100
Macoupin County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$50,300
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Carlinville, IL
To St. Louis
61 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.9% below the U.S. average in the St. Louis metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 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 Girard 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 town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is North Mac High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byCarlinville Area Hospital in Carlinville, about 13 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 Girard 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
$98,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Macoupin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$808 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$50,300U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,813 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
36%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.1U.S. average = 100 (the St. Louis 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 St. Louis metro area, not Girard 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
1,7682020: 1,812
Median age
40.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%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
8%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 (26%); retail (12%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Carlinville Area Hospital, Carlinville, IL, about 13 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, IL, about 26 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Girard, run by North Mac CUSD 34. The nearest public high school is North Mac 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
64%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%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
671 feet

Weather station: Virden (4 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: Carlinville Area Hospital, Springfield, St. Louis.

Macoupin County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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 Site25 miles
  • Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument26 miles

Read about Girard's history on Wikipedia.

Know Girard?

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

  • Nilwood, IL198 people, 4 miles
  • Thayer, IL615 people, 7 miles
  • Standard City, IL129 people, 7 miles
  • Farmersville, IL668 people, 7 miles
  • Waggoner, IL180 people, 8 miles
  • Modesto, IL179 people, 11 miles
  • Palmyra, IL591 people, 11 miles
  • Raymond, IL920 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.