Living in Mackinaw, Illinois: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 8.8% below the U.S. average in the Peoria metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.9 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byHopedale Hospital in Hopedale, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 125 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 Mackinaw 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: $158,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 22%Tazewell County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $835 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $67,292U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $3,301 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940: 18%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 7%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 91.2U.S. average = 100 (the Peoria 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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Peoria metro area, not Mackinaw 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: 1,8512020: 1,875
Median age: 35.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 18%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 23%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 (24%); construction (13%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 6%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: Hopedale Hospital, Hopedale, IL, about 9 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Carle Health Pekin Hospital, Pekin, IL, about 15 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 Mackinaw, run by Deer Creek-Mackinaw CUSD 701.

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: 70%U.S.: 76%

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: 17°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 24 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 134 a year
Rain and melted snow: 38.4 inches a year
Snow: 24 inches a year
Elevation: 661 feet

Weather stations: Congerville 2NW (8 miles away) and Mackinaw 3WSW (3 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

Hopedale HospitalEmergency room9

Normal, ILCity of 53,00019

Chicago, ILMetro of 9.4 million125

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: Hopedale Hospital, Normal, Chicago.

Tazewell County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument52 miles
Lincoln Home National Historic Site53 miles

Read about Mackinaw's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mackinaw?

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

Tremont, IL2,200 people, 7 miles
Minier, IL1,100 people, 7 miles
Morton, IL17,600 people, 8 miles
Danvers, IL1,100 people, 9 miles
Washington, IL15,900 people, 13 miles
Eureka, IL5,100 people, 13 miles

Smaller places

Heritage Lake, IL (unincorporated)1,522 people, 2 miles
Deer Creek, IL649 people, 7 miles
Hopedale, IL806 people, 8 miles
Goodfield, IL961 people, 8 miles
Congerville, IL500 people, 10 miles
Stanford, IL586 people, 10 miles
Carlock, IL593 people, 12 miles
Armington, IL303 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.