Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Illinois

Mahomet, Illinois

Mahomet is a small town of about 10,500 people in Champaign County, Illinois. It's growing fast: its population is up 11% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 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, Chicago, is about 120 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
10,516
up 11% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$299,100
Champaign County prices up 24% since 2022
Household income
$118,586
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Champaign area
92.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Urbana, IL
To Chicago
120 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.3% below the U.S. average in the Champaign-Urbana metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood20 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.8 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byOSF Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 120 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 Mahomet 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.

What kind of town

Boom town. The population is up 11% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$299,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 24%Champaign County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,396 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$118,586U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,537 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
7%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
30%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
92.7U.S. average = 100 (the Champaign-Urbana 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 24% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Champaign-Urbana metro area, not Mahomet 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
10,5162020: 9,491
Median age
37.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
32%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
54%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%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 (38%); finance, insurance and real estate (11%); professional and business services (9%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center, Urbana, IL, about 10 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

4 public schools in Mahomet, run by Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3.

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
86%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%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
17°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
15 a year
Nights at or below freezing
128 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.4 inches a year
Snow
17 inches a year
Elevation
729 feet

Weather stations: Champaign 9 SW (10 miles away) and Fisher (9 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: OSF Heart of Mary Medical Center, Champaign, Chicago.

Champaign 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

Read about Mahomet's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mahomet?

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

  • Lake of the Woods, IL (unincorporated)2,091 people, 1 mile
  • Bondville, IL375 people, 6 miles
  • Seymour, IL (unincorporated)270 people, 6 miles
  • Mansfield, IL921 people, 6 miles
  • White Heath, IL (unincorporated)163 people, 10 miles
  • Bellflower, IL331 people, 13 miles
  • De Land, IL447 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.