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Towns / Illinois

Marissa, Illinois

Marissa is a small town of about 1,700 people in St. Clair County, Illinois. It has lost about 6% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.8 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 37 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,724
down 5.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$99,500
St. Clair County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$54,814
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Sparta, IL
To St. Louis
37 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 1.8 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 Marissa 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 high school.
  • A hospital close bySparta Community Hospital in Sparta, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 37 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 Marissa 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

Worth a closer look

Marissa has lost about 6% of its people since 2020, and about 1 in 5 homes stands empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

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
$99,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%St. Clair County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$702 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$54,814U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
79%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,826 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
34%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not Marissa 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
1,7242020: 1,826
Median age
42.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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%); manufacturing (13%); construction (11%)
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sparta Community Hospital, Sparta, IL, about 10 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: HSHS St. Elizabeth's Hospital, O Fallon, IL, about 25 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 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 Marissa, run by Marissa CUSD 40.

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
62%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
84%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
22°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
34 a year
Nights at or below freezing
109 a year
Rain and melted snow
45 inches a year
Snow
12 inches a year
Elevation
418 feet

Weather stations: Sparta 1 W (10 miles away) and New Athens (8 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: Sparta Community Hospital, St. Louis.

St. Clair 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park24 miles
  • Gateway Arch National Park33 miles
  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site38 miles

Read about Marissa's history on Wikipedia.

Know Marissa?

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

  • Lenzburg, IL436 people, 4 miles
  • Tilden, IL745 people, 5 miles
  • Baldwin, IL313 people, 6 miles
  • St. Libory, IL598 people, 8 miles
  • Fayetteville, IL285 people, 9 miles
  • Coulterville, IL825 people, 10 miles
  • Venedy, IL125 people, 12 miles
  • Hecker, IL418 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.