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Towns / Illinois

Mount Sterling, Illinois

Mount Sterling is a small town of about 2,200 people in Brown County, Illinois. It's the county seat. It has grown about 8% since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 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 97 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,155
up 7.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$131,200
U.S.: $332,700
Household income
$59,087
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Illinois
87.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
14 miles
Rushville, IL
To St. Louis
97 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Illinois outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.2 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: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySarah D Culbertson Memorial Hospital in Rushville, about 14 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 97 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 Mount Sterling 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
$131,200U.S.: $332,700
Typical rent, with utilities
$604 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$59,087U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
51%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,271 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
87.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Illinois outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, not Mount Sterling 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
2,1552020: 1,998
Median age
35.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
25%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
19%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 (27%); wholesale trade (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (16%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
12%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sarah D Culbertson Memorial Hospital, Rushville, IL, about 14 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: Mc Donough District Hospital, Macomb, IL, about 32 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

3 public schools in Mount Sterling, run by Brown County CUSD 1.

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
60%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
77%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
18°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
30 a year
Nights at or below freezing
126 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.4 inches a year
Snow
14 inches a year
Elevation
741 feet

Weather stations: Perry 6 NW (13 miles away) and Mt Sterling (1 mile 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: Sarah D Culbertson Memorial Hospital, Springfield, St. Louis.

Brown County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, 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, including the Mount Sterling Commercial Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Philadelphia National Historic Site22 miles

Read about Mount Sterling's history on Wikipedia.

Know Mount Sterling?

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

  • Mound Station, IL117 people, 6 miles
  • Versailles, IL446 people, 9 miles
  • Clayton, IL616 people, 11 miles
  • Perry, IL302 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.