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Towns / Illinois

Orion, Illinois

Orion is a small town of about 1,700 people in Henry County, Illinois. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.9 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 143 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,708
down 2.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$178,500
Henry County prices up 17% since 2022
Household income
$94,375
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Davenport area
89.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Silvis, IL
To Chicago
143 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 10.9% below the U.S. average in the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.9 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 byGenesis Hlth System Dba Genesis Mdl Ctr-Illini in Silvis, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityChicago is about 143 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 Orion 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
$178,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 17%Henry County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$833 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$94,375U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,409 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
89.1U.S. average = 100 (the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island 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 17% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Davenport-Moline-Rock Island metro area, not Orion 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
1,7082020: 1,752
Median age
38.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
15%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
31%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
7%U.S.: 6%
College students
5%share of all residents

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 (25%); construction (13%); professional and business services (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Genesis Hlth System Dba Genesis Mdl Ctr-Illini, Silvis, IL, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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 Orion, run by Orion CUSD 223.

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
73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%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
15°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
22 a year
Nights at or below freezing
129 a year
Rain and melted snow
37.4 inches a year
Snow
27 inches a year
Elevation
768 feet

Weather stations: Moline Quad City Intl Ap (11 miles away) and Woodhull (12 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: Genesis Hlth System Dba Genesis Mdl Ctr-Illini, Davenport, Chicago.

Henry 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

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Herbert Hoover National Historic Site55 miles
  • Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site57 miles

Read about Orion's history on Wikipedia.

Know Orion?

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

  • Andover, IL536 people, 6 miles
  • Sherrard, IL691 people, 7 miles
  • Cable, IL (unincorporated)122 people, 8 miles
  • Coyne Center, IL (unincorporated)904 people, 10 miles
  • Preemption, IL (unincorporated)127 people, 11 miles
  • Cleveland, IL159 people, 11 miles
  • Windsor, IL649 people, 11 miles
  • Alpha, IL653 people, 11 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.