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Quincy, Illinois

Quincy is a small city of about 39,000 people in Adams County, Illinois. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.7 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 108 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
38,918
down 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$153,200
Adams County prices up 18% since 2022
Household income
$56,480
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Illinois
87.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Blessing Hospital
To St. Louis
108 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 2.7 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 Quincy 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 town8 public schools: 6 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBlessing Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 108 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 Quincy 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
$153,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 18%Adams County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$837 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,480U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,491 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
26%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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: county prices have moved up 18% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, not Quincy 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
38,9182020: 39,564
Median age
39.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (27%); manufacturing (15%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Blessing Hospital, Quincy, IL, in town. It's a general hospital. 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

8 public schools in Quincy, run by Quincy SD 172.

Colleges in or next to town: Quincy University (1,000 to 4,999 students); John Wood Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences (under 1,000 students).

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%
Homes with any internet subscription
87%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
19°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
31 a year
Nights at or below freezing
112 a year
Rain and melted snow
38.7 inches a year
Snow
17 inches a year
Elevation
628 feet

Weather stations: Quincy Dam 21 (3 miles away) and Payson (11 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: Columbia, St. Louis.

Adams County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

20 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Downtown Quincy Historic District, the Lock and Dam No. 21 Historic District, the Quincy East End Historic District and the Quincy Northwest Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • New Philadelphia National Historic Site27 miles

Campus life. Check Quincy University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Quincy's history on Wikipedia.

Know Quincy?

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

  • Burton, IL (unincorporated)149 people, 7 miles
  • Ursa, IL603 people, 10 miles
  • La Grange, MO806 people, 10 miles
  • Adams, IL (unincorporated)106 people, 10 miles
  • Payson, IL994 people, 11 miles
  • Paloma, IL (unincorporated)161 people, 11 miles
  • Mendon, IL844 people, 12 miles
  • Columbus, IL110 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.