Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Abingdon gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $96K for a typical one, or 1.7 years of the Galesburg area’s $57K median household income. It grades C overall, 573rd of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $62K, and 9% of residents live below the poverty line. Abingdon’s average trip to work is 35 minutes, above both the Illinois town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Abingdon is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Abingdon beats most towns.
3,319 counted in 2010 and 2,951 in 2020; an estimated 2,832 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 4.2% since 2020, after 11.1% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Abingdon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 210 in 1850, a peak of 4,210 in 1980, 2,951 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1874 and 3 maps from 1925 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Abingdon, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Abingdon.
Abingdon trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it has commutes longer than most of Illinois.
Homes are within reach (about $96K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles. At 1.7 years of the Galesburg area’s $57K median household income, the typical home (about $96K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
Abingdon’s median rent is $732 a month. Typical home values rose 15% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,133 working residents takes 35.4 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Abingdon for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Abingdon has lost 99 jobs, to 409 in 2023. The top destinations are Galesburg (27%), Peoria (10%) and Chicago (3%).
| Abingdon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $62,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Abingdon beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 17% of Abingdon adults smoke cigarettes.
| Abingdon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Abingdon | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.1% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 17.4% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Abingdon has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 15° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Legion Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Rotary Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Abingdon
About 6 of every 100 Abingdon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Abingdon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 notable people were born in Abingdon.
City in Illinois, United States
The City of Abingdon is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is 50 miles (80 km) west of Peoria. The population was 2,951 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Abingdon grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #573 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
5 notable people were born here, including James Stockdale and George Latimer Bates.
