Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Anna gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $140K, 2.5 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades C− overall, 677th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country, and the median household income is $33K, and 34% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 84% of U.S. towns. 34% of residents live below the poverty line in Anna, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.4% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Anna has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Stinson Memorial Library and Campground Church and Cemetery Site. Only 6 of the 768 Illinois towns we compare have a higher January low than Anna.
Where Anna beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Anna’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Anna is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 769 in 1860, 4,303 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and a map from 1920 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Anna, 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 Anna.
Anna draws workers from Jonesboro and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
For Anna, the concentration of trails is 1.1 miles per square mile. There are 4.0 miles of trail across 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Anna City Park, at 40 acres.
| Anna | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anna City Park | 0.6 mi | 40 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Anna-Jonesboro High School, with 476 students. Two of the 5 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by Anna CCSD 37.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anna Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 236 | B |
| Anna-Jonesboro High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 476 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Against the 946 U.S. towns with household incomes like Anna’s, it is less healthy than 50%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Anna, 28% say their health is fair or poor. Only 6 of the 767 Illinois towns we compare have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Anna. Of 32 CDC measures, Anna beats the Illinois average on 1 and trails it on 20.
| Anna | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 18% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Anna | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.4% | 75.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.7% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2,496 jobs are based in Anna, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19.6 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Half of commuters travel less than 19 miles. The share of working residents in Anna who work locally: 28%. Employers in Anna added 248 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 2,496. The mean commuting time here is 20 minutes.
| Anna | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 28% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $33,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $1,577, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Among 748 Illinois towns, just 10 have a lower typical rent than Anna. Nearly three in five households are owner-occupiers in the town. A typical home locally is worth about $140,000, up 2.4% in a year, 53% below the Illinois typical home.
| Anna | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $615 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Federal aid has come to Anna households in 3 declared disasters; the latest was in 2009. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in the town than in three quarters of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 42% come from earthquakes and 15% from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The July high for Anna comes to 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
18 violent crimes were reported in 2024. Anna’s rate of thefts and burglaries is 28.1 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Anna | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 28.1 per 1,000 residents | 9.3 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Anna; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Anna residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
2 places in Anna on the National Register of Historic Places.
10 notable people were born in Anna.
City in Union County, Illinois, United States
Anna is the largest city and retail trade center in Union County, Illinois, United States. Located in Southern Illinois, its population was 4,303 at the 2020 United States census, a decline from 5,135 in 2000. It is known for being tied to its close neighbor Jonesboro, together known as Anna-Jonesboro, and of which the main public high school for the two towns is named. Anna is known for the Choate Mental Health and Development Center, a state facility that opened in 1869.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Anna.
Jonesboro has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Anna and Jonesboro report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Anna with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Anna grades C− overall, better than 16% of U.S. towns and #677 of 767 in Illinois. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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 B+.
10 notable people were born here, including Raymond Wells and Frank Willard.
