Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Beardstown gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $87K, 1.3 years of the county’s $68K median household income. It grades C− overall, 625th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with cold waves at the top, and its schools rank behind 90% of the state's. 42% of working residents work locally in Beardstown, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). Beardstown Grand Opera House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Beardstown is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns.
Where Beardstown beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Beardstown Grand Opera HouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Beardstown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1819, comes before those of 95% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,528 in 1870, 5,951 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 4 maps from 1926 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beardstown, 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 Beardstown.
Beardstown has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Illinois (mostly cold waves).
At 1.3 years of the county’s $68K median household income, the typical home (about $87K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. Values fell 2.8% in the past year while the Illinois typical home rose 5.3%.
Beardstown’s median rent is $762 a month. The typical Beardstown home is worth about $87,000, 71% below the Illinois typical home. 66% of households own their home in Beardstown.
| Beardstown | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $762 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $399 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Among 768 Illinois towns, just 5 have a higher FEMA risk score than Beardstown. Since 1979, 27 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beardstown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Beardstown beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 17% of Beardstown adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Beardstown | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 18% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Beardstown | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.5% | 7.6% |
| More uninsured adults | 17.3% | 9.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Beardstown has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Beardstown is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,933 working residents takes 17.5 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois. Jobs based here grew from 1,550 in 2013 to 3,894.
Jobs based in Beardstown grew to 3,894 in 2023, 2,344 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Mount Sterling (10%), Springfield (5%) and Jacksonville (4%). Half commute less than 17 miles.
| Beardstown | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Roy Roberts Park, at 43 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Roy Roberts Park | — | 43 |
| 2. Art Zeeck Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Beardstown; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Beardstown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
14 notable people were born in Beardstown.
City in Illinois, United States
Beardstown is a city in Cass County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,951 at the 2020 census. The public schools are in Beardstown Community Unit School District 15.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Beardstown grades C− overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #625 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and D for schools. Hazard risk 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 A.
14 notable people were born here, including Red Norvo and Eddie Lyons.
