Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cairo’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and the outdoors and an A+ for history; its weakest is a D− for health. Cairo’s average trip to work is 37 minutes, above both the Illinois town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 3 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score lower on health. Cairo's schools rank behind 96% of the state's. Cairo’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, above both Illinois’ towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). On history, just 9 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Fort Defiance State Park, at 127 acres. Cairo has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cairo beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Magnolia Manor| Widest gap | Cairo | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.3% | 7.8% |
Census counts: 242 in 1850, a peak of 15,203 in 1920, 1,733 in 2020. The archive holds 27 old photos and papers going back to 1864 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Cairo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cairo, 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 Cairo.
The typical Cairo home is worth about $44,000, down 6.4% in a year, 85% below the Illinois typical home. 65% of households own their home in Cairo.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Cairo USD 1. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 148 | D |
| Cairo Jr/Sr High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 130 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
36% of Cairo adults say their health is fair or poor. No town among the 768 in Illinois we compare has a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Cairo. 37% of Cairo adults feel lonely.
| Cairo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 52% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Cairo | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11.1% | 17.8% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.2% | 75.7% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 20.3% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The FEMA risk score in Cairo is 90 of 100. Since 1979, 51 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cairo.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cairo has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Cairo’s July high is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Cairo for work: only 19% work in town. Since 2013, Cairo has lost 428 jobs, to 499 in 2023. The top destinations are Cape Girardeau (6%), Carbondale (3%) and Paducah (3%).
| Cairo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $42,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
17 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Defiance State Park | 0.9 mi | 127 |
| 2. Saint Mary's Park | 0.2 mi | 15 |
| 3. David Box Twin Rivers Ball Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cairo. Close and well known come first.
in town MuseumMagnolia Manor
39 mi Ancient siteKincaid Mounds State Historic Site40 mi MuseumDiscovery Park of America
17 mi MuseumColumbus-Belmont State ParkMagnolia Manor: MuZemike, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kincaid Mounds State Historic Site: Herb Roe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Columbus-Belmont State Park: Knowledgeum at en.wikipedia, Public domain
None within 15 miles of Cairo; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Cairo residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2,831 counted in 2010 and 1,733 in 2020; an estimated 1,515 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Cairo on the National Register of Historic Places.
23 notable people were born in Cairo.
City in the United States
Cairo (, KAIR-oh, sometimes , KAY-roh) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the state's only city to be surrounded by levees. The city is named after Egypt's capital on the Nile and is located in the river-crossed area of Southern Illinois. It is coterminous with Cairo Precinct. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, two of the largest rivers in North America, by discharge, and is near the Cache River complex, a Wetland of International Importance. Settlement began in earnest in the 1830s and busy river boat traffic expand…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.
23 notable people were born here, including Caroline Smith and Rex Ingram.
