Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Carbondale earns a D, ranked 746th of 767 in Illinois, mostly because of safety and incomes. It reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, including 216 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The median household income is $32K, and 37% of residents live below the poverty line. What it does well: it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. 37% of residents live below the poverty line in Carbondale, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.4% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 86 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on hazard risk. Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Where Carbondale beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 2,213 in 1880, 25,083 in 2020. The archive holds 36 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 5 maps from 1922 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Carbondale is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 88% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 4%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carbondale, 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 Carbondale.
Carbondale is shaped by its college students, but it reports violent crime at 4 times the Illinois rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Illinois (mostly earthquakes).
Violent crime runs at 9.7 per 1,000 residents, 4 times the Illinois rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−.
The violent crime rate in Carbondale is 9.7 per 1,000 residents. Carbondale reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 96% report less. The property crime rate in Carbondale is 24.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Carbondale | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.7 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 24.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
15,570 jobs are based in Carbondale, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.4 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
40% of working residents work locally in Carbondale. Jobs based in Carbondale fell to 15,570 in 2023, 906 fewer than in 2013. Carbondale’s average trip to work is 16 minutes.
| Carbondale | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 40% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $32,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
11 miles of trail in 28 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Campus Lake Park, at 227 acres.
| Carbondale | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carbondale Superblock | 0.9 mi | 71 |
| 2. Chautauqua Bottoms | 0.6 mi | 56 |
| 3. Green Earth Park | 0.6 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Carbondale home is worth about $144,000, up 6% in a year, 51% below the Illinois typical home. 26% of Carbondale households own their home.
| Carbondale | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 26% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $771 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $647 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carbondale.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Carbondale has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 24° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 812 U.S. towns with household incomes like Carbondale’s, it is healthier than 97%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Carbondale beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. Among 767 Illinois towns, just 2 have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Carbondale.
| Carbondale | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Carbondale | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.1% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 19.4% | 24.2% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.1% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Carbondale
College town 37 of every 100 Carbondale residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
5 places in Carbondale on the National Register of Historic Places.
38 notable people were born in Carbondale.
City in Illinois, United States
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most populous city in Southern Illinois outside the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis. Carbondale was established in 1853 and developed as a crossroads of the railroad industry. Today, the major roadways of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51 intersect in the city. The city is located 96 miles (154 km) southeast of St. Louis on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest. It is the home of the main campus of Southern Illinois University.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Carbondale.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbondale · Carbondale Township | #746 | D | C | D− | C | B− |
| Murphysboro Township | #717 | D | B− | — | C | C |
Murphysboro Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Carbondale Township and Carbondale are one community, graded once. Compare Carbondale with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Carbondale grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #746 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health, D− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3 years of the area's median household income ($48,763 across the Carbondale, IL area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
38 notable people were born here, including Laurie Metcalf and Paul Gilbert.
