Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Decatur earns a D−, 758th of 767 graded towns in Illinois, mostly because of schools and safety. Its schools rank behind 98% of the state's. Its crime rate is higher than 91% of U.S. towns, with 458 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it has 17 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register. 53% of working residents work locally in Decatur, against 8.3% in Illinois’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On health, just 69 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns do worse. Decatur is home to Richland Community College.
Where Decatur beats most towns.
Census counts: 3,839 in 1860, 70,522 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 5 maps from 1929 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Decatur is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Decatur, 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 Decatur.
Decatur is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Illinois rate.
At 1.7 years of the Decatur metro’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $105K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Harristown is next at $130K.
The typical Decatur home is worth about $105,000, up 3.5% in a year, 65% below the Illinois typical home. Decatur’s median rent is $845 a month.
| Decatur | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $845 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 42% | 46% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime runs at 6.7 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Illinois rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D.
The violent crime rate in Decatur is 6.7 per 1,000 residents. Decatur reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 91% report less. The property crime rate in Decatur is 25.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Decatur | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.7 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.5 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 6,330 U.S. towns with household incomes like Decatur’s, it is less healthy than 63%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of Decatur adults have obesity. Decatur beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 15% of Decatur adults have diabetes.
| Decatur | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Decatur | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.2% | 10.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 12.1% | 7.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The biggest park or preserve is Faries Park, at 249 acres.
| Decatur | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.3% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Nelson Park | 1.2 mi | 156 |
| 2. Hess Park | 0.8 mi | 24 |
| 3. Scovill Park | 0.5 mi | 51 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Decatur has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 26,044 working residents takes 17.7 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
19% of residents live below the poverty line in Decatur. The top destinations are Springfield (5%), Chicago (3%) and Forsyth (2%).
| Decatur | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.4% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
110 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 10 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 110 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Decatur.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Decatur
About 6 of every 100 Decatur residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2 colleges in town.
8 places in Decatur on the National Register of Historic Places.
61 notable people were born in Decatur.
City in Macon County, Illinois, United States
Decatur ( dih-KAY-tər) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 70,522. It is the 17th-most populous city in Illinois and the "fastest shrinking city" in Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home to Millikin University and Richland Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Decatur.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Whitmore Township (C−) is closest. Forsyth next door grades higher for schools (A− to Decatur’s D−) and lower for cost of living (C− to B+).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur | #758 | D− | B+ | D | D− | C− |
| Forsyth | #329 | B+ | C− | — | A− | A |
| Mount Zion | #99 | A | B | A− | A− | A− |
| Oakley Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Whitmore Township | #628 | C− | B | — | C | B− |
| Harristown | — | — | A | — | C | B |
| Decatur Township | #697 | D | A− | — | D− | C− |
| South Wheatland Township | #420 | B | B | — | B+ | B− |
Harristown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Forsyth, Whitmore Township, Harristown, Decatur Township and South Wheatland Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Oakley Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Decatur with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Decatur grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #758 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, D for safety and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 1.7 years of the area's median household income ($62,666 across the Decatur, IL metro 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+.
61 notable people were born here, including Alison Krauss and Ivan Fuqua.
