Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Downs costs more to live in than 68% of U.S. towns
Up 1.7% in a year, 11% above the Illinois typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Bloomington, IL metro area ($80K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
Only 2 sales in September 2026: in a market this size, monthly medians swing a lot, so the typical value is the steadier guide.
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Downs’ area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($80K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 24% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 45% of renters.
In dollars
- $329Ktypical home, 11% above the Illinois typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,480a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 94prices across the Bloomington metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 75)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$80K, Bloomington-area income
- 19%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 24%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What stands out about housing in Downs
What’s behind Downs’ grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Downs is more affordable than 32% of U.S. towns. Property tax pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Values have outpaced Illinois: the typical Downs home is up 35.1% in five years, against 29.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 35.1% in five years
Faster than Illinois (29.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Downs | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $218,000 | $179,000 |
| 2018 | $217,000 | $188,000 |
| 2019 | $216,000 | $193,000 |
| 2020 | $225,000 | $198,000 |
| 2021 | $234,000 | $213,000 |
| 2022 | $250,000 | $233,000 |
| 2023 | $279,000 | $246,000 |
| 2024 | $295,000 | $260,000 |
| 2025 | $310,000 | $275,000 |
| 2026 | $327,000 | $287,000 |
| September 2026 | $329,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Downs home worth $217K in October 2016 is worth about $329K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A typical home costs 3.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Downs’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $77K short of a typical Downs home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,480 a month here, $950 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Downs’s typical property tax (2.57% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,480
Renters already here pay a median of $1,258, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Bloomington, IL MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
4 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 4 new homes in Downs in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $1.5 million to build. That's 2.4 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Illinois (1.6). Over the past 10 years, Downs has permitted 4 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Downs gained 196 residents with no new homes permitted, so the growth came from existing homes.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 1 | 1 | 0 | $367,000 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2005 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2003 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2001 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
| 2000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $60,000 |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Illinois norm
The median bill is $6,188 (Illinois: $5,298), 2.57% of a home’s value a year, against 2.01% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Downs
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Bloomington, IL metro area, or Illinois. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 94 | IL 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 94 | IL 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 90 | IL 85 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 100 | IL 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Downs vs. its neighbors
Of the 1 towns here with a Zillow value, Downs has the lowest. Old Town Township and Downs Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downs | C | $329K | $241K | 2.57% | $1,480 |
| Downs Township | – | — | $229K | 2.19% | $1,250 |
| Old Town Township | C+ | — | $346K | 2.18% | $1,510 |
“—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents). “—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Downs
Is Downs expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Downs costs more than 68% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living. The typical home costs 3.0 years of the median household income of the Bloomington, IL metro area ($80K).
How much does a house cost in Downs?
About $329K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 1.7% in a year. The Illinois typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Downs?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $104,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,430 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $59,000.
How much is rent in Downs?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,480 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,258 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Downs?
The median bill is $6,188 a year, 2.57% of the median home value (Illinois: $5,298, 2.01%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Downs going up?
Yes: up 1.7% in the past year and 35.1% in five years, against 29.6% across Illinois (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Downs buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.