Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
East Peoria is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 575th among Illinois's 767 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $72K. Its lowest everyday mark is in safety: its crime rate is higher than 82% of U.S. towns, with 64 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. A typical home there costs about $182K, 2.5 years of the Peoria metro’s $72K median household income. East Peoria’s property crime rate is 27.2 per 1,000 residents, above both Illinois’ towns (7.9) and U.S. towns (9.9). East Peoria is home to Illinois Central College. East Peoria is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns.
Where East Peoria beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far East Peoria is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 392 in 1890, 22,484 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 7 maps from 1905 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in East Peoria, 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 East Peoria.
East Peoria trades workers with Peoria and other neighbors, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
East Peoria’s rate of reported violence comes in at 2.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
60.5% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 47.9% across Illinois.
Zillow values the typical East Peoria home at about $182,000, up 6.3% in a year, 39% below the Illinois typical home. The rent at the middle of the market for East Peoria comes to $886 a month. Also worth knowing: homes sold in East Peoria spent a median 19 days on the market.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In 24 parks and preserves, walkers have 7.2 miles of trail. The biggest place to walk is Fondulac Reservoir, 138 acres with 1.4 miles of trail.
| East Peoria | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 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. Fondulac Reservoir | 1.4 mi | 138 |
| 2. Cooper Park | 1 mi | 126 |
| 3. Brady Park | 0.6 mi | 137 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 17° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
East Peoria has about as many jobs (11,462) as working residents, but only 1,215 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 22,602 in 2013 to 11,462.
The top destinations are Peoria (30%), Morton (7%) and Pekin (4%). Just just over a tenth of East Peoria’s working residents have a job in town. Since 2013, East Peoria has lost 11,140 jobs, to 11,462 in 2023. The town’s average trip to work is 21 minutes.
| East Peoria | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
36% of East Peoria adults have high blood pressure. On the CDC’s 32 measures, East Peoria is ahead of Illinois on 6 and behind on 4. In East Peoria, 17% of adults binge drink, and 23% have been diagnosed with depression.
| East Peoria | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 7% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | East Peoria | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.1% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Of the losses FEMA expects in East Peoria, 60% come from inland flooding and 16% from cold waves. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 58% of U.S. communities. The town has had 87 paid flood insurance claims since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around East Peoria. Close and well known come first.
37 mi MuseumDickson Mounds3 mi Zoo & aquariumPeoria Zoo
12 mi Zoo & aquariumWildlife Prairie Park32 mi Zoo & aquariumMiller Park Zoo
4 mi GardenGeorge L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden
12 mi MuseumAdlai E. Stevenson I HouseDickson Mounds: MattHucke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wildlife Prairie Park: Katherine Johnson, CC BY 2.0 · George L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden: Original uploader was ProfDEH at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Adlai E. Stevenson I House: Nyttend, Public domain
5 within 15 miles of the center of East Peoria
About 5 of every 100 East Peoria residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
3 notable people were born in East Peoria.
City in Illinois, United States
East Peoria is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,484 at the 2020 census. East Peoria is part of the Peoria metropolitan area, located across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria. It is home to many Caterpillar Inc. facilities. The city is the site of the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino, as well as the city's major business center, the Levee District. Located just east of the Illinois River, East Peoria has many points of access to and from the Peoria area. It is also the location of the Festival of Lights, an annual Christmas light display that runs from November to January and draws thousands of visitors from all over central Illinois.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with East Peoria.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Peoria | #575 | C | B | C− | C | B |
| Creve Coeur | #520 | C+ | A− | — | C+ | C |
| Morton | #141 | A | C+ | B+ | A | A− |
| Washington | #155 | A | C+ | B− | A | A− |
| Fondulac Township | #457 | B− | B | — | C | B |
| Peoria City Township | #623 | C | B− | — | C− | B− |
| Peoria | #681 | C− | C+ | D− | B− | C+ |
Creve Coeur, Fondulac Township and Peoria City Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare East Peoria with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
East Peoria grades C overall, better than 34% of U.S. towns and #575 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
3 notable people were born here, including Roger Phegley and Kenny Robertson.
