Photo: Illinois2011 (Tyler Warren) · Public domainEven on the area’s higher pay, Edwardsville costs more to live in than 79% of U.S. towns
It ranks #579 of 768 in Illinois for affordability. Up 4.5% 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 St. Louis, MO-IL metro area ($80K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Edwardsville’s 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: 17% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 49% of renters.
In dollars
- $328Ktypical home, 11% above the Illinois typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,330a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 95prices across the St. Louis metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 79)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$80K, St. Louis-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 49%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Illinois: 48%Census 2020–24
- 17%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Edwardsville’s housing numbers say
About half of homes sell above asking
In May, 55% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 62% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 1.7 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 2.6 across Illinois: 48 listings for 29 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
Prices vary a lot across the town lines
Typical values in the towns next door run from $90K in South Roxana to $335K in Glen Carbon. At $328K, Edwardsville is the second most expensive of the 4. Vs. neighbors ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Edwardsville’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Edwardsville is more affordable than 21% of U.S. towns, #579 of 768 in Illinois. Property tax pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Illinois: up 27.2% in five years, against 29.6% statewide (Zillow).
Up 27.2% in five years
About the same pace as Illinois (29.6%).
Show as a table
| January | Edwardsville | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $201,000 | $179,000 |
| 2018 | $208,000 | $188,000 |
| 2019 | $214,000 | $193,000 |
| 2020 | $222,000 | $198,000 |
| 2021 | $246,000 | $213,000 |
| 2022 | $262,000 | $233,000 |
| 2023 | $284,000 | $246,000 |
| 2024 | $296,000 | $260,000 |
| 2025 | $308,000 | $275,000 |
| 2026 | $321,000 | $287,000 |
| September 2026 | $328,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Edwardsville home worth $199K in October 2016 is worth about $328K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A strong seller's market
Homes are selling faster than new ones are listed: less than two months of supply. Well-priced homes can draw several offers.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A typical home costs 3.7 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Edwardsville’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $52K short of a typical Edwardsville home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,330 a month here, $890 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Edwardsville’s typical property tax (1.84% 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 $1,330
Renters already here pay a median of $1,306.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
23 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 23 new homes in Edwardsville in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $15.2 million to build. That's 0.9 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Illinois (1.6). Over the past 10 years, Edwardsville has permitted 577 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Edwardsville gained 2,515 residents while 991 new homes were permitted: about 2.5 new residents per new home. Building and growth moved roughly in step.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 11 | 11 | 0 | $7.7 million |
| 2025 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $15.2 million |
| 2024 | 24 | 22 | 2 | $11.3 million |
| 2023 | 28 | 26 | 2 | $11.2 million |
| 2022 | 102 | 21 | 81 | $25.8 million |
| 2021 | 46 | 43 | 3 | $14.6 million |
| 2020 | 37 | 35 | 2 | $13.2 million |
| 2019 | 34 | 31 | 3 | $12.1 million |
| 2018 | 215 | 53 | 162 | $39.9 million |
| 2017 | 37 | 32 | 5 | $12 million |
| 2016 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $10.6 million |
| 2015 | 52 | 52 | 0 | $15.8 million |
| 2014 | 155 | 35 | 120 | $22.5 million |
| 2013 | 119 | 47 | 72 | $17.5 million |
| 2012 | 144 | 37 | 107 | $20.6 million |
| 2011 | 154 | 28 | 126 | $14.4 million |
| 2010 | 50 | 50 | 0 | $12.9 million |
| 2009 | 41 | 29 | 12 | $7.5 million |
| 2008 | 41 | 39 | 2 | $10.4 million |
| 2007 | 73 | 55 | 18 | $14.1 million |
| 2006 | 78 | 74 | 4 | $17.4 million |
| 2005 | 165 | 131 | 34 | $27.6 million |
| 2004 | 158 | 150 | 8 | $26.5 million |
| 2003 | 179 | 131 | 48 | $25.9 million |
| 2002 | 311 | 219 | 92 | $27.8 million |
| 2001 | 181 | 131 | 50 | $22.8 million |
| 2000 | 191 | 139 | 52 | $22 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $5,518 (Illinois: $5,298), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 1.84% 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 Edwardsville
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the St. Louis, MO-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 | 95 | IL 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 100 | IL 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 70 | IL 85 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | 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.
Edwardsville vs. its neighbors
Of the 4 towns here with a Zillow value, Edwardsville has the 3rd-lowest. Pin Oak Township and Edwardsville Township and Mitchell 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwardsville | C− | $328K | $300K | 1.84% | $1,330 |
| Glen Carbon | C+ | $335K | $282K | 1.98% | $1,250 |
| Pontoon Beach | B− | $192K | $145K | 1.64% | $1,120 |
| South Roxana | A | $90K | $89K | 1.84% | $1,030 |
| Edwardsville Township | C | — | $282K | 1.84% | $1,310 |
| Pin Oak Township | C− | — | $448K | 1.77% | $1,320 |
| Mitchell | A | — | $111K | 1.45% | $1,040 |
“—” 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 Edwardsville
Is Edwardsville expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Edwardsville costs more than 79% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #579 of 768 in Illinois. The typical home costs 3.7 years of the median household income of the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area ($80K).
How much does a house cost in Edwardsville?
About $328K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 4.5% in a year. The Illinois typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Edwardsville?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $95,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,220 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $53,000.
How much is rent in Edwardsville?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,330 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,306 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Edwardsville?
The median bill is $5,518 a year, 1.84% of the median home value (Illinois: $5,298, 2.01%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Edwardsville going up?
Yes: up 4.5% in the past year and 27.2% in five years, against 29.6% across Illinois (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Edwardsville 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, May 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.