Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,406, settled in 1814.
Effingham gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $235K for a typical one, or 3 years of the Effingham area’s $79K median household income. It grades B overall, 434th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. 48% of working residents work locally in Effingham, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On civic life, just 69 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns do better. Effingham has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Effingham County Courthouse and Heart Theater.
Where Effingham beats most towns.
Where Effingham’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Effingham is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1814, comes before those of 99% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,383 in 1870, 12,252 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 2 maps from 1950 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Effingham, 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 Effingham.
Effingham draws workers from Summit Township and beyond and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
15,619 jobs are based in Effingham, 3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Effingham’s average trip to work is 13 minutes. Since 2013, Effingham has added 1,632 jobs, to 15,619 in 2023. 15% of residents live below the poverty line in Effingham.
| Effingham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 316 to 220 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Effingham is 15.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Effingham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.1 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
2.8 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Evergreen Hollow Park, at 38 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Effingham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 3.7% | 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. Evergreen Hollow Park | 1.3 mi | 38 |
| 2. Community Park | — | 33 |
| 3. Hendelmeyer Park | — | 18 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Effingham since 2019.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Effingham has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 21° and about 15 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Effingham home is worth about $235,000, up 2.9% in a year, 21% below the Illinois typical home. 66% of Effingham households own their home.
| Effingham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $725 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 35 to 64 are 34% of residents (39% statewide); people 65 and older are 21% of residents (17% statewide). 29% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Effingham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 39.6 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.7 points). Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Effingham | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.9% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.7% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 26.3% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.3% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.5% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Effingham beats the Illinois average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8.
| Effingham | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Effingham | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.2% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.1% | 13.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Effingham; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Effingham residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
8 notable people were born in Effingham.
City in Illinois, United States
Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Effingham micropolitan statistical area. The city bills itself as "The Crossroads of Opportunity" because of its location at the intersection of two major Interstate highways: I-57 running from Chicago to Sikeston, Missouri, and I-70 running from Utah to Maryland. It is also served by U.S. Route 45, which runs from Ontonagon, Michigan to Mobile, Alabama; U.S. Route 40, the historic National Road, which stretches from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Silver Summit, Utah; and Illinois routes 32 and 33.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Effingham.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B; Summit Township (B+) is closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Effingham | #434 | B | A− | C | B− | B− |
| Douglas Township | #104 | A | A− | — | B+ | B |
| Summit Township | #305 | B+ | B+ | — | B− | B |
| Teutopolis Township | #3 | A+ | A− | — | A+ | A− |
Douglas Township, Summit Township and Teutopolis Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Effingham with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Effingham grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #434 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health, C for safety and B− for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
8 notable people were born here, including Carl A. Kemme and Jimmy Kite.