Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Eureka gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $218K for a typical one, or 3 years of the Peoria metro’s $72K median household income. It grades A− overall, 230th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. On the plus side, its public schools beat 86% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. Eureka is home to Eureka College. Eureka’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, against 26 minutes in Illinois’ towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Eureka has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Eureka College Administration and Chapel and Eureka College Campus Historic District.
Where Eureka beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Eureka College | 521 |
Eureka College Administration and ChapelEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Eureka is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 604 in 1860, 5,227 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1901 and 3 maps from 1928 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Eureka, 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 Eureka.
Eureka pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Eureka grades A− overall with a typical home of about $218K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that.
Eureka’s median rent is $692 a month. Typical home values rose 9.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Eureka | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $692 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,737 U.S. towns with household incomes like Eureka’s, it is healthier than 94%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Eureka beats the Illinois average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Eureka.
| Eureka | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Eureka | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.1% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Eureka has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 16° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 24% of residents (17% statewide). 19% of Eureka residents are under 18. 32% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Eureka | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.2 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 32% | 29% | 29% |
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.1 points). Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Eureka | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.2% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.5% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 14.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 7.3% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.7% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.6% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.4% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.5% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 25% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Most working residents leave Eureka for work: only 18% work in town. The median household income in Eureka is $56,000. The top destinations are Peoria (13%), Bloomington (7%) and Normal (6%).
| Eureka | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
0.7 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Eureka Lake Park, at 49 acres.
| Eureka | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 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. Eureka Lake Park | 0.1 mi | 49 |
| 2. William Honeg Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Lilac Arboretum | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Eureka.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Eureka. Close and well known come first.
25 mi Zoo & aquariumWildlife Prairie Park16 mi Zoo & aquariumPeoria Zoo
7 mi MuseumAdlai E. Stevenson I House
7 mi MuseumMetamora Courthouse State Historic Site
13 mi Theme parkSpider HillWildlife Prairie Park: Katherine Johnson, CC BY 2.0 · Adlai E. Stevenson I House: Nyttend, Public domain · Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site: ProfDEH, Public domain · Spider Hill: NatFee, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Eureka
About 11 of every 100 Eureka residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
6 notable people were born in Eureka.
City in Illinois, United States
Eureka is a city in and the county seat of Woodford County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Eureka had a population of 5,227. Eureka is part of the Peoria metropolitan area. Eureka is a small community centered on the intersection of what is now U.S. 24 and Illinois 117. It is also one of the towns along the Ronald Reagan Trail, a series of roads that connect towns in central Illinois that were of importance to Reagan's early life. President Reagan attended and graduated from Eureka College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Eureka.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eureka | #230 | A− | B+ | — | A | B+ |
| Cruger Township | — | — | B− | — | A | B+ |
| Olio Township | #190 | A− | B+ | — | A | B+ |
Cruger Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Eureka, Cruger Township and Olio Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Eureka with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Eureka grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #230 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B+ for health and A 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 B+.
6 notable people were born here, including Ben Zobrist and William Perry Haydd.
