Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Flora gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $102K, 1.7 years of the county’s $60K median household income. It grades B− overall, 497th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $47K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. 38% of working residents work locally in Flora, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Flora has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Shriver House and Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot. Flora's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Where Flora beats most towns.
Shriver HouseWhere Flora’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 Flora is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 456 in 1860, 4,803 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 2 maps from 1948 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Flora, 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 Flora.
Flora trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and draws workers from Harter Township and beyond, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
Homes are within reach (about $102K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles. At 1.7 years of the county’s $60K median household income, the typical home (about $102K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
Flora’s median rent is $745 a month. The typical Flora home is worth about $102,000, about the same as a year ago, 66% below the Illinois typical home.
| Flora | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $745 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2,915 jobs are based in Flora, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Flora’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Salem (6%), Effingham (5%) and Louisville (4%).
| Flora | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $47,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 4,716 U.S. towns with household incomes like Flora’s, it is less healthy than 52%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
25% of Flora adults have been diagnosed with depression. Flora beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 42% of Flora adults have obesity.
| Flora | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Flora | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.6% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 17.8% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes rose from 7 to 53 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Flora has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Flora is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 2015, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Flora.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Flora | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kiwanis Park | — | 5 |
| 2. Library park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Flora; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Flora residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
3 places in Flora on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Flora.
City in Illinois, United States
Flora is a city in Clay County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,803 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Flora grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #497 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, B+ for safety and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
3 notable people were born here, including Mad Man Pondo and Victoria Joyce Ely.
