Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Harrisburg gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $96K for a typical one, or 1.8 years of the county’s $53K median household income. It grades C− overall, 629th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $43K, and 29% of residents live below the poverty line, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 77% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Harrisburg, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.4% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Only 90 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score lower on health. Its National Register listings include Harrisburg City Hall and Saline County Poor Farm.
Where Harrisburg beats most towns.
Harrisburg City HallEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Harrisburg is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 453 in 1860, a peak of 15,659 in 1930, 8,219 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1876 and 4 maps from 1925 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Harrisburg, 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 Harrisburg.
Harrisburg trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
Homes are within reach (about $96K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles. At 1.8 years of the county’s $53K median household income, the typical home (about $96K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
Harrisburg’s median rent is $760 a month. The typical Harrisburg home is worth about $96,000, about the same as a year ago, 68% below the Illinois typical home. 62% of households own their home in Harrisburg.
| Harrisburg | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $760 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
4.9 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density in Harrisburg is 0.7 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Saline County Fair Grounds, at 51 acres.
| Harrisburg | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Harrisburg Memorial Park | 0.8 mi | 33 |
| 2. Harrisburg Youth Soccer Fields | 0.5 mi | 11 |
| 3. Saline County Fair Grounds | — | 51 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 3,462 U.S. towns with household incomes like Harrisburg’s, it is healthier than 61%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Harrisburg beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 17% of Harrisburg adults smoke cigarettes.
| Harrisburg | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Harrisburg | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.6% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.5% | 6.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.8% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 2011, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Harrisburg.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Harrisburg has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 25° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 3,064 working residents takes 18.9 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 4 of Harrisburg’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Marion (10%), Eldorado (5%) and Carbondale (3%).
| Harrisburg | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 26% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $43,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
1 within 15 miles of the center of Harrisburg
About 2 of every 100 Harrisburg residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
2 places in Harrisburg on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Harrisburg.
Settlement in Illinois, United States
Harrisburg () is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about 55 miles (88.51392 km) southwest of Evansville, Indiana, and 111 mi (179 km) southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Its 2020 population was 8,219, and the surrounding Harrisburg Township had a population of 10,037, including the city residents. Harrisburg is included in the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area and is the principal city in the Harrisburg micropolitan statistical area with a combined population of 24,913. Located at the concurrency of U.S. Route 45, Illinois Route 13, Illinois Route 145, and Illinois Route 34, Harrisburg is known as the "Gateway to the Shawnee National…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Harrisburg.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisburg | #629 | C− | B+ | A− | C− | C− |
| Muddy | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Muddy isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Harrisburg with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Harrisburg grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #629 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health, A− for safety and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
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+.
12 notable people were born here, including Virginia Gregg and Henry Turner.
