Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
The best of Homer’s subject grades are an A for civic life and an A− for history; the weakest is a C− for hazard risk. 11% of residents are 65 or older in Homer, where Illinois’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. Only 117 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score higher on civic life. Homer has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Homer beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Homer is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 120 in 1850, 1,073 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 3 maps from 1943 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Homer, 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 Homer.
The typical Homer home is worth about $188,000, up 4.4% in a year, 36% below the Illinois typical home. Homer’s median rent is $979 a month, below both Illinois’ towns ($1,129 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Homer | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $979 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Homer for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Homer has lost 71 jobs, to 116 in 2023. The top destinations are Champaign (28%), Urbana (19%) and Chicago (3%).
| Homer | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homer beats the Illinois average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of Homer adults binge drink.
| Homer | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Homer | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.7% | 15.9% |
| More adults with depression | 23.8% | 19.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 70% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homer has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 18° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Homer Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Homer. Close and well known come first.
15 mi LandmarkAmerican Football House
15 mi Stadium & arenaGies Memorial Stadium
21 mi MuseumOctave Chanute Aerospace Museum
15 mi TheatreKrannert Center for the Performing Arts
37 mi GardenRobert Allerton Park
32 mi MuseumMonticello Railway MuseumAmerican Football House: BanjoZebra, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gies Memorial Stadium: T.J. Blakeman, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Krannert Center for the Performing Arts: Aries Liang, Public domain · Robert Allerton Park: D. Finnigan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Monticello Railway Museum: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0
None within 15 miles of Homer; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Homer residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
1,193 counted in 2010 and 1,073 in 2020; an estimated 1,050 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Village in Illinois, United States
Homer is a village in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,073 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.
3.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Not for the area. That is 2.9 years of the area's median household income ($65,528 across the Champaign-Urbana, IL metro 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+.
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