Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Kewanee gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $83K, 1.1 years of the Davenport metro’s $73K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 552nd of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $51K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 75% of the country. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 39% of working residents work locally in Kewanee, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Kewanee has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Kewanee Hotel and Kewanee Public Library. Only 9 of the 458 Illinois towns we compare have a lower typical home value than Kewanee.
Where Kewanee beats most towns.
Kewanee HotelEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Kewanee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,704 in 1880, a peak of 17,093 in 1930, 12,509 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and a map from 1983 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kewanee, 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 Kewanee.
Kewanee is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois.
At 1.1 years of the Davenport metro’s $73K median household income, the typical home (about $83K) costs less against local pay than in 99% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,339, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Kewanee’s median rent is $797 a month. Typical home values rose 8.1% in the year to September 2026. The typical Kewanee home is worth about $83,000, up 8.1% in a year, 72% below the Illinois typical home.
| Kewanee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $797 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kewanee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 6,102 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kewanee’s, it is healthier than 56%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of Kewanee adults smoke cigarettes. Kewanee beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 15% of Kewanee adults report frequent physical distress.
| Kewanee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Kewanee | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.8% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 16.8% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Kewanee has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 14° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.2 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Baker Park, at 191 acres.
| Kewanee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Baker Park | 0.6 mi | 191 |
| 2. Windmont Park | 0.4 mi | 16 |
| 3. Northeast Park | — | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 4,553 working residents takes 19.4 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 3 of Kewanee’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Kewanee is 19 minutes. Half commute less than 15 miles.
| Kewanee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.9% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Kewanee; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Kewanee residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2 places in Kewanee on the National Register of Historic Places.
18 notable people were born in Kewanee.
City in Illinois, United States
Kewanee ( ) is a city in Henry County, Illinois. "Kewanee" is the Winnebago word for greater prairie-chicken, which lived there. The population was 12,509 in the 2020 census, down from 12,916 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Kewanee grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #552 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health 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 A.
18 notable people were born here, including Richard Estes and Rudolph Scholz.
