Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Knoxville gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $163K, 2.9 years of the Galesburg area’s $57K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 317th of 767 in Illinois. Only 121 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on history. Knoxville’s median rent is $623 a month, where Illinois’ towns sit at $1,129 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Knoxville beats most towns.
Where Knoxville’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 Knoxville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 798 in 1850, 2,901 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1858 and 2 maps from 1925 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Knoxville, 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 Knoxville.
Knoxville trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than Knox Township and its other neighbors, but it has little public open land.
Homes are within reach (about $163K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 28 miles. The median property tax bill is $2,382, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 20% in the year to September 2026. 84% of Knoxville households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The average commute for its 1,219 working residents takes 20.7 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois. Jobs based here grew from 373 in 2013 to 580.
Most working residents leave Knoxville for work: only 10% work in town. The average trip to work in Knoxville is 21 minutes. Since 2013, Knoxville has added 207 jobs, to 580 in 2023.
| Knoxville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Knoxville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 15° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its B for health tops all 3 graded neighbors; Knox Township (C+) comes closest.
Knoxville beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 38% of adults have high blood pressure in Knoxville.
| Knoxville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 78% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Knoxville | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.1% | 13.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.2% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Knoxville's reported crime rate is well below Illinois's. Knoxville’s property crime rate is 3.9 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Knoxville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Just 14 of its 1,494 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Knoxville itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Knox Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Knoxville
About 2 of every 100 Knoxville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
2 places in Knoxville on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Illinois, United States
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,901 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area Knoxville is located just southeast of the City of Galesburg. There is a public square in the center of town with several historic buildings surrounding it including Knox County's first courthouse, city hall, the Ball log cabin, the town gallows, and several other important buildings. The Knox County Fairgrounds is just north of Knoxville on Henderson Road. Knoxville is served with two exits on Interstate 74, at U.S. Highway 150 east of town and at Henderson Road north of town. U.S. Highway 150 runs east and west through Knoxvill…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Knoxville.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Knox Township (B−) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville | #317 | B+ | A− | — | B | B |
| Knox Township | #469 | B− | B+ | — | B | C+ |
| Galesburg | #716 | D | B | — | C− | D |
| Galesburg City Township | #713 | D | B | — | C− | D |
Knoxville, Knox Township, Galesburg and Galesburg City Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Knoxville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Knoxville grades B+ overall, better than 71% of U.S. towns and #317 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health and B for schools. Walkability 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−.
