Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lebanon gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $175K, 2.2 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades A overall, ranked 144th of 767 in Illinois. On the plus side, it is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns. 9.2% of residents are under 18 in Lebanon, below both the Illinois town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Lebanon is home to McKendree University. Lebanon has 2 places on the National Register.
Where Lebanon beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Lebanon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1819, comes before those of 95% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,691 in 1860, 4,691 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1830 and 6 maps from 1907 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lebanon, 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 Lebanon.
Lebanon pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm and is shaped by its college students, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
4.5 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Lebanon’s trail density is 1.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McAllister Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
29.8% of residents are enrolled in college, against 6.3% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
The median age in Lebanon is 30.2 years. Lebanon has grown 2.4% since 2020, to 4,884 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 39% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lebanon.
| Lebanon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 30.2 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 29% | 29% |
52.3% women, 47.7% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Lebanon | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.5% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 3.7% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 32.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 5.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 7.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.1% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.1% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.3% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.8% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.9% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,900, single groups can be off by several points
20% of Lebanon adults binge drink. Lebanon beats the Illinois average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 11% of Lebanon adults report frequent physical distress.
| Lebanon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Lebanon | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 83.6% | 87.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Lebanon grades A overall with a typical home of about $175K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Lebanon home is worth about $175,000, down 1.7% in a year, 41% below the Illinois typical home.
| Lebanon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,091 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Jobs based here fell from 1,532 in 2013 to 1,203.
Most working residents leave Lebanon for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Lebanon fell to 1,203 in 2023, 329 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are St.
| Lebanon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lebanon has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 23° and about 10 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Lebanon since 1990.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lebanon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
21 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
14 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
20 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
21 mi Stadium & arenaEnterprise CenterCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Enterprise Center: Haaron755, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Lebanon
College town 30 of every 100 Lebanon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where Lebanon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Lebanon.
City in Illinois, United States
Lebanon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,691 at the 2020 census It is a part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Lebanon is home to McKendree University, the oldest college in Illinois.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lebanon grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #144 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health, A− for safety and B− for schools.
Louis, MO-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.
3 notable people were born here, including Charles Phillip Johnson and Jesse Hale Moore.
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