Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Marseilles gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $200K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the Ottawa area’s $72K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 532nd of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Marseilles, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 83 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on history. Marseilles's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Marseilles beats most towns.
Marseilles Hydro PlantWhere Marseilles’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 Marseilles is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 758 in 1870, 4,845 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1937 and 6 maps from 1892 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marseilles, 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 Marseilles.
Marseilles 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.
9.8 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves. Marseilles’ trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Marseilles | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Marseilles for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Marseilles is 31 minutes. Jobs based in Marseilles fell to 886 in 2023, 103 fewer than in 2013.
| Marseilles | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $200K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 23 miles. The median property tax bill is $2,609, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Marseilles | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,041 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 2011, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marseilles.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Marseilles has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 16° and about 25 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 8,409 U.S. towns with household incomes like Marseilles’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Marseilles beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 19% of Marseilles adults binge drink.
| Marseilles | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Marseilles | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.3% | 9.9% |
| More smokers | 15.6% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Marseilles; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Marseilles residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
2 places in Marseilles on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Marseilles.
City in Illinois, United States
Marseilles ( mar-SAYLZ) is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. An Illinois River town, the population was 4,845 at the 2020 census, down from 5,094 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Marseilles.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marseilles | #532 | C+ | B | B+ | C+ | B− |
| Manlius Township | #525 | C+ | B | — | B | B− |
| Brookfield Township | — | — | D | — | B+ | B− |
| Fall River Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rutland Township | #519 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B− |
Brookfield Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Manlius Township, Brookfield Township and Rutland Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Fall River Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Marseilles with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Marseilles grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #532 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health, B+ for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
4 notable people were born here, including Mary Morello and Holger Toftoy.
