Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Its lowest grade is for incomes: the median household income is $47K, and a fifth of residents live below the poverty line. Overall, Mount Carmel earns a C+: better than 39% of U.S. towns, and 536th of 767 in Illinois. Where it does best is cost of living (A−) — a typical home costs about $126K, 2.2 years of the county’s $57K median household income. Safety is a strength too: it reports less crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns. A third of working residents work locally here, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). This Illinois town is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 91% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FBI crime data, 2025 · Census LEHD, 2023.
Where Mount Carmel beats most towns.
Beall-Orr House
Its founding year, 1815, comes before those of 98% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 935 in 1850, 7,015 in 2020. The archive holds 25 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 2 maps from 1959 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Mount Carmel is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Carmel, 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 Mount Carmel.
Mount Carmel sends many workers across the state line to Patoka Township, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has home values still below their peak.
The typical value, about $126K, is 10% below its February 2023 peak. At about $126K, home values are up 5% in five years, against a rise of 30% across Illinois.
The median rent for Mount Carmel comes to $804 a month. The typical home value locally is about $126,000, about the same as a year ago, 57% below the Illinois typical home. Mount Carmel: two thirds of households are owner-occupiers.
| Mount Carmel | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $804 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Two of its 5 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Mount Carmel High School, with 452 students. Public schools: Wabash CUSD 348.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mt Carmel Grade SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 370 | C |
| Mount Carmel High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 452 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 47 to 13 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Mount Carmel’s property crime rate stands at 1.3 per 1,000 residents. In Mount Carmel, the violent offense rate is 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Mount Carmel | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 42% come from earthquakes and 39% from inland flooding. Mount Carmel’s risk rating from FEMA comes in at 76 of 100. Federal aid has come to Mount Carmel households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2013.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 4,671 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mount Carmel’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Mount Carmel, 16% smoke cigarettes and 39% have high blood pressure. For adults locally, the share who have diabetes is 14%.
| Mount Carmel | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Mount Carmel | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.9% | 6.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.9% | 10.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.3% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A winter brings about 9 inches of snow, with January nights at 24° and July afternoons at 88°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
34% of working residents cross a state line to work, Patoka Township among the top destinations.
About one worker in three stays in Mount Carmel for work. Employers in Mount Carmel shed 403 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 2,222. Also worth knowing: the town’s average commute is 22 minutes. The top destinations are Patoka Township (13%), Evansville (7%) and Albion (5%).
| Mount Carmel | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 33% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Mount Carmel; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Mount Carmel residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
18 notable people were born in Mount Carmel.
City in Illinois, United States
Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2020 census, the population was 7,015, and it is the largest city in the county. The next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, with the population of 458. Located at the confluence of the Wabash, Patoka, and White rivers, Mount Carmel borders both Gibson and Knox counties of Indiana. A small community known informally as East Mount Carmel sits near the mouth of the Patoka River on the opposite (Gibson County) side of the Wabash River from Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel is 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the Forest of the Wabash, a National Natural Landmark within Beall Woods State Pa…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Mount Carmel.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mount Carmel grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #536 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health, A− for safety 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 Robert Ridgway and Mark Medoff.