Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mount Morris gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $158K for a typical one, or 1.9 years of the Rochelle area’s $82K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 413th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 95% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. On history, just 49 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. Mount Morris's schools rank ahead of 74% of Illinois towns. Only 1 of the 748 Illinois towns we compare have a lower median rent than Mount Morris.
Where Mount Morris beats most towns.
Where Mount Morris’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 Mount Morris is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 855 in 1880, 2,861 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 2 maps from 1922 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Morris, 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 Morris.
Mount Morris trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and sends most of its workers to Rockford and beyond.
Homes are within reach (about $158K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 22 miles. At 1.9 years of the Rochelle area’s $82K median household income, the typical home (about $158K) costs less against local pay than in 82% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 4,263 U.S. towns with household incomes like Mount Morris’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Mount Morris, where Illinois’ towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 14%. 25% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Mount Morris. Mount Morris beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13.
| Mount Morris | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Mount Morris | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.2% | 75.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 26.7% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Mount Morris has 218 jobs for its 1,047 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 349 in 2013 to 218.
Most working residents leave Mount Morris for work: only 3% work in town. The median household income in Mount Morris is $46,000. Jobs based in Mount Morris fell to 218 in 2023, 131 fewer than in 2013.
| Mount Morris | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $46,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mount Morris has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 13° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Mount Morris | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Dillehay Park | 0.7 mi | 19 |
| 2. Zickur Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Hal Palmer Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Morris. Close and well known come first.
23 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
15 mi National Historic SiteRonald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
25 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
36 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
15 mi MuseumJohn Deere House and Shop
36 mi MuseumEllwood HouseBMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · John Deere House and Shop: IvoShandor, CC BY 2.5 · Ellwood House: Paul R. Burley, CC0
None within 15 miles of Mount Morris; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Mount Morris residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
5 notable people were born in Mount Morris.
Village in Illinois, United States
Mount Morris is a village in Mount Morris Township, Ogle County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mount Morris had a population of 2,861.
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. Mount Morris grades B overall, better than 59% of U.S. towns and #413 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and B+ for schools. Health 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Akiane Kramarik and Ralph Waldo Trine.
.jpg){kind=link}
