Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Louis metro’s $80K median household income.
The best of Mount Olive’s subject grades is an A+ for cost of living; the weakest is a D for walkability. On cost of living, just 6 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns do better. Mount Olive's public schools trail 69% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. Only 114 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score lower on walkability. Soulsby Service Station is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mount Olive has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Mount Olive beats most towns.
Soulsby Service StationWhere Mount Olive’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 Olive is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 709 in 1880, a peak of 3,503 in 1920, 2,015 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1915 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Olive, 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 Olive.
The typical Mount Olive home is worth about $107,000, down 0.9% in a year, 64% below the Illinois typical home. Mount Olive’s median rent is $734 a month, below both Illinois’ towns ($1,129 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Mount Olive | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $734 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 73% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Mount Olive for work: only 7% work in town. 18% of Mount Olive residents live below the poverty line, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. The median household income in Mount Olive is $56,000.
| Mount Olive | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mount Olive has chilly winters and warm summers. Mount Olive’s July high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mount Olive beats the Illinois average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 16% of adults smoke cigarettes in Mount Olive.
| Mount Olive | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Mount Olive | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.4% | 13.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. J.C. Niemann Park | — | 2 |
| 2. Hagerman Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Mount Olive; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Mount Olive residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
5 notable people were born in Mount Olive.
City in Illinois, United States
Mount Olive is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,015 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Metro East region within the St. Louis metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. 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 A+.
5 notable people were born here, including Jess Dobernic and Frank Biscan.
