Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,011, settled in 1830.
Nashville gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $181K, 2.3 years of the county’s $78K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 376th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 71% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. 36% of working residents work locally in Nashville, against 8.3% in Illinois’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Nashville's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 88% of U.S. towns. Louisville and Nashville Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Nashville beats most towns.
Where Nashville’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 Nashville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 872 in 1860, 3,105 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1973 and 2 maps from 1932 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Nashville, 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 Nashville.
Nashville draws workers from Centralia and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
3,261 jobs are based in Nashville, 2.1 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 3 of Nashville’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Nashville has added 574 jobs, to 3,261 in 2023. The median household income in Nashville is $63,000.
| Nashville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $63,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.8% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Nashville’s median rent is $813 a month. Typical home values rose 6.3% in the year to September 2026.
| Nashville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $813 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Since 2011, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Nashville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Nashville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,606 U.S. towns with household incomes like Nashville’s, it is healthier than 88%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with Illinois is tooth loss: 5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.3% statewide.
Nashville beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 18% of adults binge drink in Nashville.
| Nashville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 35% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Nashville | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5% | 10.3% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.1% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Lions Park, at 49 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Park | — | 49 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Nashville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Nashville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
5 notable people were born in Nashville.
City in Illinois, United States
Nashville is a city in Washington County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 3,105. It is the county seat of Washington County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Nashville.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville · Nashville Township | #376 | B | A | — | B− | B+ |
| Covington Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nashville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Covington Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Nashville Township and Nashville are one community, graded once. Compare Nashville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Nashville grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #376 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B+ for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk 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 Harry Blackmun and William Neville.
