Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,686, settled in 1854.
Pawnee gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $188K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Springfield metro’s $76K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 486th of 767 in Illinois. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Among 357 Illinois towns, just 5 have a lower property crime rate than Pawnee.
Where Pawnee beats most towns.
Where Pawnee’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 Pawnee is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 192 in 1880, a low of 192 in 1880, 2,678 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1925 and 3 maps from 1922 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pawnee, 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 Pawnee.
At $838 a month, Pawnee’s median rent is below both the Illinois town median ($1,129 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Typical home values rose 9.6% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Pawnee for work: only 7% work in town. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Pawnee, above both Illinois’ towns (8.4%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Since 2013, Pawnee has added 30 jobs, to 371 in 2023.
| Pawnee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.3% | 11% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Pawnee has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 20° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pawnee's reported crime rate is well below Illinois's. Pawnee’s violent crime rate is 0 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 38 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pawnee.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Illinois average. 19% of residents are under 18 in Pawnee. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Pawnee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 43.1 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Pawnee | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.1% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.6% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.6% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.3% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.8% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.9% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.6% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.7% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.1% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.9% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
Just 14 of its 845 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Pawnee itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Pawnee beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 19% of Pawnee adults binge drink.
| Pawnee | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pawnee | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 9.9% |
| More smokers | 15.4% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pawnee. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi LandmarkLincoln Tomb
14 mi National Historic SiteLincoln Home National Historic Site124K visitors a year15 mi National MonumentSpringfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument
15 mi MuseumOld State Capitol State Historic Site
30 mi MuseumLincoln's New Salem
9 mi Zoo & aquariumHenson Robinson ZooLincoln Tomb: David Jones, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lincoln Home National Historic Site: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Old State Capitol State Historic Site: Shadow2700 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Lincoln's New Salem: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Henson Robinson Zoo: Robert Lawton, CC BY-SA 2.5
2 within 15 miles of the center of Pawnee
About 3 of every 100 Pawnee residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Pawnee is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Pawnee had a population of 2,678. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois, Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pawnee grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #486 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health and C+ for schools. Walkability 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−.
