Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,323, laid out in 1857.
Paxton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $154K, 2.4 years of the Champaign metro’s $66K median household income. It grades A overall, 158th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 21% of working residents work locally in Paxton, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). Paxton has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Paxton First Schoolhouse and Paxton Water Tower and Pump House. Paxton is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Paxton beats most towns.
Paxton First SchoolhouseEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Paxton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 275 in 1860, 4,450 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 4 maps from 1924 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Paxton, 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 Paxton.
Paxton pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Paxton grades A overall with a typical home of about $154K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that. Homes are within reach (about $154K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
The typical Paxton home is worth about $154,000, up 3.1% in a year, 48% below the Illinois typical home. Its midpoint rent is $784 a month.
| Paxton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $784 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
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in nearly four fifths of U.S. communities. FEMA puts just over a third of Paxton’s expected hazard losses down to cold waves, and 32% to inland flooding. Flood insurance has paid one claim in the town since 1993.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Walkers can cover 1.0 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail network density for Paxton comes to 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Paxton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Coady Park | 0.2 mi | 10 |
| 2. Pells Park | 0.1 mi | 8 |
| 3. Westlawn Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In July, afternoons reach 85°; in January, nights fall to 17°, and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Paxton had 1,669 jobs in 2023, up 341 from 2013. Roughly one working resident in five has a job in Paxton itself. Its median household income is $62,000. The top destinations are Champaign (12%), Rantoul (7%) and Urbana (7%).
| Paxton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $62,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,497 U.S. towns with household incomes like Paxton’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Against the Illinois average, Paxton comes out ahead on 3 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 3. For adults here, the share who binge drink is 19%. Two figures for adults in the town: 37% sleep under 7 hours, 17% report frequent mental distress.
| Paxton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Paxton | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.3% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.5% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For Paxton, the level of property crime is 5.6 per 1,000 residents. Paxton's reported crime rate is well below Illinois's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 10 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Paxton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Paxton; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Paxton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
4 places in Paxton on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Paxton.
City in Illinois, United States
Paxton is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,450 at the 2020 census.
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. Paxton grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #158 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health and B for schools.
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−.
7 notable people were born here, including Curtiss LaQ. Day and Antoinette Downing.
