Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pekin gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $142K for a typical one, or 2 years of the Peoria metro’s $72K median household income. It grades C overall, ranked 597th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its crime rate is higher than 83% of U.S. towns, with 162 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. On the plus side, it has 26 miles of trail. Pekin’s violent crime rate is 5.2 per 1,000 residents, above both Illinois’ towns (1) and U.S. towns (1.6). Pekin has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Pekin Federal Building and Tazewell County Courthouse. Pekin is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns.
Where Pekin beats most towns.
18.7% of the town is conserved land, across 15 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Pekin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,678 in 1850, 31,731 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1898 and 5 maps from 1905 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pekin, 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 Pekin.
Pekin is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Illinois rate.
Pekin’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is John T McNaughton Park, 755 acres with 14.7 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John T McNaughton Park | 14.7 mi | 755 |
| 2. Everett McKinley Dirksen Park | 7 mi | 385 |
| 3. Mineral Springs Park | 0.9 mi | 89 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2 years of the Peoria metro’s $72K median household income, the typical home (about $142K) costs less against local pay than in 79% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,521, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Pekin is $819 a month. Typical home values rose 6.4% in the year to September 2026.
| Pekin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $819 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Violent crime runs at 5.2 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Illinois rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−.
Pekin reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 83% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The average commute for its 13,433 working residents takes 21.7 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 5 of Pekin’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Pekin fell to 9,594 in 2023, 1,740 fewer than in 2013. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Pekin.
| Pekin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Pekin has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 17° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,126 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pekin’s, it is healthier than 55%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Pekin beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 17% of Pekin adults smoke cigarettes.
| Pekin | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Pekin | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.3% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 16.7% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 49 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pekin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pekin. Close and well known come first.
30 mi MuseumDickson Mounds
13 mi Zoo & aquariumWildlife Prairie Park11 mi Zoo & aquariumPeoria Zoo33 mi Zoo & aquariumMiller Park Zoo
11 mi GardenGeorge L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden
17 mi Theme parkSpider HillDickson Mounds: MattHucke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wildlife Prairie Park: Katherine Johnson, CC BY 2.0 · George L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden: Original uploader was ProfDEH at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Spider Hill: NatFee, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Pekin
About 3 of every 100 Pekin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
5 places in Pekin on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Pekin.
City in Illinois, United States
Pekin ( PEE-kin) is located in, and is the county seat of, Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. It is located along the Illinois River in Central Illinois. The population was 31,731 at the 2020 census. Pekin is the largest city in Tazewell County and the second-most populous city in the Peoria metropolitan area. A small portion of the city limits extend into Peoria County. Mineral Springs Park in Pekin is located near Pekin Hospital and the Miller Senior Center. The city is home to a high-rise residential facility operated by the United Auto Workers; the Federal Correctional Institution, Pekin; and the headquarters of the regional insurance provider Pekin Insurance.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Pekin.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Cincinnati Township (C+) is closest. Cincinnati Township next door grades higher for schools (B to Pekin’s C) and lower for cost of living (B− to A−).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pekin · Pekin Township | #597 | C | A− | C− | C | C+ |
| North Pekin | — | — | A− | C− | B− | B |
| Hollis Township | — | — | B+ | — | C | B+ |
| Marquette Heights | — | — | B | — | B− | B |
| Elm Grove Township | #311 | B+ | B | — | B− | B |
| Cincinnati Township | #517 | C+ | B− | — | B | C+ |
| Groveland Township | #416 | B | B | — | B | B |
North Pekin, Hollis Township and Marquette Heights have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Hollis Township, Marquette Heights, Elm Grove Township, Cincinnati Township and Groveland Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Pekin Township and Pekin are one community, graded once. Compare Pekin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pekin grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #597 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Safety 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−.
21 notable people were born here, including Susan Dey and Everett Dirksen.
