Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Quincy gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $181K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the Quincy area’s $65K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 562nd of 767 graded towns in Illinois. On the plus side, it has 13 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns, with 20 places on the National Register. 53% of working residents work locally in Quincy, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include John Wood Mansion and Morgan-Wells House. Quincy is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns.
Where Quincy beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1819, comes before those of 95% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year. Its 20 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Illinois towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,319 in 1840, 39,463 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1848 and 4 maps from 1925 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Quincy is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Quincy, 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 Quincy.
Quincy is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has commutes shorter than most of Illinois and has property taxes about half the Illinois norm.
Quincy’s trail density is 0.8 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is South Park, at 92 acres.
| Quincy | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bob Mays Park | 2 mi | 72 |
| 2. Moorman Park | 1.4 mi | 74 |
| 3. Bill Klingner Trail | 1 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median property tax bill is $2,491, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Quincy is $837 a month. The typical Quincy home is worth about $181,000, up 4.1% in a year, 39% below the Illinois typical home. 64% of households own their home in Quincy.
| Quincy | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $837 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 42% | 46% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Quincy has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 19° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 18,286 working residents takes 13.6 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
17% of Quincy residents live below the poverty line. Only 6 of the 768 Illinois towns we compare have a lower average trip to work than Quincy. Jobs based in Quincy fell to 21,716 in 2023, 1,162 fewer than in 2013.
| Quincy | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,869 U.S. towns with household incomes like Quincy’s, it is healthier than 67%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C+, from Melrose Township (B+) to Ellington Township (B+).
Quincy beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9.
| Quincy | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Quincy | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.1% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.7% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 52 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Quincy.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Quincy. Close and well known come first.
17 mi CaveMark Twain Cave
15 mi MuseumMark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum
36 mi MuseumCarthage Jail
27 mi National Historic SiteNew Philadelphia National Historic Site
in town MuseumJohn Wood MansionMark Twain Cave: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2 · Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum: Jonathunder, GFDL 1.2 · Carthage Jail: Nyttend, Public domain · New Philadelphia National Historic Site: Nyttend, Public domain · John Wood Mansion: Smallbones, Public domain
4 within 15 miles of the center of Quincy
About 6 of every 100 Quincy residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
3 colleges in town.
20 places in Quincy on the National Register of Historic Places.
57 notable people were born in Quincy.
City in Illinois, US
Quincy ( KWIN-see) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy micropolitan area had 114,649 residents. Known as Illinois's "Gem City", Quincy was a thriving transportation center as riverboats and rail service linked the city to many destinations west and along the river during the 19th century. It was Illinois' second-largest city, surpassing Peoria in 1870. The city has several historic districts, including the Downtown Quincy Historic District and the South Side German Historic District, which display the architecture of Quincy's many Germa…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Quincy.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quincy · Quincy Township | #562 | C+ | B+ | — | C | C+ |
| Melrose Township | #589 | C | B− | — | C | B+ |
| Riverside Township | — | — | B+ | — | C | B+ |
| Ellington Township | #550 | C+ | C+ | — | C | B+ |
Riverside Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Quincy, Melrose Township, Riverside Township and Ellington Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Quincy Township and Quincy are one community, graded once. Compare Quincy with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Quincy grades C+ overall, better than 35% of U.S. towns and #562 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and C 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 B+.
57 notable people were born here, including Mary Astor and Paul Tibbets.
