South JacksonvilleIL
A town of 3,195.
Is South Jacksonville a good place to live?
South Jacksonville gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $150K, 2.3 years of the Jacksonville area’s $66K median household income. It grades B− overall, 466th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its public schools trail 90% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation, and the median household income is $50K, and 9% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 83% of U.S. towns. South Jacksonville’s average trip to work is 14 minutes, below both Illinois’ towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes).
What makes South Jacksonville stand out
Where South Jacksonville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Typical home value
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| South Jacksonville Elem School | K–5 | 311 |
97% of working residents leave South Jacksonville for work
Where South Jacksonville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How South Jacksonville grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far South Jacksonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to South Jacksonville: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in South Jacksonville, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in South Jacksonville.
South Jacksonville trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has household incomes well below the Illinois norm.
South Jacksonville earns a D for schools
Its public schools are run by Jacksonville SD 117. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Jacksonville Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 311 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
In South Jacksonville, the median rent runs lower than in the typical Illinois or U.S. town
Homes are within reach (about $150K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 27 miles. Home values rose 46% in five years, to about $150K, against 30% across Illinois.
South Jacksonville’s median rent is $647 a month. Typical home values rose 6.9% in the year to September 2026.
| South Jacksonville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $647 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
South Jacksonville earns an A− for safety
Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in South Jacksonville is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| South Jacksonville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of South Jacksonville’s workers commute out
Jobs based here fell from 1,031 in 2013 to 580. The average commute for its 1,489 working residents takes 14.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave South Jacksonville for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in South Jacksonville fell to 580 in 2023, 451 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Jacksonville (38%), Springfield (17%) and Mount Sterling (3%).
| South Jacksonville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $50,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In South Jacksonville, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
South Jacksonville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 19° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
South Jacksonville faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by cold waves
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. South Jacksonville Playground | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Residents of South Jacksonville are healthier than 51% of U.S. towns
Against the 5,638 U.S. towns with household incomes like South Jacksonville’s, it is healthier than 89%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
South Jacksonville beats the Illinois average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 38% of adults have high blood pressure in South Jacksonville.
| South Jacksonville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | South Jacksonville | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 13.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.7% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about South Jacksonville
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of South Jacksonville
About 4 of every 100 South Jacksonville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About South Jacksonville
Village in Illinois, United States
South Jacksonville is a village in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,302 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 2.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 625 ft
South Jacksonville’s neighbors
One town shares a border with South Jacksonville.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Jacksonville | #466 | B− | A | A− | D | B− |
| Jacksonville | #664 | C− | A− | C | D | C |
Questions about South Jacksonville
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is South Jacksonville, IL a good place to live?
South Jacksonville grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #466 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health, A− for safety and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
Is South Jacksonville, IL expensive?
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.