Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,310, settled in 1845. 3.3 times the library visits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Sullivan gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $198K, 2.8 years of the county’s $72K median household income. It grades A overall, 118th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 70% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 93% of U.S. towns. 30% of working residents work locally in Sullivan, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%. On walkability, just 103 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns do better. Sullivan's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 97% of U.S. towns.
Where Sullivan beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Sullivan is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 528 in 1860, 4,413 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 4 maps from 1935 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sullivan, 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 Sullivan.
Sullivan pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and sees little violent crime.
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
In Sullivan, the violent offense rate is 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
| Sullivan | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The biggest park or preserve is Wyman Park, at 47 acres. Trails total 1.7 miles in 2 parks and preserves. Sullivan’s trail network density comes in at 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Sullivan | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tabor Park | 1.6 mi | 34 |
| 2. Wyman Park | — | 47 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Sullivan grades A overall with a typical home of about $199K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that. The median property tax bill is $1,985, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
69% of Sullivan households are owner-occupiers. In Sullivan, the median rent is $831 a month.
| Sullivan | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $831 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Federal aid has come to Sullivan households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023. FEMA puts 46% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 17% to cold waves. Flood insurance has paid out on 2 claims in the town since 1979.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 86°; in January, nights fall to 20°, and about 13 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,139 working residents takes 16.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Jobs in Sullivan grew by 316 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 2,618. About one worker in three stays in Sullivan for work. The town’s average trip to work stands at 16 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 17 miles away.
| Sullivan | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,613 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sullivan’s, it is healthier than 73%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
For adults in Sullivan, the share who binge drink is 18%. The town beats the Illinois average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Sullivan | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 35% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Sullivan | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.5% | 13.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.2% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Sullivan; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Sullivan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
6 notable people were born in Sullivan.
City in Illinois, United States
Sullivan is the largest city and the county seat of Moultrie County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,413 at the time of the 2020 census. Sullivan is named after Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where Fort Moultrie is located.
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. Sullivan grades A overall, better than 91% of U.S. towns and #118 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health, A for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
6 notable people were born here, including Melbourne Armstrong Carriker and Jack A. Patterson.