Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 373, settled in 1900.
Only one of the 769 Illinois towns we compare has a higher January low than Tamms. Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places. Tamms has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Census counts: 400 in 1910, a peak of 826 in 1980, 430 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2013 and 4 maps from 1934 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Tamms, 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 Tamms.
The share of households in Tamms who live in a home they own is 81%, against 75% in Illinois’ towns and 73% across U.S. towns. Values fell 9.2% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Five County Reg Voc CenterLargest public high schoolGrades 11–12 | Grades 11–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts
Federal aid has come to Tamms households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2019. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 55% come from inland flooding and 18% from earthquakes. Since 2008, Tamms has seen 9 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The top destinations are Cape Girardeau (23%), Anna (5%) and Marion (4%). Just 2% of Tamms’s working residents have a job in town. 17% of Tamms residents live below the poverty line. Tamms’ typical household income is $50,000, where Illinois’ towns sit at $83,000 and U.S. towns at $80,000.
| Tamms | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.1% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect chilly winters and warm summers in Tamms, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 26° and about 7 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For adults in Tamms, the share who smoke cigarettes is 18%. Of 32 CDC measures, Tamms beats the Illinois average on 1 and trails it on 17. Among adults here, 17% have diabetes and 16% report frequent physical distress.
| Tamms | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Tamms | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.9% | 75.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.5% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Tamms
About 0 of every 100 Tamms residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where Tamms’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Tamms.
Village in Illinois, United States
Tamms is a village in Tamms Precinct, Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 430 at the 2020 census, down from 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Tamms has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
3 notable people were born here, including D. R. Fulkerson and Dana Ford.