Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Thomson’s best subject grade is a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for incomes. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Thomson, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 90 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on incomes. Thomson's schools rank behind 84% of the state's. Only 74 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on the outdoors. Thomson has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Thomson beats most towns.
Where Thomson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Thomson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 380 in 1880, a low of 374 in 1890, 1,610 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1996 and 2 maps from 1891 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thomson, 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 Thomson.
The typical Thomson home is worth about $157,000, up 5.8% in a year, 47% below the Illinois typical home. Thomson’s median rent is $918 a month, where Illinois’ towns sit at $1,129 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month.
| Thomson | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $918 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
Most working residents leave Thomson for work: only 5% work in town. The average trip to work in Thomson is 18 minutes. The top destinations are Clinton (8%), Savanna (6%) and Chicago (6%).
| Thomson | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.1% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Thomson has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 13° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
23% of adults binge drink in Thomson. Thomson beats the Illinois average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 43% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Thomson.
| Thomson | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 78% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Thomson | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 7.6% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 17.9% | 24.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.4% | 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.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thomson
About 4 of every 100 Thomson residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Thomson is a village along Illinois Route 84 near the Mississippi River in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Thomson had a population of 1,610. Just north of the village is the United States Penitentiary, Thomson, a mostly-unused former state prison, purchased by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 2012. Currently, USP Thomson houses over 100 low-security inmates as it remodels to federal maximum-security standards. Thomson is known for its watermelons, and it has the nickname "Melon Capital of the World."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.