Galesburg vs Connersville

Which is the better fit for you?

Galesburg, IL
50
Area Score
Bottom 20% nationally
Connersville, IN
48
Area Score
Bottom 15% nationally

Want a third or fourth place beside these? Open them in the shortlist and add more.

Galesburg receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Galesburg to Connersville

It stays in this browser and is never sent anywhere.

Everyday prices
The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes no regional price index for Galesburg or Connersville, so nothing here is estimated in its place.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Needs a price index for both places.
A new two-bedroom lease
+$40 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $956 in Connersville against $916 in Galesburg.
The median home
10% more
$106,300 in Connersville against $96,400 in Galesburg.
The weather you would swap
Winters 3°F milder
Normal January lows are 17°F in Connersville against 14°F in Galesburg; July highs are 82°F against 84°F (summers 2°F cooler).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Galesburg
Connersville
Opportunity: Galesburg is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
41 · Bottom 19%
vs
36 · Bottom 12%
Growth: Connersville is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
33 · Bottom 18%
vs
45 · Bottom 38%
Climate: Connersville is the more favorable of the two.
Climate
59 · Bottom 11%
vs
61 · Bottom 18%
Physical resilience: Galesburg is the more favorable of the two.
Physical resilience
59 · Top 49%
vs
48 · Bottom 40%
Housing affordability: Galesburg is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
69 · Top 43%
vs
67 · Top 49%
Schools: Connersville is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
37 · Bottom 33%
vs
40 · Bottom 37%
Access: Galesburg is the more favorable of the two.
Access
83 · Bottom 25%
vs
74 · Bottom 15%
Economic stability: Galesburg is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
26 · Bottom 6%
vs
21 · Bottom 3%

Measured values

MetricGalesburgConnersvilleSource period
Population29,48113,1092024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income — the two are too close to separate$48,297 ±$3,539$48,854 ±$4,0522024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income — the two are too close to separate$27,222 ±$1,536$26,599 ±$2,0092024 ACS 5-Year
Population density1,659/sq mi1,688/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$96,400$106,3002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent — the two are too close to separate$801 ±$49$787 ±$302024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$916 — more favorable$956FY2026
Homeownership rate62.2%62.6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate4.9%4.3% — more favorableJuly 2026
Employment change (year over year)+1.3% — more favorable−1.0%July 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher19.7% — more favorable15.0%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate — the two are too close to separate18.2% ±2%22.8% ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)12712 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents0.01.2 — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)+100.0%+58.8%12 months ending July 2026
Average July high84°F82°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low14°F17°F1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport35 mi — more favorable49 miNASR current cycle
Average commute17.7 min — more favorable27.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age40.841.02024 ACS 5-Year
Public schools1582024-25 school year
Students per teacher14.3 — more favorable16.92024-25 school year
Math proficiency22.7%40.6%2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency33.0%47.0%2018-19 school year
Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility76.3%63.4%2024-25 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

4 rows above show both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

Illinois and Indiana do not give the same test. Each state writes its own assessment and sets its own passing score, so the two proficiency rows above are not directly comparable — the difference between them partly measures which standard is harder. Students per teacher and the school count are unaffected, and each profile ranks its own proficiency within its own state.

Physical risk tradeoff

Galesburg

Elevated or high exposure: hail.

Connersville

Elevated or high exposure: tornado, cold wave.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Galesburg
—
Galesburg: Your Score
50
Area Score
Connersville
—
Connersville: Your Score
48
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Galesburg, IL · Connersville, IN · How this is calculated: methodology