Macomb, Illinois

Area Profile

14,894 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Macomb, in McDonough County.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 30% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity3,188th of 4,199 cities measured44
Schools2,280th of 4,162 cities measured46
Growth3,995th of 4,224 cities measured20
Housing affordabilityTop 32% of 4,218 cities measured73
Climate3,580th of 4,225 cities measured60
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured73
Access3,730th of 4,226 cities measured70
Economic stability3,627th of 4,226 cities measured34
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 4.4% and the Opportunity signal places Macomb in the bottom 24%. The unemployment rate is published for McDonough County, IL, which contains Macomb, rather than for Macomb alone.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.6 students for every teacher.

1 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
14,894
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$44,411
Bottom 15% nationally
Density
1,395/sq mi
10.7 sq mi of land
Median age
27.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Illinois
Micro area
Nearest major airport
PIA
54 mi · General Downing - Peoria Intl
Median home value
$103,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across McDonough County, IL, which contains Macomb, is 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across McDonough County, IL, which contains Macomb, grew 0.3% over the past year, to 10,816 employed residents.

35% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 76% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $44,411 is lower than in 85% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsMcDonough County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$43,7422nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftMcDonough County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$43,4801st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,5952024 ACS 5-Year$44,411Bottom 15%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1762024 ACS 5-Year$28,907Bottom 33%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year18.6%Bottom 25%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year17.2 minTop 10%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year35.4%Top 24%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.2%43rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentMcDonough County, IL’s figureJuly 202610,816Bottom 4%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)McDonough County, IL’s figureJuly 2026−3.5%Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)McDonough County, IL’s figureJuly 2026+0.3%Top 30%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceMcDonough County, IL’s figureJuly 202611,3144th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year78.3%Top 50%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)McDonough County, IL’s figureJuly 2026−1.4%Top 4%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateMcDonough County, IL’s figureJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%52nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202444k34k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $44,411 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for McDonough County, IL, which contains this city.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 34% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher across 5 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.6
across 5 of them
Math proficiency
29.3%
Bottom 39% in Illinois
Reading proficiency
33.7%
Bottom 37% in Illinois
All 10 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Macomb Senior High SchoolMacomb CUSD 18566017.437%42%
Macomb Middle SchoolMacomb CUSD 18547912.925%40%
Lincoln Elem SchoolMacomb CUSD 18541210.327%12%
Edison Elementary SchoolMacomb CUSD 18539712.424%35%
MacArthur Early Childhood CenterMacomb CUSD 18512721.2——
ROYALS Academy MacombHancck/Fultn/Schuylr/McDonogh ROE0———
Western Area Career System 265Hancck/Fultn/Schuylr/McDonogh ROE0———
ROYALS RSSP MacombHancck/Fultn/Schuylr/McDonogh ROE0———
Project InsightWest Central IL Spec Educ Coop0———
Wcisec HS EdWest Central IL Spec Educ Coop0———

56.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Illinois’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Illinois is up 45% over five years, and up 5.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,771 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.68% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $951, some 24% above the $765 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $951 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,000 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $44,411.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $765 a month.

A median home at $103,300 costs 1.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $68,834, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
29.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$951
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$765
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$103,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Macomb’s median household income of $44,411, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Illinois’s figure2026 Q2+5.6%83rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Illinois’s figure2026 Q2+44.8%56th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Illinois’s figure2026 Q2+68.1%13th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.5Top 15%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year49.4%9th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2102024 ACS 5-Year7,46492nd percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$728Top 3%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,231Top 4%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$951Top 4%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$442024 ACS 5-Year$765Top 24%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,9882024 ACS 5-Year$103,30020th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2162024 ACS 5-Year$2,77170th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,2212024 ACS 5-Year$68,834Bottom 36%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.42%2024 ACS 5-Year2.68%98th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year29.9%Bottom 41%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±272024 ACS 5-Year1669th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.9%74th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2662024 ACS 5-Year97795th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

20/ 100
Ranks 3,995 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, to 14,765 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 1 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show McDonough County, which contains Macomb, lost about 0.2% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $43,742, close to the $43,480 of households that moved out.

At 0.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.1
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202415k15k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 2 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.2%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
38%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$43,742
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$43,480
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fulton County, IL 138 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Hancock County, IL 96 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  3. Cook County, IL 82 people · 7.4% of arrivals
  4. Schuyler County, IL 57 people · 5.1% of arrivals
  5. Warren County, IL 46 people · 4.1% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Cook County, IL 83 people · 7.2% of departures
  2. Fulton County, IL 71 people · 6.1% of departures
  3. Hancock County, IL 64 people · 5.5% of departures
  4. Knox County, IL 42 people · 3.6% of departures
  5. Peoria County, IL 37 people · 3.2% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for McDonough County, IL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420252.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 86°F and January a low of 16°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 38.5 inches, including 21.3 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station PRAIRIE CITY 2S, 14.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals38.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals21.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals16°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals51°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 22% of it. Inland flooding and heat wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

DroughtModerate
HailElevated
Cold waveElevated
Strong windHigh

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, ice storm, landslide, earthquake, winter weather, tornado, lightning, inland flooding, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
74
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year
Property crime
439
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Macomb's police department reported 74 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 439.

McDonough County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.4 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 13.4 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 8.8 per 100,000 residents in McDonough County.

Homicide
3.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.4
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
8.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
17.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Macomb’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Macomb (McDonough County) rather than Macomb itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest General Downing - Peoria Intl at 54 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.7%Bottom 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle54 miBottom 11%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year5.6%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
General Downing - Peoria IntlPIA54 mi10,104 ft
Quad Cities IntlMLI68 mi10,002 ft
Abraham Lincoln CapitalSPI68 mi8,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
53
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Compare

Put Macomb side by side with a similar place.

Macomb vs CoshoctonMacomb vs Cambridge

Moving to Macomb from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2024 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Macomb

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Macomb with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6145517,317$48,679$120,10054