Washington, Illinois

Area Profile

15,919 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Washington, in Tazewell County.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 8% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 15% of 4,199 cities measured76
SchoolsTop 21% of 4,162 cities measured73
GrowthTop 27% of 4,224 cities measured61
Housing affordabilityTop 14% of 4,218 cities measured80
Climate3,422nd of 4,225 cities measured61
Physical resilienceTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured74
AccessTop 35% of 4,226 cities measured96
Economic stabilityTop 15% of 4,226 cities measured74
The quick read

Washington ranks in the top 15% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.6% and median household income of $95,179. The unemployment rate is published for Tazewell County, IL, which contains Washington, rather than for Washington alone.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.3 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 27% of renter income and the median home is 2.0 times what its owners earn.

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
15,919
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$95,179
Top 21% nationally
Density
1,861/sq mi
8.6 sq mi of land
Median age
38.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Illinois
Metro area
Nearest major airport
PIA
14 mi · General Downing - Peoria Intl
Median home value
$221,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Tazewell County, IL, which contains Washington, is 3.6%, lower than in 77% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Tazewell County, IL, which contains Washington, grew 0.7% over the past year, to 62,104 employed residents.

44% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 84% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsTazewell County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$59,34524th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftTazewell County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,96037th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$10,1882024 ACS 5-Year$95,179Top 21%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,1912024 ACS 5-Year$44,529Top 24%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.6%Top 22%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.3 minTop 22%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year43.7%Top 16%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year76.0%46th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentTazewell County, IL’s figureJuly 202662,104Top 50%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Tazewell County, IL’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Top 43%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Tazewell County, IL’s figureJuly 2026+0.7%Top 22%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceTazewell County, IL’s figureJuly 202664,42250th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year83.9%Top 28%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wagePeoria, IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$68,130Top 50%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wagePeoria, IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,590Bottom 38%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Tazewell County, IL’s figureJuly 2026−1.0%Top 13%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateTazewell County, IL’s figureJuly 20263.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year14.5%75th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202495k79k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $95,179 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.

Largest occupations — Peoria, IL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Registered Nurses5,460$81,010
General and Operations Managers4,140$98,290
Cashiers4,020$31,200
Retail Salespersons3,710$33,870
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners3,620$35,870
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,260$31,200

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 50% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.3 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
47.2%
Top 24% in Illinois
Reading proficiency
49.8%
Top 21% in Illinois
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Washington Comm High SchoolWashington CHSD 3081,39916.342%45%
Central Primary SchCentral SD 5170016.372%62%
Central Intermediate SchCentral SD 5164918.556%77%
Lincoln Grade SchoolWashington SD 5244214.747%47%
Washington Middle SchoolWashington SD 5237814.055%53%
Beverly Manor Elementary SchoolDistrict 50 Schools31510.913%19%
J L Hensey Elem SchoolDistrict 50 Schools26212.517%12%

27.7% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 11% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Peoria, IL Metro Area is up 45% over five years, and up 3.7% 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 $5,062 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.28% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,039, below the $1,155 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,039 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,600 a year, about 44% of the median household income here of $95,179.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,155 a month.

A median home at $221,900 costs 2.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $110,504, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.8

Prices here run about 11% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Peoria, IL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
26.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,039
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,155
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$221,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Washington’s median household income of $95,179, 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
Cost of living indexthe Peoria, IL Metro Area’s figure202388.8Top 4%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Peoria, IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.7%62nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Peoria, IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+44.6%55th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Peoria, IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+56.5%5th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year2.0Top 33%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year80.4%59th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2992024 ACS 5-Year6,26791st percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$818Top 9%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,346Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,039Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1232024 ACS 5-Year$1,155Bottom 35%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,3072024 ACS 5-Year$221,90059th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3542024 ACS 5-Year$5,06290th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,0802024 ACS 5-Year$110,504Top 20%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.20%2024 ACS 5-Year2.28%96th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year26.9%Top 42%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year01st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.4%29th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1292024 ACS 5-Year21479th 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

61/ 100
Top 27% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of 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 1% since 2020, to 15,857 in 2024.

Federal tax returns show Tazewell County, which contains Washington, gained about 0.3% 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 $59,345, below the $65,960 of households that moved out.

At 3.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
56
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.5
Top 40% nationally
Year over year
+60%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
57.1%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202416k16k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
28%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$59,345
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,960
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Peoria County, IL 1,697 people · 33% of arrivals
  2. Woodford County, IL 455 people · 9.0% of arrivals
  3. McLean County, IL 318 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  4. Mason County, IL 134 people · 2.6% of arrivals
  5. Fulton County, IL 123 people · 2.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Peoria County, IL 1,319 people · 28% of departures
  2. Woodford County, IL 404 people · 8.5% of departures
  3. McLean County, IL 291 people · 6.1% of departures
  4. Mason County, IL 158 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. Fulton County, IL 87 people · 1.8% 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 Tazewell County, IL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2022202320242025456.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+200%).

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 18°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.6 inches, including 26.2 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 PEORIA GTR PEORIA AP, 13.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.6"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals26.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals18°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

74 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoHigh
Strong windModerate
DroughtModerate
Inland floodingModerate
HailModerate
EarthquakeModerate

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

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
89
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
1,386
per 100,000 residents · 2025 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.

Washington's police department reported 89 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,386.

Tazewell County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.0 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 10.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.3 per 100,000 residents in Tazewell County.

Homicide
3.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.3
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.7
per 100,000 residents

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 Washington’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 Washington (Tazewell County) rather than Washington 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 14 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year94.8%Top 26%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle14 miTop 39%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year1.8%Top 18%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
General Downing - Peoria IntlPIA14 mi10,104 ft
Central Il Rgnl/Bloomington-NormalBMI31 mi8,000 ft
Abraham Lincoln CapitalSPI61 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.

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Area Score
73
Your Score
—

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Other cities in Peoria, IL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
PeoriaPeoria County112,16959Peoria vs Washington
PekinTazewell County31,78159Pekin vs Washington
East PeoriaTazewell County22,32461East Peoria vs Washington
MortonTazewell County16,59575

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Washington side by side with a similar place.

Washington vs MarysvilleWashington vs Carnot-Moon

Moving to Washington 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
2025 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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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 Washington

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Washington with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Washington closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6157124,470$90,386$204,300—