Decatur, IL

Metro Area Profile

101,849 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Decatur, IL metropolitan area.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 17% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Data updated · 10 sources
Opportunity362nd of 379 metros measured24
Growth741st of 821 metros measured21
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 822 metros measured100
ClimateTop 50% of 822 metros measured67
Physical resilienceTop 29% of 822 metros measured70
AccessTop 41% of 822 metros measured81
Economic stability545th of 822 metros measured39
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 5.8% and the Opportunity signal places Decatur in the bottom 4%.

36 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 16% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.0 times that income.

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
101,849
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$62,666
Bottom 36% nationally
Density
175/sq mi
580.5 sq mi of land
Median age
40.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Decatur, IL
Nearest major airport
SPI
38 mi · Abraham Lincoln Capital
Median home value
$127,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.8% is lower than 8% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.5% over the past year, to 41,325 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,127$62,666Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$955$36,605Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate15.0%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute20.8 minBottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.4%Bottom 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment41,325Bottom 5%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.6%Bottom 13%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.5%Bottom 28%of 379June 2026
Labor force43,856Bottom 6%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation58.1%Bottom 36%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$63,570Top 34%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$51,290Top 21%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment45,550Bottom 12%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.2%Top 37%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate5.8%Top 8%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/068.55.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.8% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Decatur, IL
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,430$46,010
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General1,350$61,380
Cashiers1,210$31,320
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators1,060$50,040
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers990$59,100
Fast Food and Counter Workers970$31,200

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.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% below the national average, on the Bureau of Economic Analysis index. Housing drives most of that difference.

A new two-bedroom lease runs about $1,063, some 26% above the $847 tenants already here pay — the market has moved faster than sitting tenancies have.

Median rent of $847 takes 16% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.0 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
86.7

Prices here run about 13% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Rent as a share of income
16.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,063
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$847
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$127,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index86.7Bottom 6%of 3812023
Home price to income2.03Bottom 3%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate70.2%Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5549,630Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroom$845Bottom 10%of 351FY2026
Market rent, three bedroom$1,378Bottom 12%of 351FY2026
Market rent, two bedroom$1,063Bottom 11%of 351FY2026
Median gross rent ±$22$847Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,307$127,300Bottom 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income16.2%Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate12.4%Top 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
21/ 100
Ranks 741 of 821 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run, not a comparison of the two endpoints.

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 3% since 2020, reaching 100,737 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
36
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 5% nationally
Year over year
+13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024104k101k
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.

Weather & climate

6 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 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.4 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DECATUR AP, 5.4 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation36.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high86°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing48°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake.

EarthquakeElevated
Strong windModerate
DroughtModerate
TornadoElevated
HailModerate
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, heat wave, winter weather, lightning, ice storm, landslide, hurricane, wildfire.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Some things people look for are not on this page, and each is absent for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Any cities listed on this page carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighborhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 38 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Abraham Lincoln CapitalSPI38 mi8,001 ft
Central Il Rgnl/Bloomington-NormalBMI43 mi8,000 ft
General Downing - Peoria IntlPIA68 mi10,104 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
54
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Put Decatur side by side with a similar place.

Decatur vs HermitageDecatur vs SalemDecatur vs ChillicotheDecatur vs Fremont

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026Annually, each October for the coming fiscal year

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

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