Dixon, IL

Micro Area Profile

33,869 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Dixon, IL micropolitan area.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 24% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 47% of 835 metro and micro areas measured52
Schools575th of 695 metro and micro areas measured23
Growth803rd of 834 metro and micro areas measured16
Housing affordabilityTop 10% of 835 metro and micro areas measured83
Climate661st of 835 metro and micro areas measured58
Physical resilienceTop 45% of 835 metro and micro areas measured59
Access626th of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Economic stability524th of 835 metro and micro areas measured38
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $70,292, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

In the public schools here, 22% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.9 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 26 units authorized over the past twelve months, 35% below the prior year.

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
33,869
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$70,292
Top 40% nationally
Density
47/sq mi
724.8 sq mi of land
Median age
43.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Illinois
Nearest major airport
MLI
66 mi · Quad Cities Intl
Median home value
$154,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 69% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment held steady over the past year, at 14,433 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,9182024 ACS 5-Year$70,292Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8142024 ACS 5-Year$35,945Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year12.1%Top 43%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.6 minBottom 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year19.4%Bottom 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year82.0%87th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202614,433Bottom 12%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−2.1%Bottom 26%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Top 36%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202614,99512th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year70.9%Bottom 18%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%68th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Top 11%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 31%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%17th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.03.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

22% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 30% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.9 students for every full-time teacher across 13 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
18
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.9
across 13 of them
Math proficiency
21.8%
Bottom 8% in Illinois
Reading proficiency
29.5%
Bottom 19% in Illinois
The 12 largest of 18 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Dixon High SchoolDixon USD 17076017.327%32%
Reagan Middle SchoolDixon USD 17058516.317%21%
Washington Elem SchoolDixon USD 17042415.7——
Jefferson Elem SchoolDixon USD 17034413.822%17%
Madison SchoolDixon USD 17032314.722%37%
Amboy Central Elem SchoolAmboy CUSD 27228313.517%37%
Amboy High SchoolAmboy CUSD 27222911.435%45%
Ashton-Franklin Center Elem SchAshton-Franklin Center CUSD 27521810.922%27%
Ashton-Franklin Center HSAshton-Franklin Center CUSD 27521612.717%27%
Amboy Jr High SchoolAmboy CUSD 27221012.417%30%
Paw Paw Elem SchoolPaw Paw CUSD 271879.75%25%
Steward Elementary SchoolSteward ESD 220576.335%45%

50.5% 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.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,048 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.97% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $916, close to the $894 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $916 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $36,600 a year, about 52% of the median household income here of $70,292.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $894 a month.

A median home at $154,600 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $82,713, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$916
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$894
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$154,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Dixon’s median household income of $70,292, 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 to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year73.6%73rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±692024 ACS 5-Year14,99513th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$810Top 32%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,274Top 24%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$916Top 8%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$502024 ACS 5-Year$894Top 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,3042024 ACS 5-Year$154,60017th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1762024 ACS 5-Year$3,04879th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,2142024 ACS 5-Year$82,713Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.15%2024 ACS 5-Year1.97%96th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year25.5%Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1222024 ACS 5-Year29622nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.0%51st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year9.1%65th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2862024 ACS 5-Year1,65813th percentileof 9352024 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

16/ 100
Ranks 803 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

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 33,544 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 26 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
26
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.8
Bottom 14% nationally
Year over year
−35%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202434k34k
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.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 13°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 37.4 inches.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SHABBONA 5 NNE, 24.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals37.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals13°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals50°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

59 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% 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.

Strong windElevated
DroughtModerate
HailModerate
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate

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

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

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.

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. City profiles inside this area 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.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
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

6 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Quad Cities Intl at 66 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year87.4%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle66 miBottom 20%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle6Top 15%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year10.5%Bottom 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Quad Cities IntlMLI66 mi10,002 ft
Chicago O'Hare IntlORD73 mi11,245 ft
General Downing - Peoria IntlPIA78 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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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
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.

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