City · Marion County, Illinois

Centralia, Illinois

Centralia is a city in Marion County, Illinois, part of the Centralia, IL metro area. It has 11,856 residents. Centralia, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 15 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,229 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #666 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), home price to income ratio (low) and gyms and fitness centers (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), unemployment rate (high) and poverty rate (high).

15Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,229 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #666 of 697 in IL
Population: 11,856 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 1,445.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1712164

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety24#11,934/15,637
Economy5#14,866/15,631
Housing62#5,636/14,977
Health14#13,430/15,609
Healthcare29#11,182/15,650
Environment15#13,122/15,453
Education22#12,235/15,649
Infrastructure29#11,133/15,650
Community37#9,923/15,651
Leisure & amenities63#5,788/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Centralia, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Marion County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Social associations · high21.0 /10k
99/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMarion County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
94/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Gyms and fitness centers · high1.9 /10k
87/100Illinois 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMarion County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Illinois 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMarion County value
Restaurants and bars · high11.5 /10k
86/100Illinois 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMarion County value
Public EV charging ports · high10.4 /10k
83/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyMarion County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.3 /10k
0/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMarion County value
Unemployment rate · high11.3%
7/100Illinois 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Poverty rate · high24.3%
8/100Illinois 11.5%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Preventable hospital stays · high4,028 /100k
8/100Illinois 3,343 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMarion County value
New business applications · low8.3 /1k
9/100Illinois 14.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMarion County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Illinois 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMarion County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
0.6 /1k (2021) → 0.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−85%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
75.6% (2015-2019) → 85.1% (2020-2024)
+9.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
35.7% (2015-2019) → 28.2% (2020-2024)
−7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$37,675 (2015-2019) → $47,807 (2020-2024)
+27%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
52.5% (2015-2019) → 47.6% (2020-2024)
−4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
17.0 min (2015-2019) → 19.0 min (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Centralia, Illinois improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved2

Broadband+9.5 points75.6% → 85.1%
Household income+27%$37,675 → $47,807

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Centralia, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.0 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Within the margin of error	27%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.0%2015-2019	16.4%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	75.6%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	+9.5 points	Improved	57%
Child poverty rate	35.7%2015-2019	28.2%2020-2024	−7.5 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Effective property tax rate	2.18%2015-2019	1.88%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	75%
High school diploma or higher	87.8%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	77%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4552015-2019	0.4502020-2024	−0.006	Within the margin of error	56%
Median household income	$37,6752015-2019	$47,8072020-2024	+27%	Improved	48%
Poverty rate	22.8%2015-2019	24.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Rent as share of income	31.1%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Rent-burdened households	52.5%2015-2019	47.6%2020-2024	−4.9 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Unemployment rate	10.1%2015-2019	11.2%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.8%2015-2019	8.1%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Centralia, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Centralia, Illinois in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Centralia, Illinois itself moved +2.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

11,856 residents (±176)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

5,094 households (±250)

Centralia, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k27%1,363
$25k–50k26%1,334
$50k–75k15%768

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

5,094 households (±250)

Centralia, Illinois
Illinois share

Own63%3,186
Rent37%1,908

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

4,200 workers (±299)

Centralia, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone77%3,239
Carpool13%549
Public transit0.4%†15

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Centralia, IL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Marion County, the county holding most of Centralia's residents.

Marion County has 863 employer establishments, 235 for every 10,000 residents (0.95× the US rate of 248; 0.92× Illinois's), with 11,370 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,787. The Census Bureau also counts 2,060 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 863; 2,060 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 235; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 11,370
Average annual pay: $48,787; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Marion County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	61	16.6	0.80×Fewer than typical	546	$57,938	51
Restaurants and other eating places	60	16.4	0.89×About typical	915	$19,199	6
Religious organizations	56	15.3	2.75×More than typical	259	$20,089	—
Specialty trade contractors	41	11.2	0.72×Fewer than typical	186	$66,640	156
Automotive repair and maintenance	31	8.5	1.68×More than typical	78	$49,321	36
Insurance agencies and brokerages	27	7.4	1.68×More than typical	81	$56,901	47
Full-service restaurants	26	7.1	0.92×About typical	318	$19,142	—
Limited-service restaurants	25	6.8	0.85×About typical	540	$19,702	—
Truck transportation	23	6.3	1.24×About typical	334	$72,638	49
Construction of buildings	20	5.5	0.72×Fewer than typical	87	$64,276	70
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	19	5.2	4.27×More than typical	109	$16,018	3
Offices of other health practitioners	19	5.2	0.85×About typical	93	$37,828	20

Rank places for an industry Open Marion County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 36,660 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated -$3.26 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Centralia, Illinois: -$0.00 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$3.26
Per resident: -$0.00; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

KASKASKIA COLLEGE, COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT #501-$3.260.0%

Spending by fiscal year

-40.9KFY2017
921.6FY2018
2.1KFY2019
132.1FY2020
8.6KFY2021
46.4KFY2022
-1.6KFY2023
9.7KFY2024
-7.9K

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Centralia, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Centralia, Illinois's figures are part of those of Marion County, IL, Clinton County, IL, Jefferson County, IL and Washington County, IL ($2.2M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Centralia is mostly in Marion County.

See federal money in Marion County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Centralia, Illinois is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Mike BostR-IL-12 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.6%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Centralia, IL34

Other cities and towns in Marion County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/1712164

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends