Village · Grundy County, Illinois

Coal City, Illinois

Coal City is a village in Grundy County, Illinois, part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area. It has 5,317 residents. Coal City, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 50 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,766 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #319 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on job growth (high), primary care shortage (low) and violent crime rate (low). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), effective property tax rate (high) and primary care physicians (low).

50Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,766 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #319 of 697 in IL
Population: 5,317 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 921.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1715170

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.

Safety71#4,487/15,637
Economy71#4,602/15,631
Housing64#5,462/14,977
Health60#6,274/15,609
Healthcare49#7,942/15,650
Environment15#13,204/15,453
Education27#11,461/15,649
Infrastructure35#10,216/15,650
Community57#6,710/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,432/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Coal City, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Grundy 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

Job growth · high6.4%
99/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataGrundy County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Illinois 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationGrundy County value
Violent crime rate · low86 /100k
90/100Illinois 251 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationGrundy County value
Property crime rate · low520 /100k
88/100Illinois 1,508 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationGrundy County value
Poverty rate · low4.4%
86/100Illinois 11.5%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Drug overdose deaths · low8.6 /100k
86/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataGrundy County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high24.3 /100k
10/100Illinois 11.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataGrundy County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.88%
10/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Primary care physicians · low36 /100k
17/100Illinois 82 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrundy County value
Grocery stores · low1.1 /10k
19/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGrundy County value
Dentists · low37 /100k
19/100Illinois 86 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteGrundy County value
Firearm deaths · high18.7 /100k
20/100Illinois 10.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataGrundy County value

Trends

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

High school diploma or higherWorsening
97.1% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
−8.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
31.7% (2015-2019) → 37.0% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
18.6% (2015-2019) → 23.2% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.1% (2015-2019) → 26.7% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.0% (2015-2019) → 90.8% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.363 (2015-2019) → 0.418 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Coal City, Illinois improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 11 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.

Improved1

Broadband+3.9 points87.0% → 90.8%

Declined1

Inequality+0.0550.363 → 0.418

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Coal City, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.1 min2015-2019	27.1 min2020-2024	−2.0 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.6%2015-2019	23.2%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Broadband subscriptions	87.0%2015-2019	90.8%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Improved	25%
Effective property tax rate	1.85%2015-2019	1.88%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	12%
High school diploma or higher	97.1%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	−8.2 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	72%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3632015-2019	0.4182020-2024	+0.055	Declined	14%
Median household income	$74,7552015-2019	$72,8572020-2024	−2.5%	Within the margin of error	6%
Poverty rate	7.1%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−2.8 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Rent as share of income	22.1%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent-burdened households	31.7%2015-2019	37.0%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	6.1%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.7%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“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 Coal City, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Coal City, 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, Coal City, Illinois itself moved −14.9 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

5,317 residents (±340)

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

2,104 households (±226)

Coal City, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k8.7%†184
$25k–50k21%†440
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,104 households (±226)

Coal City, Illinois
Illinois share

Own77%1,617
Rent23%†487

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,551 workers (±274)

Coal City, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone82%2,089
Carpool2.8%†72
Public transit0.0%0

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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

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 Grundy County, the county holding most of Coal City's residents.

Grundy County has 1,202 employer establishments, 224 for every 10,000 residents (0.90× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Illinois's), with 17,169 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,715. The Census Bureau also counts 3,548 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,202; 3,548 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 224; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 17,169
Average annual pay: $60,715; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	123	23	1.10×About typical	920	$72,980	127
Restaurants and other eating places	102	19	1.04×About typical	1,713	$18,563	14
Specialty trade contractors	96	17.9	1.16×About typical	821	$83,281	235
Truck transportation	52	9.7	1.92×More than typical	297	$90,088	141
Limited-service restaurants	50	9.3	1.16×About typical	969	$17,976	9
Offices of physicians	50	9.3	1.44×More than typical	413	$100,656	19
Full-service restaurants	43	8	1.05×About typical	620	$18,866	4
Offices of other health practitioners	43	8	1.32×More than typical	186	$44,624	72
Automotive repair and maintenance	40	7.5	1.48×More than typical	198	$45,096	55
Building equipment contractors	34	6.3	1.06×About typical	561	$85,193	32
Construction of buildings	33	6.2	0.82×About typical	121	$77,207	72
Gasoline stations	32	6	1.84×More than typical	502	$33,078	—

Rank places for an industry Open Grundy County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 53,550 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Coal City, Illinois: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; 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

Spending by fiscal year

2.8KFY2019
58.7KFY2021

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 Coal City, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

Coal City, Illinois's figures are part of those of Grundy County, IL and Will County, IL ($154.9M 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: Coal City is mostly in Grundy County.

See federal money in Grundy 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.

Coal City, Illinois is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

County

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

Grundy County77100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN66

Other cities and towns in Grundy 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/1715170

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends