Village · Union County, Illinois

Cobden, Illinois

Cobden is a village in Union County, Illinois. It has 1,170 residents. Cobden, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,466 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #641 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), homicide rate (low) and public libraries (high). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), public EV charging ports (low) and math scores (low).

20Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,466 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #641 of 697 in IL
Population: 1,170 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 959.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 1715300

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety57#6,683/15,637
Economy10#14,077/15,631
Housing52#7,126/14,977
Health40#9,301/15,609
Healthcare52#7,446/15,650
Environment10#13,861/15,453
Education15#13,349/15,649
Infrastructure4#15,060/15,650
Community43#8,900/15,651
Leisure & amenities44#8,697/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataUnion County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Illinois 6.2 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataUnion County value
Public libraries · high2.4 /10k
93/100Illinois 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesUnion County value
Public transit commuters · high3.9%
91/100Illinois 5.8%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Restaurants and bars · high12.6 /10k
89/100Illinois 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsUnion County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
87/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low61.6%
0/100Illinois 90.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyUnion County value
Math scores · low2.51
4/100Illinois 2.90United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteUnion County value
Job growth · low-3.1%
7/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataUnion County value
Distance to an airport · high108 mi
8/100Illinois 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauUnion County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low1.8 /10k
8/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsUnion County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,054 (2015-2019) → 1,170 (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
35.5% (2015-2019) → 65.4% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
45.6% (2015-2019) → 23.6% (2020-2024)
−22 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.9 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.1% (2015-2019) → 42.5% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
52.2% (2015-2019) → 61.6% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Cobden, Illinois improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Inequality+0.1660.396 → 0.562
Rent / income+19 points23.1% → 42.5%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Cobden, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.2 min2015-2019	24.5 min2020-2024	+3.3 min	Within the margin of error	18%
Bachelor's degree or higher	20.1%2015-2019	20.5%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Broadband subscriptions	52.2%2015-2019	61.6%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Effective property tax rate	1.04%2015-2019	1.19%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	4%
High school diploma or higher	79.7%2015-2019	80.4%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	79%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3962015-2019	0.5622020-2024	+0.166	Declined	1%
Median household income	$41,6072015-2019	$46,4582020-2024	+12%	Within the margin of error	19%
Poverty rate	26.2%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Rent as share of income	23.1%2015-2019	42.5%2020-2024	+19 points	Declined	2%
Rent-burdened households	35.5%2015-2019	65.4%2020-2024	+30 points	Within the margin of error	3%

“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 Cobden, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cobden, 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, Cobden, Illinois itself moved −26.6 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

1,170 residents (±220)

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

427 households (±91)

Cobden, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k30%†127
$25k–50k21%†91
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

427 households (±91)

Cobden, Illinois
Illinois share

Own70%297
Rent30%†130

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

335 workers (±104)

Cobden, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone73%†244
Carpool17%†56
Public transit

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 Union County, the county holding most of Cobden's residents.

Union County has 352 employer establishments, 209 for every 10,000 residents (0.84× the US rate of 248; 0.82× Illinois's), with 3,489 paid employees at an average annual pay of $36,824. The Census Bureau also counts 1,035 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 352; 1,035 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 209; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 3,489
Average annual pay: $36,824; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	29	17.2	0.94×About typical	442	$15,785	5
Specialty trade contractors	23	13.6	0.88×About typical	72	$53,097	93
Religious organizations	20	11.9	2.14×More than typical	70	$23,371	—
Ambulatory health care services	19	11.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	199	$62,477	29
Limited-service restaurants	14	8.3	1.04×About typical	290	$16,766	—
Full-service restaurants	12	7.1	0.93×About typical	109	$17,422	3
Building finishing contractors	11	6.5	1.72×More than typical	29	$38,448	32
Services to buildings and dwellings	11	6.5	0.97×About typical	26	$27,692	95
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	5.9	1.18×About typical	50	$42,300	31
Banks and credit unions	10	5.9	1.84×More than typical	89	$40,663	—
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	8	4.7	1.17×Too few to compare	43	$32,000	16
Building equipment contractors	8	4.7	0.79×Too few to compare	27	$64,074	19

Rank places for an industry Open Union County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 16,865 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 -$449 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Cobden, Illinois: -$0.38 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$449; −117% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.38; 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

COBDEN REHABILITATION AND NURSING CENTER, LLC-$4490.0%

Spending by fiscal year

4KFY2017
5.3KFY2018
3.2KFY2019
773.2FY2020
3.2KFY2021
793.7FY2022
90.2FY2023
1KFY2024
2.7K

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 Cobden, Illinois, so they do not add up across cities.

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

See federal money in Union 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.

Cobden, 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.

Union County34100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Union 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/1715300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends