City · Clay County, Illinois

Flora, Illinois

Flora is a city in Clay County, Illinois. It has 4,475 residents. Flora, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 28 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,273 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #574 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on firearm deaths (low), drug overdose deaths (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on primary care physicians (low), public EV charging ports (low) and flu vaccinations (low).

28Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,273 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #574 of 697 in IL
Population: 4,475 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 954.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 1726454

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety89#1,687/15,637
Economy17#12,943/15,631
Housing90#1,459/14,977
Health29#11,151/15,609
Healthcare28#11,235/15,650
Environment18#12,636/15,453
Education18#12,825/15,649
Infrastructure7#14,477/15,650
Community44#8,766/15,651
Leisure & amenities34#10,339/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Illinois 10.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClay County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataClay County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low96 min
97/100Illinois 170 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesClay County value
Social associations · high18.5 /10k
97/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClay County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.6×
97/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent-burdened households · low15.1%
97/100Illinois 47.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070High uncertainty

Weaknesses

Primary care physicians · low15 /100k
2/100Illinois 82 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClay County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyClay County value
Flu vaccinations · low29.0%
7/100Illinois 48.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteClay County value
Grocery stores · low0.8 /10k
7/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClay County value
New business applications · low8.1 /1k
7/100Illinois 14.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauClay County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
7/100Illinois 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsClay County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
4,917 (2015-2019) → 4,475 (2020-2024)
−9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
32.1% (2015-2019) → 10.8% (2020-2024)
−21 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
13.8 min (2015-2019) → 25.9 min (2020-2024)
+87%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
31.1% (2015-2019) → 15.1% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2021) → 0.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−36%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.2% (2015-2019) → 87.5% (2020-2024)
+6.4 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, Flora, Illinois improved on 0 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Declined1

Commute+12.1 min13.8 min → 25.9 min

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Flora, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.8 min2015-2019	25.9 min2020-2024	+12.1 min	Declined	1%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.7%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	−3.4 points	Within the margin of error	11%
Broadband subscriptions	81.2%2015-2019	87.5%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	40%
Effective property tax rate	1.70%2015-2019	1.60%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	37%
High school diploma or higher	86.9%2015-2019	91.3%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.6×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4532015-2019	0.4062020-2024	−0.048	Within the margin of error	83%
Median household income	$47,4132015-2019	$47,1482020-2024	−0.6%	Within the margin of error	7%
Poverty rate	21.3%2015-2019	18.9%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Rent as share of income	18.7%2015-2019	14.4%2020-2024	−4.3 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“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 Flora, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Flora, 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, Flora, Illinois itself moved −7.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

4,475 residents (±400)

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

1,957 households (±225)

Flora, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k22%†422
$25k–50k29%†561
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,957 households (±225)

Flora, Illinois
Illinois share

Own76%1,491
Rent24%†466

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+14.9 points).

† 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

1,909 workers (±320)

Flora, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone90%1,715
Carpool6.2%†118
Public transit0.7%†14

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 Clay County, the county holding most of Flora's residents.

Clay County has 322 employer establishments, 249 for every 10,000 residents (1.00× the US rate of 248; 0.97× Illinois's), with 4,623 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,905. The Census Bureau also counts 938 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 322; 938 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 249; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 4,623
Average annual pay: $54,905; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	20	15.4	2.78×More than typical	88	$19,557	—
Ambulatory health care services	18	13.9	0.67×Fewer than typical	72	$62,083	15
Restaurants and other eating places	16	12.4	0.67×Fewer than typical	215	$18,470	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	14	10.8	2.15×More than typical	48	$28,521	27
Specialty trade contractors	12	9.3	0.60×Fewer than typical	26	$55,192	86
Truck transportation	11	8.5	1.68×More than typical	175	$61,297	15
Banks and credit unions	10	7.7	2.39×More than typical	84	$49,083	5
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	7.7	1.76×More than typical	19	$37,158	22
Offices of other health practitioners	10	7.7	1.27×More than typical	37	$39,649	4
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	7	1.03×Too few to compare	34	$26,941	87
Limited-service restaurants	8	6.2	0.77×Too few to compare	152	$19,138	—
Full-service restaurants	7	5.4	0.70×Too few to compare	60	$16,883	—

Rank places for an industry Open Clay County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,948 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 -$7.07 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Flora, Illinois: -$0.00 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$7.07; −101% vs FY2025
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

STEELCASE INC.-$7.070.0%

Spending by fiscal year

59.3FY2017
6.5KFY2020
3.7KFY2024
1.2KFY2025
-7.1FY2026

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

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

See federal money in Clay 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.

Flora, 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.

Clay County40100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Clay 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/1726454

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends