City · Mason County, Illinois

Havana, Illinois

Havana is a city in Mason County, Illinois. It has 2,989 residents. Havana, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 14 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,514 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #679 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on pharmacies (high), restaurants and bars (high) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), job growth (low) and average weekly wage (low).

14Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,514 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #679 of 697 in IL
Population: 2,989 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,076.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1733513

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.

Safety63#5,710/15,637
Economy4#14,988/15,631
Housing22#11,738/14,977
Health22#12,110/15,609
Healthcare41#9,182/15,650
Environment6#14,538/15,453
Education25#11,738/15,649
Infrastructure5#14,906/15,650
Community40#9,346/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,377/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100Illinois 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMason County value
Restaurants and bars · high16.1 /10k
96/100Illinois 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMason County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low104 min
95/100Illinois 170 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMason County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Illinois 6.2 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMason County value
Public libraries · high2.4 /10k
93/100Illinois 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMason County value
Property crime rate · low429 /100k
92/100Illinois 1,508 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2024Federal Bureau of InvestigationMason County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Illinois 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071At least this value: the publisher's top bracket is open-ended
Job growth · low-4.7%
2/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMason County value
Average weekly wage · low$843
2/100Illinois $1,539United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMason County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Illinois 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMason County value
Mental health providers · low48 /100k
5/100Illinois 355 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMason County value
Traffic deaths · high33.0 /100k
6/100Illinois 9.8 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataMason County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,197 (2015-2019) → 2,989 (2020-2024)
−6.5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
25.3% (2015-2019) → 74.0% (2020-2024)
+49 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
21.5% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+30 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Child poverty rateWorsening
27.3% (2015-2019) → 38.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeWorsening
17.1 min (2015-2019) → 24.0 min (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Poverty rateWorsening
17.3% (2015-2019) → 24.0% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Havana, Illinois improved on 0 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 10 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.

Declined3

Rent / income+30 points21.5% → 51.0%
Rent burden+49 points25.3% → 74.0%
Inequality+0.1000.382 → 0.482

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Havana, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.1 min2015-2019	24.0 min2020-2024	+6.9 min	Within the margin of error	5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.8%2015-2019	14.2%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Broadband subscriptions	79.3%2015-2019	84.1%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Child poverty rate	27.3%2015-2019	38.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Effective property tax rate	2.32%2015-2019	1.82%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	91%
High school diploma or higher	91.3%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	39%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	50%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3822015-2019	0.4822020-2024	+0.100	Declined	4%
Median household income	$40,4172015-2019	$41,1842020-2024	+1.9%	Within the margin of error	9%
Poverty rate	17.3%2015-2019	24.0%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	21.5%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+30 points	Declined	0%
Rent-burdened households	25.3%2015-2019	74.0%2020-2024	+49 points	Declined	0%

“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 Havana, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Havana, 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, Havana, Illinois itself moved −34 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

2,989 residents (±216)

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

1,424 households (±140)

Havana, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k24%†345
$25k–50k30%†430
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,424 households (±140)

Havana, Illinois
Illinois share

Own75%1,062
Rent25%†362

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

1,015 workers (±205)

Havana, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone77%785
Carpool3.4%†35
Public transit0.0%0

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 Mason County, the county holding most of Havana's residents.

Mason County has 255 employer establishments, 203 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.79× Illinois's), with 1,974 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,042. The Census Bureau also counts 613 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 255; 613 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 203; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 1,974
Average annual pay: $45,042; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	18	14.3	2.58×More than typical	56	$15,143	—
Restaurants and other eating places	16	12.7	0.69×Fewer than typical	139	$17,194	8
Specialty trade contractors	14	11.1	0.72×Fewer than typical	48	$71,188	49
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	13	10.3	8.52×More than typical	47	$15,745	4
Gasoline stations	11	8.7	2.70×More than typical	117	$24,248	—
Truck transportation	11	8.7	1.73×More than typical	49	$50,204	28
Ambulatory health care services	9	7.2	0.34×Too few to compare	49	$37,510	18
Banks and credit unions	9	7.2	2.21×Too few to compare	89	$48,989	6
Full-service restaurants	9	7.2	0.93×Too few to compare	42	$18,738	4
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	6.4	1.26×Too few to compare	30	$42,300	20
Insurance agencies and brokerages	8	6.4	1.45×Too few to compare	28	$77,250	10
Building equipment contractors	7	5.6	0.92×Too few to compare	41	$61,439	10

Rank places for an industry Open Mason County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,580 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 $524 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Havana, Illinois: $0.18 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $524; −97% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.18; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$524100%

Top recipients

NELSON LAND MANAGEMENT LLC$524100%
PEACETREE, INC$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

155.2FY2017
4.2KFY2018
21.9KFY2019
-108.7FY2020
40.4KFY2021
296.6FY2022
1.3KFY2023
34.1KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$524100%

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

Havana, Illinois's figures are part of those of Mason County, IL ($12.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 4.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Mason 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.

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

House

Mary E. MillerR-IL-15 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 3.9%

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.

Mason County40100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Mason 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/1733513

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends