City · Williamson County, Illinois

Herrin, Illinois

Herrin is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, part of the Marion-Herrin, IL metro area. It has 12,226 residents. Herrin, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 31 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,730 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #533 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), home price to income ratio (low) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on suicide rate (high), firearm deaths (high) and hospital quality rating (low).

31Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,730 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #533 of 697 in IL
Population: 12,226 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 1,263.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 1734358

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.

Safety24#11,850/15,637
Economy21#12,413/15,631
Housing63#5,511/14,977
Health33#10,503/15,609
Healthcare50#7,846/15,650
Environment13#13,382/15,453
Education64#5,652/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,491/15,650
Community49#8,039/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,836/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Herrin, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Williamson 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 · high17.4 /10k
96/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWilliamson 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
Mental health providers · high509 /100k
87/100Illinois 355 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWilliamson County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.7 mi
84/100Illinois 4.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWilliamson County value
Drug overdose deaths · low9.6 /100k
83/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataWilliamson County value
Math scores · high3.28
81/100Illinois 2.90United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWilliamson County value

Weaknesses

Suicide rate · high36.0 /100k
1/100Illinois 11.7 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWilliamson County value
Firearm deaths · high28.5 /100k
3/100Illinois 10.5 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWilliamson County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Illinois 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWilliamson County value
Grocery stores · low0.9 /10k
9/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWilliamson County value
Distance to an airport · high102 mi
9/100Illinois 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWilliamson County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.83%
11/100Illinois 1.88%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.0 /1k (2021) → 2.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+187%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
32.4% (2015-2019) → 51.1% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.3% (2015-2019) → 87.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.2% (2015-2019) → 30.7% (2020-2024)
+7.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,989 (2015-2019) → $59,975 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
23.3% (2015-2019) → 17.8% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

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, Herrin, Illinois improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 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.

Improved3

Uninsured−3.7 points9.3% → 5.7%
Broadband+11 points77.3% → 87.8%
Household income+33%$44,989 → $59,975

Declined1

Rent burden+19 points32.4% → 51.1%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Herrin, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.0 min2015-2019	21.9 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	22.4%2015-2019	22.8%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	77.3%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	62%
Child poverty rate	23.3%2015-2019	17.8%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Effective property tax rate	1.85%2015-2019	1.83%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	20%
High school diploma or higher	89.3%2015-2019	91.8%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	82%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4492015-2019	0.4402020-2024	−0.009	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$44,9892015-2019	$59,9752020-2024	+33%	Improved	62%
Poverty rate	17.2%2015-2019	14.5%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Rent as share of income	23.2%2015-2019	30.7%2020-2024	+7.5 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Rent-burdened households	32.4%2015-2019	51.1%2020-2024	+19 points	Declined	10%
Unemployment rate	6.2%2015-2019	5.9%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.3%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	−3.7 points	Improved	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 Herrin, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Herrin, 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, Herrin, Illinois itself moved −8.7 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

12,226 residents (±71)

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

5,559 households (±277)

Herrin, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k16%869
$25k–50k25%1,415
$50k–75k21%1,160

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,559 households (±277)

Herrin, Illinois
Illinois share

Own66%3,651
Rent34%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

5,854 workers (±379)

Herrin, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone78%4,549
Carpool8.0%†466
Public transit0.4%†25

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 Marion-Herrin, 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 Williamson County, the county holding most of Herrin's residents.

Williamson County has 1,597 employer establishments, 239 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Illinois's), with 26,291 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,483. The Census Bureau also counts 4,583 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,597; 4,583 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 239; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 26,291
Average annual pay: $53,483; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	166	24.9	1.19×About typical	2,674	$87,670	176
Restaurants and other eating places	122	18.3	1.00×About typical	2,458	$19,380	26
Specialty trade contractors	107	16	1.04×About typical	685	$60,657	350
Religious organizations	81	12.1	2.19×More than typical	425	$26,416	—
Limited-service restaurants	62	9.3	1.16×About typical	1,271	$18,791	12
Lessors of real estate	55	8.2	0.67×Fewer than typical	108	$42,083	408
Full-service restaurants	49	7.3	0.96×About typical	1,065	$20,630	9
Offices of physicians	46	6.9	1.06×About typical	1,322	$100,116	38
Banks and credit unions	45	6.7	2.09×More than typical	530	$61,677	—
Building equipment contractors	44	6.6	1.10×About typical	324	$64,259	75
Gasoline stations	38	5.7	1.76×More than typical	498	$33,066	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	38	5.7	1.30×More than typical	111	$60,288	94

Rank places for an industry Open Williamson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 66,749 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 $6,990 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Herrin, Illinois: $0.57 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $6,990; −0.1% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.57; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 51%; 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

Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$3,53951%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service$3,45149%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

147.4KFY2017
11.3KFY2018
40.2KFY2019
95.3KFY2020
2.6KFY2021
9.6KFY2022
1.1KFY2023
16KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Death care services · 8122$3,53951%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$3,45149%

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

Herrin, Illinois's figures are part of those of Williamson County, IL ($69.5M 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: Herrin is mostly in Williamson County.

See federal money in Williamson 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.

Herrin, 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.

Williamson County65100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Marion-Herrin, IL58

Other cities and towns in Williamson 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/1734358

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends