City · Montgomery County, Illinois

Hillsboro, Illinois

Hillsboro is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois. It has 5,803 residents. Hillsboro, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 23 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,048 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #623 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on homicide rate (low), public libraries (high) and restaurants and bars (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), access to exercise opportunities (low) and new business applications (low).

23Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,048 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #623 of 697 in IL
Population: 5,803 (2020-2024)
Land area: 9 mi²
Density: 663.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 1735047

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.

Safety55#7,047/15,637
Economy28#11,276/15,631
Housing73#3,984/14,977
Health28#11,195/15,609
Healthcare33#10,527/15,650
Environment12#13,592/15,453
Education16#13,133/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,425/15,650
Community34#10,351/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,635/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Illinois 6.2 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataMontgomery County value
Public libraries · high2.2 /10k
92/100Illinois 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesMontgomery County value
Restaurants and bars · high13.5 /10k
92/100Illinois 10.3 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMontgomery County value
Job growth · high2.2%
90/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataMontgomery County value
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
90/100Illinois 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMontgomery County value
Social associations · high14.1 /10k
87/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.4 /10k
1/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMontgomery County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low38.3%
5/100Illinois 90.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
New business applications · low7.7 /1k
5/100Illinois 14.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMontgomery County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Illinois 3.0United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Illinois 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMontgomery County value
Traffic deaths · high27.2 /100k
10/100Illinois 9.8 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataMontgomery County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
6,402 (2015-2019) → 5,803 (2020-2024)
−9.4%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
48.7% (2015-2019) → 6.2% (2020-2024)
−42 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
69.2% (2015-2019) → 89.4% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
51.2% (2015-2019) → 37.9% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateImproving
24.1% (2015-2019) → 11.6% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeImproving
31.3 min (2015-2019) → 20.4 min (2020-2024)
−35%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Hillsboro, Illinois improved on 1 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved1

Broadband+20 points69.2% → 89.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Hillsboro, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.3 min2015-2019	20.4 min2020-2024	−10.9 min	Within the margin of error	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.1%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Broadband subscriptions	69.2%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	1.85%2015-2019	1.70%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	46%
High school diploma or higher	79.6%2015-2019	84.4%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	45%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4012015-2019	0.4532020-2024	+0.052	Within the margin of error	15%
Median household income	$53,3462015-2019	$50,1582020-2024	−6%	Within the margin of error	4%
Poverty rate	24.1%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	96%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	30.8%2015-2019	27.5%2020-2024	−3.3 points	Within the margin of error	76%

“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 Hillsboro, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hillsboro, 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, Hillsboro, Illinois itself moved +2.7 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

5,803 residents (±277)

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

1,817 households (±182)

Hillsboro, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k21%†387
$25k–50k28%†515
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,817 households (±182)

Hillsboro, Illinois
Illinois share

Own78%1,424
Rent22%†393

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

1,604 workers (±258)

Hillsboro, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone79%1,267
Carpool4.0%†64
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 Montgomery County, the county holding most of Hillsboro's residents.

Montgomery County has 676 employer establishments, 243 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Illinois's), with 7,538 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,276. The Census Bureau also counts 1,543 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 676; 1,543 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 243; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 7,538
Average annual pay: $42,276; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	48	17.3	0.94×About typical	708	$18,986	8
Specialty trade contractors	47	16.9	1.09×About typical	136	$56,287	124
Ambulatory health care services	42	15.1	0.73×Fewer than typical	406	$51,483	28
Religious organizations	29	10.4	1.88×More than typical	111	$15,054	—
Truck transportation	29	10.4	2.06×More than typical	230	$40,843	51
Full-service restaurants	24	8.6	1.12×About typical	296	$18,547	—
Gasoline stations	24	8.6	2.66×More than typical	211	$28,318	—
Construction of buildings	23	8.3	1.09×About typical	83	$61,169	58
Banks and credit unions	21	7.6	2.34×More than typical	290	$57,176	3
Building equipment contractors	21	7.6	1.26×More than typical	71	$62,789	24
Limited-service restaurants	17	6.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	346	$19,581	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	16	5.8	1.14×About typical	73	$40,178	38

Rank places for an industry Open Montgomery County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 27,791 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 $14K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hillsboro, Illinois: $2.41 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $14K; +22% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2.41; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 13%; 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$8,94464%
Department of the Army$5,05136%

Top recipients

PRECISE SPECIALITIES CORPORATION$8,94464%
HURST-ROSCHE, INC.$5,05136%

Spending by fiscal year

735.5KFY2017
134.6KFY2018
213.9KFY2019
61.9KFY2020
76.3KFY2021
96.2KFY2022
39.7KFY2023
11.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Employment services · 5613$7,00550%
Support activities for mining · 2131$5,05136%
Offices of other health practitioners · 6213$1,93914%

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

Hillsboro, Illinois's figures are part of those of Montgomery County, IL ($362.2K in FY2026), never added to them: 3.9% of that total.

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

See federal money in Montgomery 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.

Hillsboro, 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.

Montgomery County39100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Montgomery 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
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/1735047

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends