City · Coles County, Illinois

Mattoon, Illinois

Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, part of the Charleston-Mattoon, IL metro area. It has 16,586 residents. Mattoon, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 22 out of 100 (low), ranking #12,281 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #635 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), rent as share of income (low) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on preventable hospital stays (high), math scores (low) and reading scores (low).

22Low

Quality-of-life score: #12,281 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #635 of 697 in IL
Population: 16,586 (2020-2024)
Land area: 10 mi²
Density: 1,608.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 1747553

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety40#9,422/15,637
Economy17#12,965/15,631
Housing88#1,863/14,977
Health31#10,802/15,609
Healthcare29#11,063/15,650
Environment8#14,217/15,453
Education11#13,854/15,649
Infrastructure25#11,694/15,650
Community35#10,220/15,651
Leisure & amenities54#7,147/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Home price to income ratio · low1.9×
94/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Rent as share of income · low23.8%
94/100Illinois 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Mental health providers · high608 /100k
93/100Illinois 355 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColes County value
Rent-burdened households · low36.0%
93/100Illinois 47.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Social associations · high14.3 /10k
89/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColes County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low7 mi
88/100Illinois 13 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauColes County value

Weaknesses

Preventable hospital stays · high5,437 /100k
1/100Illinois 3,343 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColes County value
Math scores · low2.42
2/100Illinois 2.90United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColes County value
Reading scores · low2.70
9/100Illinois 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteColes County value
Distance to an airport · high106 mi
9/100Illinois 35 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauColes County value
Broadband subscriptions · low84.3%
9/100Illinois 90.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Effective property tax rate · high1.91%
9/100Illinois 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.

Child poverty rateImproving
36.1% (2015-2019) → 29.6% (2020-2024)
−6.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.1% (2015-2019) → 84.3% (2020-2024)
+6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$39,852 (2015-2019) → $51,597 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
38.8% (2015-2019) → 36.0% (2020-2024)
−2.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioImproving
2.1× (2015-2019) → 1.9× (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeWorsening
16.5 min (2015-2019) → 18.1 min (2020-2024)
+9.2%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, Mattoon, Illinois improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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.

Improved2

Household income+29%$39,852 → $51,597
Broadband+6.2 points78.1% → 84.3%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Mattoon, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.5 min2015-2019	18.1 min2020-2024	+1.5 min	Within the margin of error	31%
Bachelor's degree or higher	18.2%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Broadband subscriptions	78.1%2015-2019	84.3%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Improved	39%
Child poverty rate	36.1%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	−6.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Effective property tax rate	2.08%2015-2019	1.91%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%
High school diploma or higher	90.5%2015-2019	89.5%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	1.9×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4362015-2019	0.4102020-2024	−0.026	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$39,8522015-2019	$51,5972020-2024	+29%	Improved	54%
Poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent as share of income	25.3%2015-2019	23.8%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Rent-burdened households	38.8%2015-2019	36.0%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Unemployment rate	6.6%2015-2019	6.5%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.7%2015-2019	9.7%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	35%

“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 Mattoon, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Mattoon, 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, Mattoon, Illinois itself moved +0.2 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

16,586 residents (±410)

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

8,121 households (±344)

Mattoon, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k24%1,971
$25k–50k24%1,986
$50k–75k21%1,733

Homes

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

Owners and renters

8,121 households (±344)

Mattoon, Illinois
Illinois share

Own56%4,533
Rent44%3,588

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

6,992 workers (±570)

Mattoon, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone78%5,433
Carpool14%†976
Public transit0.0%0

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 Charleston-Mattoon, 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 Coles County, the county holding most of Mattoon's residents.

Coles County has 1,112 employer establishments, 238 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Illinois's), with 20,638 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,017. The Census Bureau also counts 2,801 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,112; 2,801 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 238; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 20,638
Average annual pay: $48,017; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	95	20.3	1.11×About typical	1,775	$20,055	13
Ambulatory health care services	75	16.1	0.77×Fewer than typical	1,217	$56,360	78
Specialty trade contractors	70	15	0.97×About typical	402	$62,853	189
Limited-service restaurants	52	11.1	1.39×More than typical	1,008	$19,205	8
Religious organizations	45	9.6	1.74×More than typical	306	$19,967	—
Full-service restaurants	38	8.1	1.06×About typical	666	$21,363	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	34	7.3	1.45×More than typical	168	$42,155	35
Banks and credit unions	31	6.6	2.06×More than typical	434	$62,505	—
Construction of buildings	31	6.6	0.88×About typical	267	$70,502	63
Lessors of real estate	31	6.6	0.54×Fewer than typical	216	$34,241	227
Services to buildings and dwellings	31	6.6	0.98×About typical	119	$37,613	199
Offices of other health practitioners	26	5.6	0.92×About typical	123	$40,382	33

Rank places for an industry Open Coles County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 46,690 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 $1,395 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Mattoon, Illinois: $0.08 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,395; +50% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.08; US $1,994
Sole-source: 29%; 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. Geological Survey$99171%
Drug Enforcement Administration$40429%

Top recipients

FIDIUM ENTERPRISE SERVICES, LLC$99171%
FIDIUM HOLDINGS, LLC$40429%

Spending by fiscal year

102.3KFY2017
32.4KFY2018
59.7KFY2019
49.5KFY2020
61.8KFY2021
36.2KFY2022
23.4KFY2023
66.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Wired telecommunications carriers · 5171$1,395100%

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

Mattoon, Illinois's figures are part of those of Coles County, IL ($402.4K in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Coles 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.

Mattoon, Illinois is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Coles County46100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Charleston-Mattoon, IL49

Other cities and towns in Coles 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/1747553

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends