Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety89#1,767/15,637
Economy39#9,469/15,631
Housing83#2,570/14,977
Health38#9,672/15,609
Healthcare31#10,862/15,650
Environment9#14,107/15,453
Education15#13,279/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,448/15,650
Community60#6,284/15,651
Leisure & amenities45#8,570/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Oblong, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Crawford 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 dataCrawford County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.4×
99/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Public libraries · high2.7 /10k
95/100Illinois 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCrawford County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Illinois 6.2 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCrawford County value
Social associations · high14.8 /10k
90/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrawford County value
Students per teacher · low12.0×
84/100Illinois 13.6×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsCrawford County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.8 /1k
2/100Illinois 14.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCrawford County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyCrawford County value
Pharmacies · low0.5 /10k
4/100Illinois 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrawford County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low11.3%
9/100Illinois 37.8%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Reading scores · low2.71
10/100Illinois 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrawford County value
Comfortable days · low23.3%
10/100Illinois 24.0%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCrawford County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,326 (2015-2019) → 1,634 (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
28.4% (2015-2019) → 12.0% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
24.6% (2015-2019) → 13.9% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
23.4% (2015-2019) → 14.7% (2020-2024)
−8.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
11.6% (2015-2019) → 3.3% (2020-2024)
−8.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$41,005 (2015-2019) → $57,917 (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Oblong, Illinois improved on 2 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 7 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

Poverty−11 points24.6% → 13.9%
Household income+41%$41,005 → $57,917

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Oblong, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.4 min2015-2019	16.5 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Within the margin of error	69%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.9%2015-2019	11.3%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Broadband subscriptions	79.9%2015-2019	88.1%2020-2024	+8.2 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Effective property tax rate	1.81%2015-2019	1.36%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Within the margin of error	88%
High school diploma or higher	87.9%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	1.3×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	70%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4492015-2019	0.4302020-2024	−0.020	Within the margin of error	67%
Median household income	$41,0052015-2019	$57,9172020-2024	+41%	Improved	75%
Poverty rate	24.6%2015-2019	13.9%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	94%

“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 Oblong, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Oblong, 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, Oblong, Illinois itself moved +5.9 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

1,634 residents (±230)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 80 and over men (−2.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,634 residents (±230)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

White95%1,547
Black0.1%†2
Hispanic or Latino0.1%†1

Education

1,134 residents (±162)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

No high school diploma5.6%†64
High school or GED35%395
Some college30%†339

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

680 households (±116)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k25%†168
$25k–50k16%†112
$50k–75k27%†185
$75k–100k15%†100
$100k–150k13%†86
$150k–200k2.9%†20
$200k or more1.3%†9

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−15.7 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

680 households (±116)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Own72%488
Rent28%†192

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

162 households (±89)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $75069%†111
$750–1,00021%†34
$1,000–1,50010%†17

Home values

488 homes (±105)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $150k90%441
$150k–250k8.2%†40
$250k–400k1.4%†7

Age of homes

744 homes (±122)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

2010 or later1.9%†14
2000–20093.8%†28
1980–199912%†88

Size of homes

744 homes (±122)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Studio0.5%†4
1 bedroom4.7%†35
2 bedrooms40%†295

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

740 workers (±160)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone91%677
Carpool3.0%†22
Public transit1.1%†8
Walk4.1%†30
Bike0.0%0
Work from home0.4%†3
Other0.0%0

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

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

737 workers (±160)

Oblong, Illinois
Illinois share

Under 15 min44%†326
15–29 min39%†288
30–44 min9.0%†66

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Crawford County, the county holding most of Oblong's residents.

Crawford County has 411 employer establishments, 223 for every 10,000 residents (0.90× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Illinois's), with 6,707 paid employees at an average annual pay of $54,518. The Census Bureau also counts 1,229 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 411; 1,229 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 223; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 6,707
Average annual pay: $54,518; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	33	17.9	0.98×About typical	556	$14,876	11
Religious organizations	24	13	2.35×More than typical	70	$22,071	—
Specialty trade contractors	21	11.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	323	$76,226	79
Limited-service restaurants	18	9.8	1.22×About typical	327	$16,275	—
Ambulatory health care services	17	9.2	0.44×Fewer than typical	141	$57,184	32
Full-service restaurants	15	8.1	1.06×About typical	229	$12,878	8
Banks and credit unions	11	6	1.85×More than typical	116	$61,207	4
Gasoline stations	11	6	1.84×More than typical	106	$24,113	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	5.4	1.24×About typical	52	$41,827	15
Lessors of real estate	10	5.4	0.44×Fewer than typical	44	$27,159	96
Building equipment contractors	9	4.9	0.81×Too few to compare	144	$62,549	12
Services to buildings and dwellings	9	4.9	0.72×Too few to compare	45	$18,333	81

Rank places for an industry Open Crawford County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,422 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Oblong, Illinois: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; 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

Spending by fiscal year

5FY2019

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

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

See federal money in Crawford 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.

Oblong, 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.

Crawford County63100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Crawford 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/1755106