City · Edgar County, Illinois

Paris, Illinois

Paris is a city in Edgar County, Illinois. It has 8,276 residents. Paris, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 25 out of 100 (low), ranking #11,705 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #601 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), average commute time (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on job growth (low), public EV charging ports (low) and math scores (low).

25Low

Quality-of-life score: #11,705 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #601 of 697 in IL
Population: 8,276 (2020-2024)
Land area: 6 mi²
Density: 1,457.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1757628

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.

Safety32#10,700/15,637
Economy21#12,295/15,631
Housing78#3,356/14,977
Health25#11,773/15,609
Healthcare27#11,438/15,650
Environment43#8,766/15,453
Education8#14,328/15,649
Infrastructure47#8,237/15,650
Community32#10,590/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,284/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Paris, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Edgar 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 · low1.4×
99/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Average commute time · low14.0 min
93/100Illinois 27.8 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Time spent in the emergency room · low109 min
93/100Illinois 170 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesEdgar County value
Public libraries · high1.8 /10k
90/100Illinois 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesEdgar County value
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
88/100Illinois 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsEdgar County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Illinois 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdgar County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-4.7%
2/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataEdgar County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyEdgar County value
Math scores · low2.50
4/100Illinois 2.90United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdgar County value
Flu vaccinations · low30.0%
8/100Illinois 48.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdgar County value
Reading scores · low2.68
8/100Illinois 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteEdgar County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Illinois 12.2United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationEdgar County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.3% (2015-2019) → 36.4% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.9% (2015-2019) → 88.9% (2020-2024)
+9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.1% (2015-2019) → 22.1% (2020-2024)
−8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$44,209 (2015-2019) → $53,927 (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
22.4% (2015-2019) → 18.0% (2020-2024)
−4.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Home price to income ratioImproving
1.7× (2015-2019) → 1.4× (2020-2024)
−17%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Paris, 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

Broadband+9 points79.9% → 88.9%
Household income+22%$44,209 → $53,927

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Paris, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.8 min2015-2019	14.0 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.7%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Broadband subscriptions	79.9%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+9 points	Improved	55%
Child poverty rate	22.4%2015-2019	18.0%2020-2024	−4.4 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Effective property tax rate	1.94%2015-2019	1.58%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	81%
High school diploma or higher	87.0%2015-2019	85.3%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	1.4×2020-2024	−0.3×	Within the margin of error	89%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4202015-2019	0.3982020-2024	−0.021	Within the margin of error	68%
Median household income	$44,2092015-2019	$53,9272020-2024	+22%	Improved	37%
Poverty rate	15.6%2015-2019	12.5%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	70%
Rent as share of income	30.1%2015-2019	22.1%2020-2024	−8 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Rent-burdened households	50.3%2015-2019	36.4%2020-2024	−14 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	5.0%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.6%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	28%

“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 Paris, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Paris, 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, Paris, Illinois itself moved +9 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

8,276 residents (±207)

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

3,925 households (±192)

Paris, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k16%628
$25k–50k26%1,034
$50k–75k23%908

Homes

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

Owners and renters

3,925 households (±192)

Paris, Illinois
Illinois share

Own65%2,541
Rent35%1,384

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

3,809 workers (±350)

Paris, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone85%3,225
Carpool7.5%†287
Public transit2.0%†76

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 Edgar County, the county holding most of Paris's residents.

Edgar County has 334 employer establishments, 203 for every 10,000 residents (0.82× the US rate of 248; 0.80× Illinois's), with 6,798 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,624. The Census Bureau also counts 916 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 334; 916 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 203; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 6,798
Average annual pay: $49,624; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	30	18.3	0.99×About typical	394	$17,043	—
Specialty trade contractors	26	15.8	1.02×About typical	95	$92,653	80
Religious organizations	19	11.6	2.08×More than typical	90	$24,144	—
Ambulatory health care services	15	9.1	0.44×Fewer than typical	142	$31,739	21
Truck transportation	15	9.1	1.81×More than typical	101	$66,614	40
Limited-service restaurants	14	8.5	1.06×About typical	223	$17,964	—
Full-service restaurants	13	7.9	1.03×About typical	135	$17,385	—
Building equipment contractors	12	7.3	1.21×About typical	32	$43,750	27
Banks and credit unions	11	6.7	2.07×More than typical	148	$60,473	—
Gasoline stations	10	6.1	1.88×More than typical	93	$22,355	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	8	4.9	1.11×Too few to compare	76	$70,132	14
Offices of other health practitioners	8	4.9	0.80×Too few to compare	77	$26,364	11

Rank places for an industry Open Edgar County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 16,430 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 $8,735 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Paris, Illinois: $1.06 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $8,735; +3.7% vs FY2025
Per resident: $1.06; US $1,994
Sole-source: 100%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$8,735100%

Top recipients

HUMAN RESOURCES CENTER OF EDGAR & CLARK COUNTIES$8,735100%

Spending by fiscal year

12.2KFY2017
6.2KFY2018
2.7KFY2019
6.5KFY2020
7.2KFY2021
14.6KFY2022
18.2KFY2023
3.3KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Drycleaning and laundry services · 8123$8,735100%

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

Paris, Illinois's figures are part of those of Edgar County, IL ($401.2K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.2% of that total.

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

See federal money in Edgar 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.

Paris, 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.

Edgar County51100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Edgar 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/1757628

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends