Village · Franklin County, Illinois

Royalton, Illinois

Royalton is a village in Franklin County, Illinois. It has 1,214 residents. Royalton, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 16 out of 100 (very low), ranking #13,082 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #663 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), mental health providers (high) and unemployment rate (low). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), voter turnout (low) and job growth (low).

16Very low

Quality-of-life score: #13,082 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #663 of 697 in IL
Population: 1,214 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,088.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 1766209

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety21#12,378/15,637
Economy35#10,119/15,631
Housing93#980/14,977
Health10#14,042/15,609
Healthcare28#11,300/15,650
Environment14#13,293/15,453
Education27#11,415/15,649
Infrastructure3#15,148/15,650
Community33#10,562/15,651
Leisure & amenities35#10,155/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Royalton, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Franklin 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 · low1.2×
100/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Mental health providers · high735 /100k
97/100Illinois 355 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteFranklin County value
Unemployment rate · low0.2%
96/100Illinois 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Time spent in the emergency room · low108 min
93/100Illinois 170 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesFranklin County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.353
92/100Illinois 0.481United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Rent as share of income · low21.0%
92/100Illinois 29.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071

Weaknesses

New business applications · low7.0 /1k
2/100Illinois 14.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauFranklin County value
Voter turnout · low48.1%
3/100Illinois 62.9%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionFranklin County value
Job growth · low-3.6%
5/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataFranklin County value
Drug overdose deaths · high32.3 /100k
7/100Illinois 14.2 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataFranklin County value
Average weekly wage · low$922
8/100Illinois $1,539United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsFranklin County value
Primary care shortage · high17.0
9/100Illinois 6.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationFranklin County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsImproving
58.5% (2015-2019) → 24.5% (2020-2024)
−34 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
63.6% (2015-2019) → 83.7% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
33.0% (2015-2019) → 15.3% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Poverty rateImproving
23.9% (2015-2019) → 11.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
33.0% (2015-2019) → 21.0% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$38,889 (2015-2019) → $59,219 (2020-2024)
+52%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, Royalton, Illinois improved on 4 of 11 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.

Improved4

Poverty−13 points23.9% → 11.0%
Inequality−0.1260.480 → 0.353
Broadband+20 points63.6% → 83.7%
Household income+52%$38,889 → $59,219

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Royalton, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.2 min2015-2019	30.0 min2020-2024	−2.2 min	Within the margin of error	72%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.5%2015-2019	19.6%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Broadband subscriptions	63.6%2015-2019	83.7%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Effective property tax rate	1.26%2015-2019	1.07%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	55%
High school diploma or higher	86.6%2015-2019	91.7%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	1.3×2015-2019	1.2×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	81%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4802015-2019	0.3532020-2024	−0.126	Improved	98%
Median household income	$38,8892015-2019	$59,2192020-2024	+52%	Improved	86%
Poverty rate	23.9%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Improved	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	33.0%2015-2019	21.0%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	95%

“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 Royalton, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Royalton, 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, Royalton, Illinois itself moved +21.2 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

1,214 residents (±259)

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

514 households (±90)

Royalton, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k25%†129
$25k–50k16%†83
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

514 households (±90)

Royalton, Illinois
Illinois share

Own72%371
Rent28%†143

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

510 workers (±106)

Royalton, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone77%395
Carpool2.0%†10
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 Franklin County, the county holding most of Royalton's residents.

Franklin County has 696 employer establishments, 188 for every 10,000 residents (0.76× the US rate of 248; 0.73× Illinois's), with 6,940 paid employees at an average annual pay of $42,220. The Census Bureau also counts 2,073 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 696; 2,073 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 188; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 6,940
Average annual pay: $42,220; US $68,342

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

Restaurants and other eating places	66	17.8	0.97×About typical	926	$18,913	10
Ambulatory health care services	44	11.9	0.57×Fewer than typical	513	$52,509	60
Specialty trade contractors	41	11	0.71×Fewer than typical	272	$63,151	169
Religious organizations	40	10.8	1.94×More than typical	141	$20,390	—
Limited-service restaurants	35	9.4	1.18×About typical	620	$19,132	—
Full-service restaurants	28	7.5	0.98×About typical	292	$18,476	7
Automotive repair and maintenance	26	7	1.39×More than typical	114	$40,728	58
Gasoline stations	26	7	2.16×More than typical	222	$27,207	—
Legal services	20	5.4	1.00×About typical	47	$51,894	10
Construction of buildings	19	5.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	68	$67,515	86
Services to buildings and dwellings	19	5.1	0.76×Fewer than typical	91	$53,758	192
Banks and credit unions	16	4.3	1.33×More than typical	126	$46,548	—

Rank places for an industry Open Franklin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 37,105 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Franklin 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.

Royalton, 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.

Franklin County25100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Franklin 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/1766209

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends