Village · Iroquois County, Illinois

Sheldon, Illinois

Sheldon is a village in Iroquois County, Illinois. It has 1,195 residents. Sheldon, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,710 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #647 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on public libraries (high), home price to income ratio (low) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on broadband subscriptions (low), unemployment rate (high) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,710 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #647 of 697 in IL
Population: 1,195 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,587.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 1769212

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.

Safety57#6,796/15,637
Economy5#14,921/15,631
Housing65#5,277/14,977
Health21#12,290/15,609
Healthcare22#12,231/15,650
Environment16#12,918/15,453
Education47#8,281/15,649
Infrastructure4#14,999/15,650
Community39#9,613/15,651
Leisure & amenities42#9,090/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Public libraries · high3.4 /10k
97/100Illinois 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesIroquois County value
Home price to income ratio · low1.8×
96/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Social associations · high15.3 /10k
92/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIroquois County value
Grocery stores · high2.7 /10k
92/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsIroquois County value
Reading scores · high3.34
90/100Illinois 2.97United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIroquois County value
Students per teacher · low11.6×
89/100Illinois 13.6×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsIroquois County value

Weaknesses

Broadband subscriptions · low75.1%
1/100Illinois 90.8%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Unemployment rate · high18.3%
1/100Illinois 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Bachelor's degree or higher · low7.9%
4/100Illinois 37.8%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Illinois 1.1 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsIroquois County value
Traffic deaths · high35.5 /100k
5/100Illinois 9.8 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataIroquois County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low38.6%
5/100Illinois 90.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteIroquois County value

Trends

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

High school diploma or higherWorsening
88.5% (2015-2019) → 77.0% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Unemployment rateWorsening
6.8% (2015-2019) → 18.3% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.2% (2015-2019) → 49.1% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.345 (2015-2019) → 0.486 (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.2% (2015-2019) → 29.8% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
81.2% (2015-2019) → 75.1% (2020-2024)
−6 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Sheldon, Illinois improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 9 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Inequality+0.1410.345 → 0.486
Rent / income+6.6 points23.2% → 29.8%

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Sheldon, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.9 min2015-2019	21.0 min2020-2024	−4.0 min	Within the margin of error	85%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.2%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Broadband subscriptions	81.2%2015-2019	75.1%2020-2024	−6 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Effective property tax rate	2.57%2015-2019	1.92%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	96%
High school diploma or higher	88.5%2015-2019	77.0%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	1%
Home price to income ratio	1.5×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	65%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3452015-2019	0.4862020-2024	+0.141	Declined	2%
Median household income	$42,1522015-2019	$44,2802020-2024	+5%	Within the margin of error	11%
Poverty rate	15.9%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent as share of income	23.2%2015-2019	29.8%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Declined	16%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.4%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	16%

“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 Sheldon, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sheldon, 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, Sheldon, Illinois itself moved −20.2 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

1,195 residents (±256)

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

551 households (±119)

Sheldon, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k32%†175
$25k–50k26%†143
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

551 households (±119)

Sheldon, Illinois
Illinois share

Own68%377
Rent32%†174

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−10.1 points).

† 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

531 workers (±137)

Sheldon, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone83%441
Carpool12%†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 Iroquois County, the county holding most of Sheldon's residents.

Iroquois County has 625 employer establishments, 239 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Illinois's), with 5,568 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,852. The Census Bureau also counts 1,831 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 625; 1,831 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 239; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 5,568
Average annual pay: $48,852; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	47	18	1.16×About typical	193	$60,902	165
Religious organizations	37	14.2	2.55×More than typical	131	$21,405	—
Restaurants and other eating places	37	14.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	373	$17,332	14
Ambulatory health care services	35	13.4	0.64×Fewer than typical	244	$54,389	42
Construction of buildings	28	10.7	1.42×More than typical	80	$50,625	68
Truck transportation	24	9.2	1.82×More than typical	103	$53,204	106
Banks and credit unions	23	8.8	2.72×More than typical	228	$59,588	3
Insurance agencies and brokerages	22	8.4	1.92×More than typical	71	$45,986	28
Building equipment contractors	21	8	1.34×More than typical	69	$53,522	34
Full-service restaurants	20	7.7	1.00×About typical	216	$16,602	8
Offices of physicians	19	7.3	1.12×About typical	97	$55,928	5
Automotive repair and maintenance	16	6.1	1.22×About typical	53	$43,472	55

Rank places for an industry Open Iroquois County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 26,135 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: Sheldon is mostly in Iroquois County.

See federal money in Iroquois 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.

Sheldon, Illinois is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Robin L. KellyD-IL-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.9%

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.

Iroquois County48100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Iroquois 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/1769212

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends