City · Lawrence County, Illinois

Sumner, Illinois

Sumner is a city in Lawrence County, Illinois. It has 2,252 residents. Sumner, Illinois has a quality-of-life score of 19 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,721 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Illinois it ranks #647 of 697 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), social associations (high) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), dentists (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

19Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,721 of 15,651 cities and towns
Illinois: #647 of 697 in IL
Population: 2,252 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,610.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 1773703

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety67#5,109/15,637
Economy6#14,765/15,631
Housing76#3,598/14,977
Health43#8,964/15,609
Healthcare25#11,660/15,650
Environment5#14,681/15,453
Education6#14,778/15,649
Infrastructure21#12,324/15,650
Community22#12,186/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,256/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Sumner, Illinois ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Lawrence 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 · low0.8×
100/100Illinois 3.2×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Social associations · high20.9 /10k
98/100Illinois 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Property crime rate · low280 /100k
97/100Illinois 1,508 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureLawrence County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low102 min
96/100Illinois 170 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLawrence County value
Depression · low15.8%
96/100Illinois 20.3%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Mental health providers · high622 /100k
94/100Illinois 355 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low0.0 /10k
0/100Illinois 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLawrence County value
Dentists · low7 /100k
1/100Illinois 86 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLawrence County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low4.4%
1/100Illinois 37.8%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Unemployment rate · high19.7%
1/100Illinois 4.6%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Illinois 4.8 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLawrence County value
Job growth · low-3.8%
4/100Illinois 0.0%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataLawrence County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,056 (2015-2019) → 2,252 (2020-2024)
−26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
69.0% (2015-2019) → 95.2% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$35,792 (2015-2019) → $55,625 (2020-2024)
+55%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Unemployment rateWorsening
10.2% (2015-2019) → 19.7% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.0% (2015-2019) → 29.0% (2020-2024)
+7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Home price to income ratioImproving
1.2× (2015-2019) → 0.8× (2020-2024)
−32%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, Sumner, Illinois improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved3

Broadband+26 points69.0% → 95.2%
Household income+55%$35,792 → $55,625
Price / income−0.4×1.2× → 0.8×

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Sumner, Illinois between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.0 min2015-2019	23.1 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	58%
Bachelor's degree or higher	5.0%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Broadband subscriptions	69.0%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+26 points	Improved	96%
Child poverty rate	43.5%2015-2019	47.9%2020-2024	+4.4 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	61.2%2015-2019	63.8%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Home price to income ratio	1.2×2015-2019	0.8×2020-2024	−0.4×	Improved	92%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3692015-2019	0.3802020-2024	+0.011	Within the margin of error	41%
Median household income	$35,7922015-2019	$55,6252020-2024	+55%	Improved	88%
Poverty rate	29.3%2015-2019	35.3%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Within the margin of error	10%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	22.0%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	+7 points	Within the margin of error	15%

“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 Sumner, Illinois five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sumner, 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, Sumner, Illinois itself moved +4.7 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

2,252 residents (±290)

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

314 households (±99)

Sumner, Illinois
Illinois share

Under $25k22%†70
$25k–50k23%†72
$50k–75k18%

Homes

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

Owners and renters

314 households (±99)

Sumner, Illinois
Illinois share

Own72%†225
Rent28%†89

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+22.5 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

461 workers (±145)

Sumner, Illinois
Illinois share

Drive alone84%†385
Carpool13%†61
Public transit

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 Lawrence County, the county holding most of Sumner's residents.

Lawrence County has 247 employer establishments, 181 for every 10,000 residents (0.73× the US rate of 248; 0.71× Illinois's), with 2,737 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,539. The Census Bureau also counts 780 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 247; 780 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 181; US 248 · Illinois 255
Paid employees: 2,737
Average annual pay: $44,539; US $68,342

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

Religious organizations	27	19.8	3.56×More than typical	45	$19,711	—
Restaurants and other eating places	21	15.4	0.84×About typical	257	$15,825	4
Full-service restaurants	13	9.5	1.24×About typical	109	$11,844	—
Specialty trade contractors	12	8.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	69	$50,638	85
Banks and credit unions	10	7.3	2.27×More than typical	62	$39,032	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	10	7.3	1.67×More than typical	62	$39,290	14
Truck transportation	10	7.3	1.45×More than typical	41	$53,341	20
Ambulatory health care services	7	5.1	0.25×Too few to compare	24	$46,375	29
Beer, wine and liquor stores	6	4.4	4.06×Too few to compare	17	$19,706	—
Gasoline stations	6	4.4	1.35×Too few to compare	71	$26,197	—
Limited-service restaurants	6	4.4	0.55×Too few to compare	143	$19,021	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	6	4.4	0.65×Too few to compare	41	$52,024	61

Rank places for an industry Open Lawrence County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 13,659 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 -$58.65 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sumner, Illinois: -$0.03 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$58.65; −109% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.03; 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

COMPOSTING SME, LLC-$58.650.0%

Spending by fiscal year

665.4FY2025
-58.7FY2026

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

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

See federal money in Lawrence 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.

Sumner, 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.

Lawrence County44100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Lawrence 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/1773703

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends