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Country around Forest City is a rural area of about 347 people in Mason County, Illinois, named for the post office its ZIP code uses. It's about 30 miles from Peoria, IL and 121 miles from St. Louis, MO, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 87°F and winter highs 33°F, with about 19 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $116k and rent runs about $930 a month.
347people
$116kTypical home
$930/moRent
87° / 33°Summer / winter
19"Snow
231Sunny days
98Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Rural — about 347 people spread over the area
- Part of a metro area
- About 11 people per sq mi
- 121 mi to St. Louis, MO
- 30 mi to Peoria, IL
- 18 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $116k (≈$731/mo)
- Median rent $930/mo
- Median household income $72k
- Property tax about 2.0% of value
- 8.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 87°F
- Winter highs around 33°F
- Muggy summers (dew point 64°F)
- 231 sunny days a year (85 totally clear)
- 134 cloudy days a year
- 45 of 90 winter days are gray
- 98 days a year with rain or snow
- 19" of snow a year
- 7 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 21 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- High violent crime (820 per 100k), county-wide
- Low property crime (1,078 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 45
- 26% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 19% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 29 min
- 5% walk or take transit to work
- 23 mi to PIA airport
- 115 mi to STL (major hub)
- 39 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 91% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1972
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 495 ft
- 671 mi to the ocean
- 152 mi to a big lake
- 18 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 89 mi to the nearest ski area
- 3 mi to the nearest campground
- 11 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 64 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 40 bars within 25 mi
- 11 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 5 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 29 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 34% of Illinois districts (reading)
- 13 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 14 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 72 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 16 mi to the nearest vet
- 18 mi to the nearest dog park
- 14 congregations per 10k people
- 18 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Mason County: R+42 in 2024
- Illinois: D+11 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- Moderate winter storm risk
- Moderate heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.