Living in Galesburg, IL
Small city in Illinois
Galesburg is a small city in Illinois, home to about 30,000 people, with 97,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, there is some transit, though many people drive. Life moves at a slow, calm pace, and homes are a mix of apartments and houses.
Is Galesburg a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $134k and rents for $1,200 a month
- Mild summers: highs around 83°F
- Low natural disaster risk: 4 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Dog-friendly: 1 dog park within 9 mi
👎 Cons
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Fewer graduates: 19% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Smaller job market: about 97,000 people live within 31 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Galesburg ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Galesburg: common questions
What is the cost of living in Galesburg?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $134k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,200 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 89, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Galesburg?
Illinois collects about $2,002 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 2.04% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Galesburg safe?
Violent crime is somewhat above the national rate (1.2× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Galesburg?
Public schools in Galesburg test below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 14 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Galesburg?
Galesburg has cold winters: winter days average around 33°F and summer days around 83°F, with roughly 26″ of snow a year.
Does Galesburg get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding, strong wind and cold waves: 4 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.17 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Galesburg?
The nearest major airport is ORD, about 147 mi away.
How Galesburg scores
Each bar compares Galesburg with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Galesburg
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Illinois.
Is Galesburg right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.