Living in Pekin, IL
Small city in Illinois
Pekin is a small city in Illinois, home to about 32,000 people, with 313,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, there is some transit, though many people drive. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Pekin a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $153k and rents for $1,350 a month
- Dog-friendly: 6 dog parks within 9 mi
- Mild summers: highs around 85°F
- Low natural disaster risk: 4 federally declared disasters since 2000
👎 Cons
- Fewer graduates: 19% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Smaller job market: about 313,000 people live within 31 mi
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Weaker public schools: test results well below the US average
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Pekin ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Pekin: common questions
What is the cost of living in Pekin?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $153k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,350 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 91, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Pekin?
Illinois collects about $2,002 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 2.08% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Pekin safe?
Violent crime is close to the national rate (1.1× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Pekin?
Public schools in Pekin test well below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 16 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Pekin?
Pekin has cold winters: winter days average around 37°F and summer days around 85°F, with roughly 26″ of snow a year.
Does Pekin get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding, cold waves and tornadoes: 4 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 1.11 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Pekin?
The nearest major airport is MDW, about 129 mi away.
How Pekin scores
Each bar compares Pekin 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 Pekin
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 Pekin right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.