What it's like to live in Cahokia Heights
Cahokia Heights is a small city in Illinois with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Cahokia Heights deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, a population that has been shrinking, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Low college degree attainment
- Shrinking population
- High poverty rate
- High rent burden for renters
- Cold winters
How Cahokia Heights compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Cahokia Heights
Based on Cahokia Heights's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,962
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $39,240 a year
- 60% of Cahokia Heights renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$11,200
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $5,600
- Homes cost 1.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 31% below US
$981/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $981 a month. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $56,000. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $56,000 · 60% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.5% county unemployment
Unemployment in St. Clair County is 4.5%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
St. Clair County (county-wide)
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 26.4 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% take public transit; 9% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 88°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 27°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 63% below US
14% bachelor's degree or higher
This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.
Schools
8 public schools inside the boundary
There are 8 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Gateway Arch National Park (4 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Cahokia Heights's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($981/mo) equals 35% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget.
See all the data for Cahokia Heights →·All Illinois cities →
Other places near Cahokia Heights
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