What it's like to live in Streator
Streator is a small city in Illinois with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Streator deals with county unemployment above the national average, household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, and a poverty rate above the national average.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Below-average household incomes
- Low college degree attainment
- High poverty rate
- Cold winters
- Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
How Streator compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Streator
Based on Streator's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,704
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $34,080 a year
- 39% of Streator renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$18,940
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $9,470
- Homes cost 1.6× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 40% below US
$852/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $852 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $94,700. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $94,700 · 39% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.4% county unemployment
Unemployment in LaSalle County is 5.4%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
LaSalle County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 26% below US
245 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1862/100k · Streator Police Department · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
28 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.7 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 6% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 85°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 19°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 64% below US
13% 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
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 14:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Pullman National Historical Park (75 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Streator's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are county unemployment above the national average and household incomes below the national average. A year of median rent ($852/mo) equals 18% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and anyone prioritizing low crime. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up and anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Streator
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