Living in Collinsville, IL
Madison County (city also extends into St. Clair County)
Collinsville is a real, distinct Metro East town in southwestern Illinois, genuinely straddling Madison and St. Clair counties roughly 14 miles east of downtown St. Louis, Missouri -- a job market and metro identity genuinely oriented toward St. Louis rather than Chicago. Collinsville's real, distinctive roadside-Americana landmark is the World's Largest Catsup Bottle, a 170-foot water tower built in 1949 for the former Brooks Old Original Catsup bottling plant and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, celebrated each July with an annual Catsup Bottle Festival. Collinsville is also the nearest city to Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, a genuine UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico -- a real, distinct historic-tourism draw layered on top of the city's roadside-Americana identity. Housing runs genuinely affordable relative to both the Illinois and national medians, though this record discloses a real practical wrinkle: because Collinsville straddles two counties, a specific property's tax bill depends on which side of the city boundary it sits on, with cited effective rates running from Madison County's 1.92% to a Collinsville-specific rate of roughly 2.14% within the St. Clair County portion. This sits on top of Illinois's real, statewide flat 4.95% income tax.
Explore Collinsville in depth
Exploring the idea of moving?
We can connect you with a local real estate professional who knows the area -- no pressure, just a starting point.
Learn moreHousing
Collinsville's average home value ran $186,092, up 4.4% year-over-year, per Zillow's own home-value index.
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Madison County (city also extends into St. Clair County) level this session. Illinois's top state income tax rate is 4.95%. See the Illinois hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Collinsville-specific.
Want to know what your budget actually buys here?
Tell us a bit about what you're looking for and we'll connect you with someone local who can walk you through real numbers.
Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A wholly distinctive real roadside-Americana landmark in the World's Largest Catsup Bottle, a National Register of Historic Places site with its own annual festival; status as the nearest city to Cahokia Mounds, a genuine UNESCO World Heritage Site; genuinely affordable housing relative to both Illinois and national medians; and real, close proximity (roughly 14 miles) to the St. Louis, Missouri metro job market.
Cons
A real, disclosed, ongoing modest population decline; a real practical property-tax wrinkle from the city's cross-county Madison/St. Clair boundary, meaning a specific address's effective rate genuinely varies by which side of the city it sits on; and Illinois's own real, statewide property-tax burden and current tornado/derecho risk applying fully regardless of county side.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits affordability-minded movers with a job or family connection to the St. Louis, Missouri metro, and anyone genuinely drawn to Collinsville's distinctive roadside-Americana identity and proximity to Cahokia Mounds.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for anyone who wants a single, simple property-tax figure without confirming which county side of Collinsville a specific address falls on, or anyone seeking a growing rather than a modestly declining population base.
Planning a move?
Tell us what you're looking for and we'll connect you with a local expert who can help you make it happen.
Talk to a local expert