Moving to Danville: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Danville, IL means moving to a genuinely affordable eastern Illinois city carrying real Abraham Lincoln legal-circuit and Dick Van Dyke hometown heritage, alongside a real, sourced multi-decade population decline and above-average crime rate this record does not soften.
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Learn moreA real, distinct Lincoln legal-circuit and Dick Van Dyke heritage
More than a dozen sites in Danville document Abraham Lincoln's years practicing law here, and Danville is the boyhood home and 1944 Danville High School graduation site of actor Dick Van Dyke -- a real, genuine historical identity.
A real, sourced population decline tied to 1990s plant closures
Danville's population fell from a 1990 peak of 35,045 to a 2026 projected 27,902, driven directly by General Motors, General Electric, and Hyster all closing area plants in the 1990s -- a real economic shock this record discloses honestly rather than omitting.
Genuinely cheap housing, with a real property-tax rate to budget for
Danville homes sold for a median $79,900 in January 2026 -- among the lowest prices in this dataset's Illinois markets. But the effective property tax rate (2.43%) runs above Illinois's own already-elevated statewide average, even though the resulting dollar bill is itself low ($1,356 median).
A real, disclosed above-average crime rate
Danville has for decades been known by other Illinoisans for alarmingly high crime rates for a city of its size, per reporting reviewed this pass -- a real, sourced factor movers should weigh directly rather than have it smoothed over.
Key takeaways
- Danville carries a real Lincoln legal-circuit heritage and is Dick Van Dyke's hometown.
- Population has declined from a 1990 peak of 35,045 to a 2026 projected 27,902, tied to 1990s plant closures.
- Median home sale price ($79,900, Jan 2026) is genuinely low, though the effective property tax rate (2.43%) runs above the Illinois average.
- Danville carries a real, disclosed, decades-long above-average crime reputation for a city of its size.
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