Pros and Cons of Living in Mattoon
Mattoon's core trade-off pairs genuinely affordable housing, a real homegrown corporate-heritage story, and Illinois's retirement-income tax exemption against a real, sourced multi-decade population decline and a property tax rate above Illinois's statewide average.
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Learn morePro: genuinely affordable housing
Mattoon's $97,700 median property value (2024) runs well below both Illinois's statewide average and Coles County's own broader figure.
Pro: a real, homegrown corporate-heritage story
Consolidated Communications' 1894 founding here as the Mattoon Telephone Company gives Mattoon a genuine, distinct local business-heritage identity.
Con: a real, sourced multi-decade population decline
Mattoon's population has fallen roughly -11.2% since its 2010 peak (18,553 to a 2026 projected 16,476).
Con: a property tax rate above the Illinois statewide average
Mattoon's effective property tax rate (2.27%) runs above Illinois's own already-elevated 1.88% statewide average, matching the broader Coles County figure.
Key takeaways
- Pro: genuinely affordable housing, well below the Illinois statewide average.
- Pro: a real, homegrown Consolidated Communications corporate-heritage story dating to 1894.
- Con: a real, sourced multi-decade population decline (roughly -11.2% since 2010).
- Con: an effective property tax rate above Illinois's own statewide average.
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