Cost of Living & Housing in Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon's cost of living pairs genuinely affordable housing -- across a real, disclosed wide cross-source spread -- with Illinois's flat 4.95% income tax and an above-county-average local property tax rate.
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Learn moreGenuinely affordable housing, with a real, disclosed wide spread
Mount Vernon's housing figures carried a real, genuinely wide cross-source spread this pass -- from approximately $124,800 (a March 2026 ZIP-code-level figure) up to a $212,000 median list price cited for August 2026, with intermediate figures (~$160,000 average price; ~$179,450 median listing price at ~$105/sqft) in between. Even the highest cited figure runs meaningfully below Illinois's statewide median sale price ($345,000) (base record).
A property tax rate above the Jefferson County average
Mount Vernon's own effective property tax rate ran approximately 2.25%, above both Jefferson County's average rate (~2.12%) and the county's separately cited median effective rate (~1.82%) -- both already at or above Illinois's own statewide average. Mount Vernon's average annual tax bill (~$1,839) ran above the county average of $1,651 (base record).
Illinois's flat 4.95% income tax, with a real retirement-income exemption
Illinois's simple, statewide flat 4.95% income tax applies to wages in Mount Vernon as everywhere else in the state -- but Illinois taxes NONE of a retiree's Social Security, pension, or 401(k)/IRA income, with no age or income threshold, a real, substantial positive for retirees specifically (see illinois.js).
A real, substantial local job base anchoring the cost picture
Continental Tire the Americas (~3,500 employees), the Walgreens regional distribution center (~2,100), and SSM Health's newly completed Good Samaritan Regional Health Center (~1,500 employees, a $237 million facility) together anchor a real, substantial local job market that helps explain Mount Vernon's genuine affordability relative to larger Illinois metros (base record).
Key takeaways
- Mount Vernon's housing figures carried a real, disclosed cross-source spread ($124,800-$212,000) this pass, even the top of which beats Illinois's statewide median.
- Mount Vernon's property tax rate (~2.25%) runs above the Jefferson County average, itself already at or above Illinois's statewide average.
- Illinois's flat 4.95% income tax applies to wages, while retirees benefit from a real, no-threshold exemption of Social Security, pension, and 401(k)/IRA income.
- Continental Tire, a Walgreens distribution center, and a newly completed $237 million regional health center anchor a real, substantial local job base.
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