Living in Peoria, IL

Peoria County

Peoria's economy carries a real, genuinely two-sided manufacturing story this record does not oversimplify: Caterpillar moved its global headquarters out of Peoria to Deerfield, Illinois in 2017 -- ending more than 90 years based in the city -- and later out of Illinois entirely to Irving, Texas in 2022, but Caterpillar still employs a real, substantial roughly 12,000 people across the Peoria area, the largest concentration of Caterpillar employees anywhere in the world. Healthcare has become the region's real, current largest and fastest-growing employment sector, anchored by OSF HealthCare's own downtown-Peoria headquarters and UnityPoint Health. Peoria's housing runs genuinely, substantially more affordable than the national figure (a typical home value around $136,960, per Zillow, against a real, disclosed cross-source spread down to $115,649), but that affordability sits alongside a real, meaningfully elevated local property-tax rate (2.69% median effective rate, above both Peoria County's 2.24% average and Illinois's own 1.88% statewide figure) and Illinois's real, statewide fiscal and tax picture (see illinois.js for the flat 4.95% income tax with its full retirement-income exemption, and the state's genuinely high property-tax burden overall). This record discloses Peoria's real, ongoing challenges honestly rather than smoothing them: a genuine, sustained population decline (down roughly 4.0% from a 2010 peak of 115,007 to a 2026 estimate of 110,431), a severely elevated citywide crime rate (55 per 1,000 residents, per NeighborhoodScout, with more than 99% of Illinois communities running lower), and a below-state-average public school district (Peoria Public Schools District 150 ranks 773rd of 813 Illinois districts) -- even as specific schools within that same district (Reservoir Gifted School, Kellar Primary) rank among the state's best, a real internal disparity worth researching at the individual-school level. Peoria's downtown and riverfront identity is real and current: Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River, its historic Riverfront District anchors an active, ongoing revitalization effort, and Bradley University adds a genuine college-town layer in the heart of downtown.

Explore Peoria in depth

• Moving to Peoria: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Peoria
• Housing Market in Peoria
• Buying a Home in Peoria
• Renting in Peoria
• Taxes in Peoria
• Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Peoria
• Climate & Weather in Peoria
• Jobs & Economy in Peoria
• Schools in Peoria
• Crime & Safety in Peoria
• Healthcare in Peoria
• Traffic & Transportation in Peoria
• Best Areas to Live in Peoria
• Pros and Cons of Living in Peoria
• Retiring in Peoria
• Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Peoria

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits affordability-focused buyers and retirees prioritizing Illinois's real retirement-income tax exemption (see illinois.js) alongside Peoria's own genuinely low housing costs and strong regional healthcare access via OSF HealthCare and UnityPoint Health; movers with a specific manufacturing or healthcare career opportunity in the Peoria area; and anyone drawn to a real, historic Illinois River city with an active downtown/riverfront revitalization underway and a genuine college-town layer around Bradley University.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers prioritizing the lowest available property tax rate, the safest available crime statistics, or a top-rated public school district by citywide averages, given this record's honest disclosures on all three; anyone assuming Caterpillar's continued regional presence means the company's headquarters, and the executive/corporate jobs that came with it, remain in Peoria -- they do not, as of 2017 (Deerfield) and 2022 (Texas); and anyone assuming Peoria's population is stable or growing, given the real, sustained, disclosed decline documented in this record.