Cost of Living & Housing in Pontiac
Pontiac's cost of living pairs genuinely affordable housing with a real, notably high effective property tax rate -- a real, disclosed Illinois pattern where low downstate home values push tax rates higher even on modest levies.
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Learn moreGenuinely affordable housing, with a real, disclosed price spread
Pontiac's recent median sale price ran $141,250, with a separately cited 2024 estimated median home/condo value of $123,986 -- both well below Illinois's own statewide median sale price of $345,000 (base record).
A property tax rate that runs well above Illinois's own high statewide average
Livingston County's own cited median effective property tax rate ran 3.08% this pass -- notably above the Illinois statewide anchor figure (1.88%-2.08% depending on source), consistent with a real, disclosed pattern where the county's comparatively low home values push its effective rate higher even on a modest underlying levy (base record).
Illinois's real, flat 4.95% state income tax
Illinois levies a simple, statewide flat 4.95% tax on wages, alongside a real, distinctive exemption of all retirement income -- identical statewide, see illinois.js for the fuller detail.
A below-county median household income
Pontiac's median household income ran approximately $61,279 -- below Livingston County's own broader median of approximately $73,790, a real, disclosed gap worth weighing alongside the city's genuine housing-cost affordability (base record).
Key takeaways
- Pontiac's recent median sale price ($141,250) runs genuinely affordable relative to Illinois and national figures.
- Livingston County's effective property tax rate (3.08%) runs notably above Illinois's own already-high statewide average.
- Illinois's flat 4.95% state income tax applies statewide, alongside a real, distinctive full exemption of retirement income.
- Pontiac's median household income runs below Livingston County's own broader median.
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