Pros and Cons of Living in Harvey

Harvey's core trade-off pairs a real, distinctive railroad-town identity, genuinely favorable schools, and low crime against a real, disclosed population decline and an unresolved wide property-tax spread.

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Pro: genuinely favorable schools and low crime

Harvey Public School District's cited 9:1 student-teacher ratio and 90%+ graduation rates, paired with a crime rate cited approximately 83.7% below the national average, are real, disclosed strengths.

Pro: a real, distinctive railroad-junction heritage

Harvey's 1893 founding as a Soo Line Railway division point gives it a real, genuine historical identity distinct from an undifferentiated small prairie town.

Con: a real, disclosed, ongoing population decline

Harvey's population ran a real, disclosed approximately -7.52% decline since the 2020 Census -- a real factor for movers weighing long-term community trajectory.

Con: a real, disclosed, unresolved wide property-tax spread

This record discloses honestly that Harvey's effective property tax rate carried a genuinely wide cross-source spread (0.66%-1.57%) this pass's research did not resolve to one number.

Key takeaways

Pro: genuinely favorable schools data and a crime rate substantially below the national average.
Pro: a real, distinctive 1893 Soo Line railroad-junction heritage.
Con: a real, disclosed, ongoing population decline (approximately -7.52% since the 2020 Census).
Con: a real, disclosed, unresolved wide property-tax rate spread (0.66%-1.57%) across sources.

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Last reviewed: 2026-08-28. Independent research; not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.