Living in Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois -- sometimes called 'Little Egypt' regionally -- is the state's most rural, most affordable, and geographically southernmost region in this project's coverage, anchored by Carbondale, home to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, which is in the middle of a real, current multi-year enrollment-growth streak (its largest single-year jump in 33 years in fall 2024, holding steady through fall 2025 and spring 2026) after a longer prior decline. Effingham sits at the region's real, literal I-57/I-70 highway crossroads, a genuine geographic identity marked by the physical landmark of the Cross at the Crossroads, a 198-foot cross visible from both interstates. Mount Vernon and Marion round out the region as smaller southern Illinois county-seat and Williamson County towns, both genuinely affordable relative to the state average. This region is culturally and economically distinct from both Chicagoland and Central Illinois -- closer in feel to parts of southern Indiana or western Kentucky than to Chicago's northern Illinois orbit.

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Last reviewed: 2026-09-05. Independent research; see individual place pages for metric-level source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.