2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Elgin, IL vs Decatur, IL

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Highlights
- Household income in Decatur, is 43% less than it is in Elgin and is 53% below the National Average.
- Elgin unemployment rate is 9.9%.
- Decatur unemployment rate is 10.3%.
 Elgin, ILDecatur, ILUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock10.3%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.7%1.6%
 Future Job Growth28.3%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock5.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$31,673  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$45,111$69,021
 Family Median Income$88,684  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Elgin, ILDecatur, ILUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock16.2%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K2.2%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock11.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K7.8%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock11.2%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K7.0%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock10.6%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K16.1%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock10.5%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K9.0%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock3.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Elgin, ILDecatur, ILUnited States
 Management, business, finance13.6%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock3.7%6.5%
 Community, social services1.4%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock0.6%1.2%
 Education, library4.5%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.2%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.0%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.0%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock7.7%5.4%
 Building maintenance4.8%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.5%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support21.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.6%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair8.9%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock20.6%13.1%
Reviews for Elgin    9 Reviews

When I first moved to Elgin 2 years ago I did not like it. I lived in a mobile home park near the river and highway 90 in a senior community that over prices it's lot  More

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Hi, as a way of updating the post for Elgin and providing a rebuttal for some of the negative reviews, I've decided to post on this board. I've lived in Elgin since  More

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Over 15 years ago

I have lived in Elgin my whole life and it is very sad to read these comments about my town.... I'm a senior at South Elgin High School and I will be graduating this  More

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Reviews for Decatur    14 Reviews

I was sent here by the company I worked for in the '90's and was not initially impressed with midwest living. However, over the years I got used to living in the "Pride  More

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I grew up in Decatur and I still have family there, but it depresses me to see what it has become. It has a high unemployment rate, many business have closed or are run  More

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Over 14 years ago

If you enjoy drinking & driving, Decatur's fifteen drive-thru liquor windows, three times the # of drive-thru's than the ten largest cities in Illinois, COMBINED, will  More

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