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Compare towns

Cunningham Township vs Carbondale

174 miles apart. The biggest differences: home values (+45% in Cunningham Township) and household income (+41% in Cunningham Township).

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Cunningham Township, ILA regional job hubChampaign County · 39,341 people
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Carbondale, ILA regional job hubIllinois · 22,158 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $260 more a month in Cunningham Township

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Cunningham Township$1,340/mo
Typical home $185K (Census) · tax rate 2.43% · or rent about $972/mo · Housing →
Carbondale$1,080/mo
Typical home $148K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.48% · or rent about $771/mo · Housing →

The difference: $260 a month, about $3,200 a year, between Cunningham Township and Carbondale.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Cunningham Township places higher on 15 of 20 IL lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Illinois ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
Cunningham TownshipCarbondale
Snow a year21″11″
January low18°F23°F
July high85°F88°F
Growing season (days)190d195d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)39th80th
Outdoors & history
Cunningham TownshipCarbondale
Trails9 mi11 mi
Conserved land7.5%4.3%
Settled—1852
National Register places—5
Archive photos—36
Famous people born here—59
Community
Cunningham TownshipCarbondale
Library hours a week69 hrs64 hrs
Colleges in town—1
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Where they are

174 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Cunningham Township ↔ Carbondale174 miles apart
Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Cunningham TownshipCarbondale
People
Population 39,341Highest 22,158Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -7.1%Highest -15.6%Lowest
Median age 26.1±1.2Highest 33% below IL 24.6±0.3Lowest 37% below IL
Cunningham Township and Carbondale are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 13.2%±1.7Lowest IL: 21.8% 13.4%±1.4Highest IL: 21.8%
Carbondale and Cunningham Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 11.5%±1.3Highest IL: 17% 9.9%±1.4Lowest IL: 17%
Cunningham Township and Carbondale are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 56.7%Highest IL: 37.8% 48.2%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 35.6%±2.5Lowest IL: 6.3% 37.2%±2.8Highest IL: 6.3%
Carbondale and Cunningham Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $45,346±$5kHighest 46% below IL $32,128±$4kLowest 61% below IL
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $184,900±$10kHighest 30% below IL $127,900±$12kLowest 51% below IL
Rentmedian gross, monthly $972±$33Highest 24% below IL $771±$37Lowest 39% below IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,491Highest 15% below IL $3,166Lowest 40% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 58.3%±4.5Highest IL: 47.9% 56.2%±6.6Lowest IL: 47.9%
Cunningham Township and Carbondale are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 28%Lowest IL: 11.8% 37.4%Highest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 37.3%Highest IL: 67.1% 26.4%Lowest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1980Highest 9 yrs newer than IL 1976Lowest 5 yrs newer than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 14 minLowest 49% below IL 16 minHighest 41% below IL
Work from home 18.6%±2.6Highest IL: 15.9% 12%±3.4Lowest IL: 15.9%
Work in townworking residents 20.1%Lowest 40%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 3.8 miLowest 9.8 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.69Lowest 2.42Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Champaign (38%)Marion (9%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in CarbondaleFew work in Cunningham Township
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 7.5%Highest 4.3%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 8.5 miLowest 11.2 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.7 miHighest 0.6 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 25Lowest 28Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 94.6Highest 48.8Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #332 of 384 in IL—
School district University of Ill Lab School · Champaign/Ford ROE—
High school in town Urbana High School—
Students per teacherat that high school 11.9 —
Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Cunningham Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cunningham Township’s Town Square.

Carbondale neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Carbondale’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Cunningham Township and Carbondale

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Bordering Cunningham Township

Towns like Cunningham Township

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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