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.

Down paymentRate%

Fairmount$1,130/mo

Typical home $164K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.00% · or rent about $783/mo · Housing →

Dawson$1,570/mo

Typical home $237K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.66% · or rent about $850/mo · Housing →

The difference: $440 a month, about $5,300 a year, between Dawson and Fairmount.

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.

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

FairmountDawson

Snow a year24″21″

January low17°F —

July high84°F —

Growing season (days)181d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)48th 44th

Outdoors & history

FairmountDawson

Trails0 mi 0 mi

Conserved land0%0%

Settled1863 1883

Famous people born here2 1

Community

FairmountDawson

Library hours a week25 hrs —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

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

87 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

FairmountIL DawsonIL

Fairmount ↔ Dawson87 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.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

FairmountDawson

People

Population 555Highest 536Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -4.7%Lowest +2%Highest

Median age 43.9±8.7Highest 13% above IL 42.1±9.3Lowest 8% above IL

Fairmount and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21.3%±4.9Highest IL: 21.8% 19.6%±7.9Lowest IL: 21.8%

Fairmount and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 23.4%±3.9Highest IL: 17% 20.7%±10Lowest IL: 17%

Fairmount and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 13.6%Highest IL: 37.8% 10.4%Lowest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 0.4%±2.4Lowest IL: 6.3% 1.5%±1.3Highest IL: 6.3%

Dawson and Fairmount are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $60,500±$11kLowest 27% below IL $76,339±$17kHighest 8% below IL

Dawson and Fairmount are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $87,600±$9kLowest 67% below IL $91,000±$25kHighest 65% below IL

Dawson and Fairmount are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $783±$18Lowest 39% below IL $850±$205Highest 33% below IL

Dawson and Fairmount are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,750Highest 67% below IL $1,515Lowest 71% below IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 56.3%±40.1Highest IL: 47.9% 23.5%±40.8Lowest IL: 47.9%

Fairmount and Dawson are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 13.1%Highest IL: 11.8% 6.6%Lowest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 79.4%Highest IL: 67.1% 77.1%Lowest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1959Lowest 12 yrs older than IL 1977Highest 6 yrs newer than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 26 minHighest 8% below IL 22 minLowest 20% below IL

Work from home 8.5%±4.2Lowest IL: 15.9% 27.9%±17.3Highest IL: 15.9%

Dawson and Fairmount are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 0%Lowest 0.5%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 22.3 miHighest 11.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.12Lowest 0.24Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Danville (13%)Springfield (44%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in DawsonFew work in Fairmount

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0% 0%

Trailsmapped miles 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 mi 0.0 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1 1

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 144Highest 33.0Lowest

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.

Fairmount neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Fairmount’s Town Square.

Dawson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Dawson’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Fairmount and Dawson

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Towns like Fairmount

+ Compare

Tamaroa597 people · $80K homes

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Cisne627 people · $77K homes

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Goose Creek Township745 people · $95K homes

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Stonington655 people · $106K homes

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.

Fairmount vs Dawson

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $440 more a month in Dawson

What daily life feels like in each

87 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Fairmount and Dawson

Towns like Fairmount

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