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%

Joy$1,340/mo

Typical home $181K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.57% · or rent about $965/mo · Housing →

Mason$560/mo

Typical home $83K (Census) · tax rate 1.80% · or rent about $911/mo · Housing →

The difference: $780 a month, about $9,300 a year, between Joy and Mason.

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

JoyMason

Snow a year22″15″

January low13°F 20°F

July high85°F 89°F

Growing season (days)181d 191d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)82nd 52nd

Outdoors & history

JoyMason

Settled1869 1865

Famous people born here1 —

Community

JoyMason

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

195 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

JoyIL MasonIL

Joy ↔ Mason195 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

JoyMason

People

Population 387Lowest 467Highest

Median age 33±4.1Highest 15% below IL 29.8±11.3Lowest 24% below IL

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

Kids under 18 25.3%±6.7Lowest IL: 21.8% 32.3%±10Highest IL: 21.8%

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

Age 65+ 15%±3.4Highest IL: 17% 10.7%±2.7Lowest IL: 17%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 8.1%Highest IL: 37.8% 5%Lowest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.3%±2Highest IL: 6.3% 0.9%±3Lowest IL: 6.3%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $56,250±$18kLowest 33% below IL $65,455±$12kHighest 22% below IL

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $76,100±$13kLowest 71% below IL $82,900±$14kHighest 69% below IL

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $965±$61Highest 24% below IL $911±$584Lowest 28% below IL

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,958Highest 63% below IL $1,491Lowest 72% below IL

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 28%±77Lowest IL: 47.9% 59.1%±82.2Highest IL: 47.9%

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

Below poverty line 12.3%Lowest IL: 11.8% 35.5%Highest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 83.4%Highest IL: 67.1% 78%Lowest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1945Lowest 26 yrs older than IL 1973Highest 2 yrs newer than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 38 minHighest 36% above IL 23 minLowest 16% below IL

Work from home 4%±3.3Lowest IL: 15.9% 4.4%±5.2Highest IL: 15.9%

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

Work in townworking residents 0% 0%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 25.3 miHighest 14.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.33Highest 0.01Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Aledo (19%)Effingham (39%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in MasonFew work in Joy

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 0 0

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 86.7Highest 32.6Lowest

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.

Joy neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Joy’s Town Square.

Mason neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mason’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Joy and Mason

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

Towns like Joy

+ Compare

Herrick333 people · $74K homes

+ Compare

Fayetteville357 people · $95K homes

+ Compare

Versailles441 people · $91K homes

+ Compare

Millersburg Township588 people · $88K 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.

Joy vs Mason

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $780 more a month in Joy

What daily life feels like in each

195 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Joy and Mason

Towns like Joy

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