Why look at Springfield?
- Affordable housing. Median home is $168k — well below the national median.
- Rising market. Home values up +8.5% year-over-year — momentum is positive.
- Higher tax state. Top marginal income tax rate around 5.0% — factor into salary comparisons.
Where Springfield stands
At or near all-time high. home values up 8.5% in the last year. rents up 6.6% in the last year.
Home value trajectory · last 10 years
Zillow ZHVI · monthlyLifestyle scores
Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.
Rent trajectory · last 5 years
Zillow ZORI · monthlyHome value vs rent · indexed to 100
Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)Rent vs buy
At a 12.0 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Springfield on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 12.0 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.
How the momentum score breaks down
methodology →About Springfield (Wikipedia)
Springfield is the capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, making it the state's seventh-most populous city, the second-most populous outside of the Chicago metropolitan area and the most populous in Central Illinois. Approximately 208,000 residents live in the Springfield metropolitan area which consists of all of Sangamon and Menard counties.
Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.
City facts
Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.
Things to see in Springfield(Tourism)
- Cozy Dog
- EBSCO
- Reisch Beer
- Lincoln's Tomb
- Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop
- Lincoln Home National Historic Site
- National Historical Park
- Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site
- Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site
- Old State Capitol State Historic Site
- Lincoln Depot
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
+16 more on Wikipedia.
Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.
Local safety & alerts
No active National Weather Service alerts for Sangamon County right now.
Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Sangamon County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.
Neighborhoods of Springfield
15 tracked · ranked by median home valueRun the numbers for Springfield
Illinois context
Schools
Springfield is served by 40 public schools enrolling about 13,070 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 12.7:1 — smaller classes than the US average of ~15:1. Public-school facts are from the NCES Common Core of Data; check ratings and attendance boundaries by exact address below.
Ratings, districts & boundaries:
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.
Climate & natural-disaster risk
State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.
Current weather
Find rentals & listings
Open current Springfield listings on the major real-estate sites.
Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.
Local news & community
Latest news in Springfield
4 from local press- Springfield teen dead after being struck on bicycleLOCALNPR Illinois1d ago
- Here are Memorial Day events happening in the Springfield areaLOCALThe State Journal-Register6d ago
- Are home prices going up in Springfield, Illinois in 2026?LOCALHomeTown Register1d ago
- From India to SpringfieldLOCALIllinois Times1w ago
- UPDATE: Teen bicyclist dead after being struck by car in SpringfieldCapitol City Now1d ago
- How gas prices have changed in Springfield, Illinois in the last weekstarvedrock.media2d ago
What locals are saying
- What If Springfield Never Had a Highway? r/springfield
- Battle lines drawn over pending closure of Springfield post office that lives inside a hardware store r/springfield
- Jewelers with antique/vintage stock r/springfield
- 2022 World's Largest Pancake Breakfast r/springfield
- Intro to Springfield Ma r/springfield
Updated 2026-05-28 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Filtered for Springfield-specific coverage. Headlines link to original sources.
Local sports teams
Major professional teams the Springfield area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.
Local economy & environment
Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.
Find more cities like Springfield
Open the matchmaker pre-filled to match Springfield’s price band, region, and size — refine to taste.
Find more like Springfield →Cities similar to Springfield
Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.
Cost-of-ownership at the median
Snapshot assumes a $150k single earner buying at the median home. Your real numbers depend on bracket, deductions, school district, and HOA. Use the affordability calculator and net-pay calculator for your specific case.
Schools & crime context
School quality is district-by-district and varies dramatically within a city. Check GreatSchools or your state DOE rankings for specific schools before deciding. City-level school data coming soon.
Illinois: 396 violent crimes per 100K residents (state avg, FBI UCR). Neighborhood-level rates can vary 10× within one city — research specific areas via CrimeGrade or local police data.
Compare to where you live now
Set your current city once and we’ll show the cost delta on every city profile.
Getting here by train
Springfield is served by an Amtrak train station — Amtrak Springfield Station. Use the map to find it, and open its Google profile for photos, hours, and reviews.
Jobs & hiring
In Springfield, unemployment runs higher at 6.8%, and hiring momentum has been steady. The strongest local sectors are healthcare, tech and skilled trades & manufacturing.
Search current openings: