Rejoice, the Cheapest Place to Live King is in Western Illinois

A very underrated word is "cheap". Some think of that as a negative thing, but in my book being affordable is a plus. If you agree, you'll be pleased to learn (I hope) that the cheapest place you can live in Illinois is located in the western part of the state.

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Homesnacks just recently updated their cheapest places to live in Illinois list for 2023 and there's a familiar place at the top. I will confess that I'm quite partial to western Illinois towns and cities and it's not because some eastern Illinois cities suck. (Sorry, but the truth hurts, Danville) No, it's nothing against eastern Illinois folks who are quite friendly sometimes, but there's nothing like the small towns in the western part of the Land of Lincoln.

Congratulations to the new king of cheap places to live in Illinois, Monmouth. 

So what's so cheap about Monmouth anyway?

Homesnacks data shows that "rent in Monmouth is the fifth cheapest statewide, with a median price tag of $596." Dang. That's incredible. They also say that the median home price is a mere $77,800. Dang again. With the average Monmouth household bringing in $54,400 every year, that equals some good math for families trying to make ends meet.

It doesn't hurt that Monmouth also happens to be in one of the prettier parts of Illinois in my not-so-humble opinion.

Oh, by the way, Beardstown was shown as the 5th cheapest place to live in Illinois, too. Cool to see our local (and superior) western Illinois towns getting some nice national shout outs.