Illinois is like any other state in that it has large metro areas and tiny towns. Which one is the smallest? It's actually a somewhat complicated answer that appears to be a tie...or is it?

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One of the sources I checked to learn which Illinois town has the honor of being the smallest was City Data. That site makes it easy to organize Illinois towns by population which results in not one smallest Illinois town, but two.

According to the City Data numbers, Hooppole, Illinois and Shumway, Illinois both have a population of 201. So is it really a tie? Not so fast...

Wikipedia says there is a newer census which shows that Hooppole is now up to 204. Wikipedia adds that Shumway, Illinois has now fallen to 188. Congratulations, there is now just one champion. But, wait...is that really accurate?

What about Valley City in Pike County, Illinois you say? 2020 census says tiny Valley City only has a population of 18 wonderful people. Wouldn't that make Valley City the tiniest town? Nope. By definition, Valley City is a village and not a town.

Will the real tiniest Illinois town please stand up?

As of this second, it appears that technically the smallest Illinois "town" is really Shumway with a population of 188.

See what I mean? The smallest Illinois town crown is more complicated than it needs to be.

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