Breese, Illinois

Population

Down 1.2% since 2020.

4,602

people, the 348th-largest of Illinois's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Illinois's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

8 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

80.8%

of 2,560 jobs located in Breese are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 8% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$784

a month. Illinois's median is $1,274.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $331.

A $331 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Clinton County.

• $786 Tract 9003
• $1,117 Tract 9006.02

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.

$950–$1,426

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $784 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

68% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 114 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 40% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 68% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.2–1.4% to the 1,868 homes here.

3–26

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 13% less than Illinois's.

$229,600

median home value in Breese.

• $229,600 Breese
• $263,300 Illinois
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year