CitytisticsShortlist

Cost of living, pay and housing

38.54° N · 89.85° W · GEOID 1768328

Scott AFB

St. Clair County, Illinois · part of the St. Louis, MO metro

Limited data population under 5,000, core figures borrowed from county or metro: median_home_value

IllinoisScott AFB, ILScott AFBScott AFB

The short answer

Scott AFB is home to 3,957 people. Median household income is $103,390 a year and median rent is $1,610 a month, 18.7% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $180,300, about 1.7x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,610
18% above the median place
Median household income
$103,390
29% above the median place
Median home value
$180,300
44% below the median place
Unemployment
6.0%
22% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Scott AFB

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 11.3% a year while rent rose 2.2%, so pay gained on rent more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track.
  • The median home is worth 1.7 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 97% of places its size.
  • The median resident is 26.6 years old, younger than in 97% of places its size.
  • Counting remote workers as zero, the average worker spends about 100 hours a year commuting, less than in 95% of places its size.
  • 2% of residents were born outside the US, fewer than in 96% of places its size.
01

Moving to Scott AFB

St. Clair County loses about 2.9 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in10,983
Moved out11,578
Net−595

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

Within Illinois, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within IllinoisOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$59K
Leavers$62K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of St. Clair County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
28.0% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 22.2% from another state.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into St. Clair County report $59,000 a year in income on average; those leaving, $62,500, so leavers earn more than newcomers.
Income you would need
$64,400 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,610 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $1,645 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $180,300.
Getting to work
14 minutes each way on average; 6.1% work from home; 1.6% take transit.
If it is close but not quite
Hebron, KY matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
22.2%
above the median place (median 2.0%)
Moved here in the past year1
28.0%
388% above the median place
Income of households moving in7
$58,999
16% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureScott AFBAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year128.0%388% above
Moved from another state122.2%above (median 2.0%)
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure-2.9383% below
Income of households moving in7County figure$58,99916% below
Income of households moving out7County figure$62,45011% below
02

What it costs to live here

Home price to income is 1.7x, 54% below the median place.

Scott AFB18.7%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$64,400
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
18.7%
8% below the median place
Home price to income
1.7x
54% below the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
19%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$85,100
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Scott AFB, $1,610 a month, and local prices for everything else (98.4 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Like Scott AFB, but easier on the budget

Close matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, where rent takes a clearly smaller share of income.

PlaceRent to incomeMore left a year
Harrisburg, SD15.0% vs 18.7%$13,600Compare
Liberty Hill, TX15.7% vs 18.7%$18,300Compare
Addis, LA14.1% vs 18.7%$13,000Compare

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Scott AFB.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Scott AFB? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Renters paying 30%+1
28.9%
43% below the median place
Property tax rate1
2.0%
123% above the median place
Median year built1
1993
1% above the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureScott AFBAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,61018% above
Rent to income118.7%8% below
Property tax rate12.0%123% above
Home price to income11.7x54% below
Prices vs US average2Metro figure95.16% below
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$1,34916% below
HUD area median income4County figure$113,5006% above
Property tax paid (median)1County figure$3,66512% above
Median home value1County figure$180,30044% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure5.3%66% above
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure51.5%0% below
Homeownership1County figure68.4%3% above
Renters paying 30%+128.9%43% below
Owner costs with a mortgage1County figure$1,64512% below
Vacant homes1County figure12.8%81% above
Median year built119931% above
03

Work and pay

Mean commute is 14 min, 44% below the median place.

Mean commute1
14 min
44% below the median place
Works from home1
6.1%
51% below the median place
Median household income1
$103,390
29% above the median place
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureScott AFBAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$103,39029% above
Income per person1$36,23510% below
Unemployment1County figure6.0%22% above
Average annual pay6County figure$59,03411% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure3.6%3% below
Jobs6County figure89,19241% below
Poverty rate1County figure13.6%26% above
Mean commute114 min44% below
Works from home16.1%51% below
Commutes by transit1County figure1.6%85% above
04

Who lives here

High school or higher is 98.8%, 7% above the median place.

High school or higher1
98.8%
7% above the median place
Median age1
26.6
32% below the median place
Born abroad1
1.7%
80% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Homes with broadband97.2% +5%
Household size3.0 +21%
Bachelor's or higher33.8% +6%
All 8 people measures
MeasureScott AFBAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population13,9576646th largest
Median age126.632% below
Bachelor's or higher133.8%6% above
High school or higher198.8%7% above
Household size13.021% above
Born abroad11.7%80% below
No health insurance1County figure5.1%20% below
Homes with broadband197.2%5% above
05

Life in Scott AFB

29 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 3 of them National Historic Landmarks.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents10.1 −1%
Playgrounds per 10k88.5 9.4×
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k5.0 −55%
Libraries per 10k5.0 5.8×
Named paths and bike trails10 km 4.8×
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars20.0 −4%
Shops30.2 −0%
Arts, recreation and fitness3.4 −17%
Doctors' offices and clinics18.1 −10%
Child care centers2.2 −4%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public schools11
96
above the median place (median 9)
Public school students11
40,879
above the median place (median 4,897)
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8
3.4
17% below the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureScott AFBAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure96above (median 9)
Public school students11County figure40,879above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher11County figure14.56% below
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure20.04% below
Shops per 10k8County figure30.20% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure3.417% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure18.110% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure2.24% below
Parks per 10k910.11% below
Playgrounds per 10k988.5above (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k95.055% below
Libraries per 10k95.0above (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails99.7385% above
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure29123% above
06

Safety, weather and risk

Wildfire risk is 15.1, 75% below the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Scott AFB. Larger places are fetched first.

Wildfire risk13
15.1
75% below the median place
Good air days14
31.2%
54% below the median place
Median air quality index14
56
30% above the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureScott AFBAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure89°F2% above
January average low12County figure23°F8% below
Average temperature12County figure56°F3% above
Annual precipitation12County figure42.5 in3% below
Natural hazard risk13County figure94.93% above
Hurricane risk13County figure34.951% below
Tornado risk13County figure95.517% above
Wildfire risk13County figure15.175% below
Heat wave risk13County figure98.19% above
Median air quality index14Metro figure5630% above
Good air days14Metro figure31.2%54% below
08

Scott AFB in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 18% of the median income in 2030, about the same as 19% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,610/mo (2024)$2,040/mo$1,670 to $2,480/mo+4.0%
Median household income$103,390 (2024)$134,500$113,500 to $159,000+4.5%

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Scott AFB

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Hebron, KY$1,491$106,719Compare
Wolfforth, TX$1,674$106,250Compare
Bemiss, GA$1,417$92,842Compare
Goddard, KS$1,758$94,004Compare
Goddard, KSBemiss, GAWolfforth, TXHebron, KYScott AFB, ILScott AFBHebronWolfforthBemissGoddardScott AFBHebronWolfforthBemissGoddard

Common questions

Is Scott AFB a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 11.3% a year while rent rose 2.2%, so pay gained on rent more than in 97% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. The median home is worth 1.7 years of the median household's income, fewer than in 97% of places its size. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Scott AFB expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 18.7% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $180,300.

What salary do you need to live in Scott AFB?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $64,400 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Scott AFB?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Hebron, KY, Wolfforth, TX, Bemiss, GA and Goddard, KS.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Scott AFB with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Scott AFB itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/scott-afb-illinois

Citytistics. “Scott AFB, Illinois.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/scott-afb-illinois/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.