Groundwork

Real estate · Small-town market · Illinois

Real estate businesses in the Mount Vernon, IL area

How the Mount Vernon, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #437 of 536 scored small-town markets
#16 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
31
2 chain locations (6%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$191.8M
On rent and homeowner costs · $12,941 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
143
43% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
20.9
46% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,147
−2.3% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Mount Vernon area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Mount Vernon area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Mount Vernon area is 36 (lower middle), #437 of 536 scored small-town markets and #16 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

As of September 2026, map listings count 31 real estate businesses in the Mount Vernon area. 2 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 20.9 for every 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the Mount Vernon area comes to about $191.8M a year: $12,941 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 43% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Mount Vernon area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors. That is one for every 1,235 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Mount Vernon area declined 2.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Mount Vernon area compares

The same measures for Illinois and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Mount Vernon, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureMount Vernon areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households20.932.738.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)143105100
Households per official establishment1,235543414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.1%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$12,941$14,866$16,661
Median household income$63,118$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3643

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
23
Annual payroll, 2023
$560K
One-person businesses, 2023
68Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
312 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
44The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Mount Vernon area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Mount Vernon area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,147−2.3% since 2020
Households
14,820
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
571 sq. mi.
People per square mile
64
Median household income
$63,118+26.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,324
Median home value
$126,000
Jobs located here
20,339
Daytime population
40,708Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Mount Vernon area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Mount Vernon area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Mount Vernon area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Ottawa, IL668113.1241−1.6%#76 of 536
2Canton, IL64139.4314−2.0%#90 of 536
3Lincoln, IL611614.2217−2.5%#120 of 536
4Dixon, IL572317.2183−3.4%#165 of 536
5Sterling, IL533916.9181−2.6%#225 of 536
6Jacksonville, IL522214.5210−3.1%#238 of 536
7Effingham, IL513619.9163−0.9%#252 of 536
8Danville, IL504615.3190−3.7%#264 of 536
9Taylorville, IL502316.9177−1.5%#266 of 536
10Galesburg, IL492411.4251−4.1%#273 of 536
16Mount Vernon, IL363120.9143−2.3%#437 of 536

Other business types in the Mount Vernon area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Mount Vernon, IL area?

The Mount Vernon area has 31 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023. Official counts list 68 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Mount Vernon, IL area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $191.8M a year, or $12,941 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 31 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 43% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,820 households in the Mount Vernon area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Mount Vernon, IL area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Mount Vernon area has 20.9 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 46% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 143, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Mount Vernon area would have about 44, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,235 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S.

How fast is the Mount Vernon, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Mount Vernon area at 36,147 people in 2025, down 2.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,820 households. The median household income in the Mount Vernon area is $63,118 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Mount Vernon area scores 36 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #437 of 536 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Mount Vernon area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Mount Vernon area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Vernon area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Mount Vernon area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.