DANVILLE, Ill. (WAND) - A publication named Danville as one of the cheapest places to live in the United States.
The city is No. 20 on rankings put together by Kiplinger. In data for Danville, the publication points out its cost of living is 13.1 percent below the national average and its unemployment rate is 9.3 percent.
Kiplinger said this unemployment rate is "comparatively high." It noted Danville's "relatively low" median incomes and home values, which allow prices to stay in check. Danville has housing-related expenses, including mortgages and rents, standing at 35 percent below the U.S. average.
In addition, Danville has an average house price of $235,820 - a steep drop compared to the national average of $370,590.
A Kiplinger description said the following about Danville's history:
"About 120 miles south of Chicago sits Danville, Ill., a small, unassuming city that was once the home of Dick Van Dyke, Gene Hackman, Donald O'Connor and Bobby Short. Perhaps most impressively, Abraham Lincoln spent 18 years practicing law in Danville. The city has more than a dozen sites commemorating his time there.
Danville was a coal-mining center for the first half the 20th century, but that industry petered out after World War II. Today, major employers include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, grocery distributor McLane/Midwest and Blue Cross Blue Shield."
Danville is the only Illinois city to make the Kiplinger list. The No. 1 city in the top 25 was McAllen, Texas.
