Poorest Town in Illinois Only Has 32 People That Call It Home?

I'll say from the start that I know this part of Illinois and I think the term "poor" is subjective and the very few people that live there would not consider themselves that. However, going purely by data, it is the poorest town in Illinois with only 32 people that call it home.

There are a few things to know about what I'm about to share. First, it's purely a database at USA.com. There's no analysis or breakdown of the numbers shown. It's purely every town in Illinois broken down by median house income. Here are the top (or should I call it bottom?) ten for median income in Illinois:

• 1. $9,583 Wenonah, IL
• 2. $14,196 Gulfport, IL
• 3. $14,583 Pulaski, IL
• 4. $15,000 Eddyville, IL
• 5. $16,101 Alorton, IL
• 6. $16,310 Dix, IL
• 7. $16,780 Mounds, IL
• 8. $17,083 Mulkeytown, IL
• 9. $17,137 Elizabethtown, IL
• 10. $17,526 Carbondale, IL

Let's talk about Wenonah, Illinois. To call it a "town" is a reach. It's more a village or maybe even more accurate a collection of rural farm homes in Montgomery County, Illinois.

I found info on Wikipedia that does not agree with the USA.com ranking showing that Wenonah, Illinois has a per capita income of almost $20,000 and it also says that no one there lives under the poverty line. I think I know what's going on here. Wikipedia says that more than a third of the homes have children under 18 in them. My guess is that the "per capita" income ranking above did not account for how many families there have small children who have no income yet.

I share this as an example of why you should never take what you find on the internet as truth on the surface. Dig deeper and you'll often find there's a real truth hiding underneath.