Abundant parkland and historic charm in the Marigold Capital of the World
Pekin, Illinois, is a Peoria suburb with about 30,000 residents. The city has one of the state's largest park districts, several lakes and a historic downtown along the Illinois River. Pekin has a variety of well-maintained historic housing and also celebrates its role as the "marigold capital of the world" each year with its annual Marigold Festival. "I've lived in Pekin my whole life, and I wouldn't live anywhere else," says resident and Realtor Mary Ann Ladendorf. "This is a wonderful place to live and raise a family."
During the summer, residents love taking their boats out on Pekin Lake.
Explore downtown Pekin and see why it's a local favorite for shopping and dining.
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Housing ranging from late-1800s Victorians to contemporary new builds
Pekin's housing market is affordable with the average home value hovering around $260,000, significantly less than the U.S. average. "We have a lot of beautiful homes from the 1800s," Ladendorf says. "In many cities, those areas have gone downhill instead of remaining nice, but we have very nice historic homes. We also have beautiful newer subdivisions." Pekin has three neighborhoods: North of Broadway, South of Broadway and Downtown Pekin. North of Broadway features mostly 1950s through 1970s era single-family homes, consisting primarily of bungalow and ranch-styles. South of Broadway's real estate ranges from Victorians — like the 1912 era Herget House featured on the National Register of Historic Places — to ranch-style homes to Frank Lloyd Wright prairie-style houses. Downtown Pekin's real estate features some Queen Anne properties dating back to the 1860s and a mix of New Traditionals.
Many colonial inspired homes with updated interiors can be found throughout Pekin.
Victorian style homes from the early 20th century are popular within Pekin.
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Pekin Park District
With over 2,000 acres of parkland, Pekin has the fifth-largest park district in Illinois. "We have beautiful parks," Ladendorf says. "Probably the nicest in the state of Illinois." Its best-known green space is the 220-acre Mineral Springs Park, which has playgrounds, a lagoon for fishing and paddle boats and an iconic historic pavilion. "One thing that separates Pekin from surrounding communities is we have four nice, big lakes within our city limits," Ladendorf says. Pekin also has two golf courses, a country club and a 4-mile bike trail.
Enjoy a brisk morning walk at Mineral Spring Park.
Parkview Golf Course in Pekin is an 18-hole course totaling 6002 yards.
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Pekin Public School District 108 and Pekin Community High School District 303
Pekin is served by two districts: the Pekin Public School District 108, which receives a C-plus rating from Niche and the Pekin Community High School District 303, whose one school, Pekin Community High School, earns a B-minus. "The schools are great," Ladendorf says. "Pekin High School is the largest high school between Chicago and St. Louis, and it has a full vocational center. The principal there wants everyone to have a career path, so there's a welding school, culinary school and other trade schools all within the high school. That's a very big draw." She adds that the high school's sports facilities are "amazing and that the stadium is nicer than the ones at a lot of small colleges."
Students are the highest priority at Pekin Community High School.
Broadmoor Junior High School challenges and encourages children to learn.
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The Pekin Marigold Festival
Pekin's largest annual event is the Pekin Marigold Festival, held on the weekend after Labor Day each year. It honors the legacy of Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen, a Pekin native who helped form the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and led an effort in Congress to make the marigold the national floral emblem. Though unsuccessful, Pekin became known as the "marigold capital of the world," and each year, the community celebrates the senator's legacy with a parade, live music and an arts and crafts fair. The festival plays an important role in showcasing local businesses and raising funds for area nonprofits.
CityLink and the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport
Pekin is located 11 miles south of Peoria and 42 miles west of Bloomington. It's a car-dependent city with few bike lanes and the CityLink bus provides routes from the Tazewell County Court House to downtown Peoria. When traveling out of town, residents can utilize the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport, or PIA, which provides direct routes to Chicago.
A popular pub in Downtown Pekin and local diners in North and South of Broadway
Pekin's standout restaurants include Maquet's Rail House, Ernie's Family Restaurant and Cobbler Corner. Maquet's Rail House is a cozy pub in Downtown Pekin offering a variety of cuisines, including burgers, sandwiches and brick-oven pizza. Ernie's Family Restaurant in South of Broadway is a locally owned diner known for its homestyle breakfast and famous fried chicken, served since 1984. North of Broadway's Cobbler Corner similarly serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with menu highlights including omelets, hash browns and homemade pies.
Pekin resident favorite, Maquet's Rail House, has over 30 beers on tap.
Residents of Pekin love grabbing breakfast at Ernie's Family Restaurant.
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Weather and the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office
Pekin has a standard continental climate with four distinct seasons and precipitation evenly distributed throughout the year. In 2023, the Tazewell County Sheriff's Office reported a significantly lower violent crime rate than the state, with Tazewell County experiencing 51 violent crimes per 100,000 people, while Illinois had 136. "Crime is very low," Ladendorf says. "You just feel safe here. That would be important to me if I had a young family moving in. It's a very nice place to live and raise a family."
On average, homes in Pekin, IL sell after 29 days on the market compared to the national average of 49 days. The median sale price for homes in Pekin, IL over the last 12 months is $135,000, up 8% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
