# Mercer, Illinois — #2,742 of 3,144 counties

> Liberty Moving composite score 5.12 of 10. FIPS 17131. Population 15,487. v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values.

About 15,500 people live in Mercer, Illinois. It ranks #2,742 of 3,144 counties for liberty, and #33 of 102 in Illinois. The combined sales tax is 7.25%, higher than in 71% of counties. Property tax takes about 1.77% of a home's value each year, more than in 96% of counties. Local government employs a larger share of working residents than in 62% of counties. The homicide rate is lower than in 77% of counties. Life expectancy is about 77.4 years, longer than in 69% of counties. Air quality is worse than in 83% of counties (a typical day's air quality index is 47), and flood and hurricane risk is lower than in 92% of counties. On this site's state scores, Illinois gets 5.58 of 10 for economic freedom, based on the Fraser Institute's ranking, and 0 of 10 for gun rights.

## Scores

| Factor | Level | Score (0–10) | Flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fraser Institute state ranking | state | 5.58 |  |
| 2A | state | 0.00 |  |
| Air quality | county | 5.28 |  |
| GOP + LP vote for President | county | 6.25 |  |
| Homicide rate | county | 10.00 |  |
| Sales tax | county | 3.41 |  |
| Property tax | county | 1.15 |  |
| Floods / hurricanes | county | 8.87 |  |
| Life expectancy | county | 7.40 |  |
| Government employees | county | 3.56 |  |
| Single-parent households | county | 8.02 |  |

"est" marks a derived or placeholder value with no published county figure.

## Neighbors

- #3060 Knox, Illinois — https://libertymoving.org/counties/17095.md
- #2877 Warren, Illinois — https://libertymoving.org/counties/17187.md
- #2986 Henry, Illinois — https://libertymoving.org/counties/17073.md
- #2140 Des Moines, Iowa — https://libertymoving.org/counties/19057.md
- #3132 Rock Island, Illinois — https://libertymoving.org/counties/17161.md
- #610 Louisa, Iowa — https://libertymoving.org/counties/19115.md
- #2564 Henderson, Illinois — https://libertymoving.org/counties/17071.md

## Links

- Page: https://libertymoving.org/counties/17131
- Compare: https://libertymoving.org/compare?a=17131
- Methodology: https://libertymoving.org/methodology
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