East Peoria sits directly across the Illinois River from downtown Peoria — a five-minute drive, the shortest of any town this team covers. It's affordable, it's built around Caterpillar and the river, and its school numbers are mixed. All three of those facts matter to a buyer, so all three are here.
East Peoria is not a suburb in the way Dunlap or Washington are — it's the other half of the metro, separated from downtown Peoria by the Illinois River and not much else. The drive is about 2.5 miles [4], roughly five minutes, the shortest of any town this team covers. The average East Peoria resident's overall commute — to any destination, not just downtown — runs 16.98 minutes [2], with 89.4% driving to work.
Home values are correspondingly accessible: Zillow's average sat near $186,700 [1] in mid-2026, up 9.3% year over year, with a separate national comparison putting the median closer to $157,000. Either figure lands well below Dunlap, Washington, or Germantown Hills.
East Peoria's numbers here are genuinely below state averages. Softening that would make this page useless to the family who cares most about it, and would cost the other five pages their credibility the moment anyone cross-checks a number.
Two separate districts serve East Peoria. East Peoria School District 86 covers grades K–8 across seven schools, and results vary significantly by building — P.L. Bolin Elementary is a genuine bright spot, placing in the top 25% of Illinois elementary schools on state testing. Other schools in the same district perform well below that mark.
East Peoria Community High School District 309 ranks 575th of 813 Illinois districts with a 1-star SchoolDigger rating [3]. Only about 14.6% of 11th-graders tested proficient or better in SAT Math (state average 26.1%), and 20.6% in SAT English (state average 31.1%).
If school rank is the deciding factor in your search, Dunlap, Washington, Germantown Hills or Morton will serve you better. If commute, price, and river access rank higher, East Peoria is worth a serious look — and we'll help you weigh that trade honestly rather than talk you past it.
Caterpillar has anchored East Peoria's economy since 1910 [5], and its Peoria Proving Grounds — a tightly secured primary testing facility — still sits in the area today. The riverfront is a real amenity, not a brochure line: the Riverfront Greenway is a 1.8-mile walking and hiking trail from the EastPort boat ramp through Cooper Park to Spindler Marina, including a raised boardwalk with three wetland observation decks. EastPort Marina [4], an eight-acre downtown Riverfront Park, and the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino round out the river corridor.
Drive times are typical off-peak estimates.
| Destination | Approx. drive |
|---|---|
| Downtown Peoria | ~5 min |
| Caterpillar East Peoria facilities | local |
| OSF Saint Francis Medical Center | ~10–12 min |
| Bradley University | ~10 min |
Zillow's average value ran near $186,700 in mid-2026, up 9.3% year over year. A separate national comparison put the median closer to $157,000. One of the more affordable towns The Ashley Home Team covers.
Mixed, stated directly: elementary results vary by building, with P.L. Bolin Elementary in the state's top 25%. East Peoria CHSD 309 ranks 575th of 813 Illinois districts with a 1-star rating, below state averages. Worth knowing before you commit if school ranking is your top priority.
About 2.5 miles [4] — roughly a 5-minute drive, the shortest of any town this team covers. Overall average commute is 16.98 minutes.
The 1.8-mile Riverfront Greenway with boardwalk observation decks, EastPort and Spindler Marinas [4], the Par-A-Dice Riverboat Casino, and direct access to Caterpillar operations that have anchored the town since 1910.
It has the shortest commute in this report, and its schools are the honest weak point. East Peoria sits about 2.5 miles from downtown Peoria [4] — roughly five minutes — with an overall average commute of 16.98 minutes, below the national average. Zillow's average value ran near $186,700, up 9.3% year over year, and median household income is $71,833, a little above the Peoria metro. Against that, East Peoria CHSD 309 ranks 575th of 813 Illinois districts at 1 star [3], though elementary results vary by building and P.L. Bolin Elementary sits in the state's top 25%. Population is about 21,989 and easing slowly [2].
The Ashley Home Team — Bryce Ashley, Illinois license 475.182580, at eXp Realty — serves East Peoria and Tazewell County, and can be reached at 309-397-6982. Because school ratings vary sharply by building here rather than across the district as a whole, confirming the assigned elementary school for a specific address matters more in East Peoria than in towns with a single unified district.
120 active listings in East Peoria as of 20 August 2026 — prices, reductions and open houses update continuously on the feed.
View all 120 East Peoria listingsOpens the searchable MLS feed on eXp Realty.
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