Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most populous city in Southern Illinois outside the Metro East region of Greater St. Louis.Census - Geography Profile: Carbondale city, Illinois
Carbondale was established in 1853 and developed as a crossroads of the railroad industry. Today, the major roadways of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51 intersect in the city. The city is located southeast of St. Louis on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest. It is the home of the main campus of Southern Illinois University.
History In August 1853, Daniel Harmon Brush, John Asgill Conner, and Dr. William Richart bought a parcel of land between two proposed railroad station sites (Makanda and De Soto) and two county seats (Murphysboro and Marion). Brush named Carbondale for the large deposit of coal in the area. The first train through Carbondale arrived on Independence Day 1854, traveling north on the main line from Cairo, Illinois. By the time of the American Civil War, Carbondale had developed as a regional center for transportation and business, surrounded by agricultural development. This part of Illinois was known as "Little Egypt" because of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, where the town of Cairo is located.
The city has had a college since 1856 beginning with the Presbyterian-founded Carbondale College which was later converted to an elementary school. Carbondale also won the bid for the new state teacher training school for the region, and Southern Illinois Normal University opened in 1874. This gave the town new industry, new citizens, and a supplement to public schools. In 1947, the name was changed to Southern Illinois University (SIU). It has become the flagship of the Southern Illinois University system. This institution, now recognized as a national research university, has nearly 11,000 students enrolled (as of 2026) and offers a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate specialties.
On April 29, 1866, one of the first formal Memorial Day observations following the Civil War was held at the city's Woodlawn Cemetery.City of Carbondale – A Short History Local resident, General John A. Logan, gave the principal address. Logan, as co-founder of the Civil War veteran's group the "Grand Army of the Republic", issued General Order #11 on March 3, 1868, calling for a national day of remembrance for Civil War dead. This order served as the basis for the creation of a formal Memorial Day.Armyhistory.org Logan called observance day "Decoration Day" and proposed it for May 30, to assure flowers would be in bloom nationwide.History.com
In the early 20th century, Carbondale was known as the "Athens of Egypt," due to the expansion of the college and university, and the region's moniker of "Little Egypt."February 24, 1921. "Slogans of the Various Illinois Cities," Woodland Daily Democrat (Woodland, California), p. 2 The phrase dates to at least 1903, when it appeared in a local paper.January 7, 1903. "Local Items." The Free Press (Carbondale, Ill.) 3. A social item was reprinted from the Mt. Vernon News: "Mrs. Dr. McAnally, née Pace, of Carbondale has returned to the Athens of Egypt after a week's visit with her sisters..." By 1922, the Carbondale Free Press was using the phrase on its flag.Carbondale Free Press (Carbondale, Ill.), March 31, 1922, p. 1
On November 12, 1970, a largescale shootout occurred between local police and members of the local chapter of the Black Panther Party who were meeting at a house in town. The event was later chronicled in the documentary 778 Bullets, made by a professor at SIU.
An area near campus known as "The Strip" was also the site of several infamous riots on Halloween in the 1980s and 1990s. The last Halloween riot occurred in 2000, when students clashed with and were tear gassed by police. Property and trees in the area of The Strip were destroyed. After the 2000 riot, measures were taken to prevent violence on Halloween weekend. The campus and the bars along Southern Illinois Avenue were closed on Halloween in following years.
Eclipse Crossroads of America
The area was in totality during the solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, with Giant City State Park, just south of the city, experiencing the longest period of totality during the eclipse (approximately 2 minutes and 40 seconds). It was also within the path of totality of the solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, making it one of only a handful of cities within the direct paths of both eclipses. The combination of these events earned it the nickname "Eclipse Crossroads of America". In February 2017, the City of Carbondale spent $98,000 to rebrand itself with a new eclipse-themed logo.
Geography Carbondale is located in the watershed of the Big Muddy River, at above sea level.
According to the 2010 census, Carbondale has a total area of , of which (or 97.55%) is land and (or 2.45%) is water.
Climate Carbondale lies in the northern limits of a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with four distinct seasons. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from in January to in July. On average, there are 38 days of + highs, 16 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 1.6 nights of sub- per year. It has an average annual precipitation of , including an average of snow. Extremes in temperature range from on January 11, 1977, up to on August 9, 1930.
Carbondale receives thunderstorms on an average of 50 days per year. Particularly in the spring, these storms can often be severe, with high winds, damaging hail, and tornadoes.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Carbondale city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2000Pop 2010% 2000% 2010White alone (NH)13,38415,57111,50764.72%60.12%52.65%Black or African American alone (NH)4,7506,5605,56022.97%25.33%25.44%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)3969530.19%0.27%0.24%Asian alone (NH)1,3731,4481,7136.64%5.59%7.84%Pacific Islander alone (NH)1517120.07%0.07%0.05%Other race alone (NH)57781350.28%0.30%0.62%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)4337491,2432.09%2.89%5.69%Hispanic or Latino (any race)6301,4101,6343.05%5.44%7.48%Total20,68125,90221,857100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Carbondale had a population of 25,083. The population density was . The median age was 26.6 years. 16.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 11.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.3 males age 18 and over.
98.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 9,748 households and 3,757 families in Carbondale; 18.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 19.4% were married-couple households, 33.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 38.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 47.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 12,312 housing units, of which 20.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 19.8%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 11,876 54.3% Black or African American 5,627 25.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 116 0.5% Asian 1,719 7.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 15 0.1% Some other race 848 3.9% Two or more races 1,656 7.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,634 7.5%
Income and poverty The median income for a household in the city was $24,093, and the median income for a family was $53,590. Males had a median income of $18,141 versus $20,475 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,878. About 24.6% of families and 39.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.8% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
Traditional measures of income and poverty can be misleading when applied to cities with high student populations, such as Carbondale.
Arts and culture
In addition to Southern Illinois University, which presents regular concerts and theatrical productions, as well as art and history exhibits, the city has a variety of unique cultural institutions.
SIU has a teaching museum on campus, the University Museum, which has 60,000 artifacts in its collection and hosts traveling shows from known artists. In addition to the University Museum, there is the African American Museum and The Science Center. Theater-goers can see both professional and student-produced plays and performances at the university's McLeod and Kleinau Theaters. SIUC is also home to the largest auditorium in Southern Illinois, Shryock Auditorium. Shryock Auditorium has brought in many performing artists, such as B. B. King, The Supremes, Ray Charles, and Judy Collins, along with orchestras and other musical productions. Carbondale is also home to Lost Cross, the longest running DIY punk venue in the country, which has hosted local and national acts.
Theater-goers can also attend off-campus productions by The Jackson County Stage Company (Stage Company). In 2007, the Stage Company and Carbondale Community Arts (CCA) partnered to purchase and renovate the Varsity Theater, which had been vacant since 2003, into the Varsity Center for the Arts (VCA). The VCA is now the performing home of the Stage Company and also supports a variety of other fine arts and performances through the CCA.
Civic action is encouraged by groups such as Carbondale Conversations for Community Action, the local implementation of study circles. There are several lodges and clubs, such as the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Elks, Rotary International, and the A.F.A.M (Freemasonry).
The Women's Center, in continuous service since its founding in 1972, was one of the first domestic violence shelters in the United States.
Spirituality finds expression in Carbondale in churches of a variety of Christian denominations, a Unitarian Universalist fellowship, two mosques, a Jewish congregation, a Sufi community, and two Buddhist organizations — the Shawnee Dharma Group and the Sunyata Center. The first Hindu temple in Southern Illinois held its grand opening in Carbondale in June 2013. The Gaia House Interfaith Center provides space for intercultural exchange and personal growth. It is also an education center to help the community become more ecologically conscious, understand how to incorporate better practices into daily life, and set goals for the future.
Notable poets that reside in or near Carbondale include Rodney Jones, Judy Jordan, Allison Joseph, and the Transpoetic Playground collective.
Carbondale also has a growing stand-up comedy scene, notably including Hannibal Buress, who began his comedy career in the city.
Activism Due to the presence of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale residents have a tradition of political activism. While protests during the Vietnam War were peaceful in late 1969, the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and Kent State shootings sparked large anti-war demonstrations on the SIU campus and streets of Carbondale by the spring of 1970. Those events led to the temporary closure of SIU, deployment of the National Guard to restore order, more than 400 arrests, and over $100,000 in property damage.
In 2011, the Occupy Movement took up residence on the lawn of Quigley Hall at Southern Illinois University, occasionally clashing with local police and with university policy.