You probably know of Venice, Italy, with its canals and gondolas, its striking architecture, and its legendary beauty.

You probably know of Venice in Los Angeles, with its boardwalk lined with artists, fortune tellers, and free spirits.

You also likely know of Venice, Florida, on the Gulf Coast south of Sarasota, and Venice, Louisiana, where the Mississippi River flows into the Gulf.

But what about Venice, Illinois? The town of about 1,700 near St. Louis has a distinction of its own — according to GoBankingRates and Zillow, it is the cheapest place to live in Illinois.

Based on the Zillow Home Value Index, the average price of a home in Venice, Illinois, is $33,318.

Google Maps shows Venice sits between railroad tracks and the Mississippi River in Madison County, and has one active gas station. It is also notable as part of the original path of Route 66, which went over the McKinley Bridge that connects Venice with St. Louis.

The City Hall building in Venice has an old — but as documented on Facebook video, still used — warning siren mounted on its roof. The town's public library and recreation center are located just down the street.

Down the road in the other direction is John's Drive-In, which a Route 66 information website has been around since 1977 — occupying a former Tastee-Freez, Next door, what the Route 66 website says is the site of an old Sinclair service station is now the home of China House restaurant.

In a Facebook post in May, Venice Mayor Philip White Jr. said there were plans to build 40 new homes in Venice. A new elementary school was also recently completed in Venice, and will open next month for the 2025-2026 school year.

In May, CBS affiliate KMOV in St. Louis reported, the State of Illinois gave Venice $2.4 million to build a new grocery store.

What about nearby states? In Indiana, the survey found cheapest place to live is Hymera, a rural town with a population of 835 in the southwest part of the state about 25 miles south and east of Terre Haute. The average price for a home there is quite a bit higher than Venice, Illinois, at $81,003.

In Wisconsin, the cheapest place to live is Montreal. No, Wisconsin did not annex part of Quebec, Canada. This Montreal is located in far northern Wisconsin close to the state line with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and it has a population of 800 and an average home price a good deal higher than the cheapest places in neighboring states — at $123,337.

In Michigan, the cheapest place to live is Beecher just outside Flint, which has a population of 8,507 and an average home price of $38,929.