The 2010 U.S. census was a reality check for Mt. Vernon and surrounding Jefferson County, in the middle of Southern Illinois. Results, released in early 2011, revealed population declines of 6 percent for the city and 3 percent for the county as a whole over the previous decade.

Ironically, the decade ending in 2010 had been one of substantial job growth. It was led by the town's major employers, primarily a tire-maker whose successive expansions created jobs by the hundreds. Employment also grew steadily at a drug store chain's distribution center and in the city's vibrant health-care sector, made up of two hospitals and a number of off-site medical offices and clinics.