Brookside TownshipIL
A town of 4,522.
Is Brookside Township a good place to live?
Brookside Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $95K, 1.2 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades C− overall, 657th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $45K, and 25% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 85% of the country. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Brookside Township, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Brookside Township is home to Kaskaskia College. Brookside Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 87% of U.S. towns.
What makes Brookside Township stand out
Where Brookside Township beats most towns.
Jobs vs. working residents
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Kaskaskia College | 3,026 |
Brookside Township has shrunk 18% since 2010
5,503 counted in 2010 and 4,444 in 2020; an estimated 4,522 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Brookside Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Brookside Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Brookside Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brookside Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Brookside Township.
Brookside Township draws workers from Centralia and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
Most working residents commute out of Brookside Township
2,315 jobs are based in Brookside Township, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 16.9 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Brookside Township for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Brookside Township is 17 minutes. Since 2013, Brookside Township has lost 225 jobs, to 2,315 in 2023.
| Brookside Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $45,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On state tests, Brookside Township’s schools trail 71% of Illinois districts
Its public schools are run by Centralia SD 135. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schiller Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–1 | Grades PK–1 | 270 | – |
| Christ Our Rock Lutheran High School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 104 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
For health, Brookside Township earns a D
Against the 3,957 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brookside Township’s, it is less healthy than 50%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of Brookside Township adults smoke cigarettes. Brookside Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 21. 16% of Brookside Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Brookside Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Brookside Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.3% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.4% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 18.4% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.2% of Brookside Township is conserved land
6.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Fairview Park, at 44 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Brookside Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fairview Park | 1.5 mi | 44 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
High risk in Brookside Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Brookside Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Brookside Township has chilly winters and warm summers. Brookside Township’s July high is 88°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Brookside Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brookside Township
About 3 of every 100 Brookside Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Kaskaskia College calls Brookside Township home
About Brookside Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Brookside Township is one of fifteen townships in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,444 and it contained 1,570 housing units. The township's name changed from Crooked Creek Township on June 1, 1874.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 24 sq mi
- Elevation
- 449 ft
Brookside Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Brookside Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookside Township | #657 | C− | A | — | C | D |
| Irvington Township | — | — | A+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Wamac | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Meridian Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Centralia · Centralia Township | #754 | D− | A− | D | D | D |
| Sandoval Township | — | — | A | — | D | D |
Irvington Township and Sandoval Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Brookside Township, Irvington Township and Sandoval Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Wamac, Lake Township and Meridian Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Centralia Township and Centralia are one community, graded once. Compare Brookside Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Brookside Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Brookside Township, IL a good place to live?
Brookside Township grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #657 of 767 in Illinois. It grades D for health and C for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Brookside Township, IL expensive?
Not for the area. Louis, MO-IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.