Bruce TownshipIL
A town of 11,675.
Is Bruce Township a good place to live?
Bruce Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $94K, 1.3 years of the Ottawa area’s $72K median household income. It grades C− overall, 632nd of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $53K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line, and its public schools trail 79% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Bruce Township, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On history, just 79 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Marilla Park, at 46 acres.
What makes Bruce Township stand out
Where Bruce Township beats most towns.
Bruce Township has shrunk 13% since 2010
13,185 counted in 2010 and 11,800 in 2020; an estimated 11,675 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Bruce Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Bruce Township is from typical.
Its best grade is an A for history (#52 of 768 in Illinois), which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its C− comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Bruce Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bruce 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 Bruce Township.
Bruce Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
For schools, Bruce Township earns a C−
Its public schools are run by Streator ESD 44. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Streator Twp High School, with 764 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northlawn Jr High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 614 | C− |
| Streator Twp High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 764 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
On CDC estimates, Bruce Township is less healthy than 77% of U.S. towns
Against the 6,945 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bruce Township’s, it is less healthy than 53%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
Bruce Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress in Bruce Township.
| Bruce Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Bruce Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.4% | 10.3% |
| More smokers | 17.2% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Bruce Township has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
About one in 4 of Bruce Township’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Bruce Township fell to 3,210 in 2023, 745 fewer than in 2013. The average trip to work in Bruce Township is 28 minutes.
| Bruce Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Bruce Township
Bruce Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 16° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Bruce Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bruce Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Bruce Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 2. Marilla Park | — | 46 |
| 3. Oakland Park | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Bruce Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Bruce Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Bruce Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Bruce Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Bruce Township is located in LaSalle County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,800 and it contained 5,769 housing units. Most of Streator is located in the township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 17 sq mi
Bruce Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Bruce Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Township | #632 | C− | A | — | C− | C− |
| Eagle Township | — | — | A | — | C− | C |
| Streator | #650 | C− | A | C+ | C− | C− |
| Otter Creek Township | #529 | C+ | A | — | B− | C− |
| Farm Ridge Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Eagle Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bruce Township, Eagle Township and Otter Creek Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Farm Ridge Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bruce Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Bruce Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Bruce Township, IL a good place to live?
Bruce Township grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #632 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and C− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Bruce Township, IL expensive?
Not for the 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.