Living in Buffalo Prairie, IL: what to set up and who to call
Buffalo Prairie has no town government of its own, so Rock Island County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Rockridge Community Unit School District 300. Genesis Medical Center, Aledo, 10.5 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Buffalo Prairie, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Buffalo Prairie.
Power comes from Ameren Illinois Company
Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois Company), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Buffalo Prairie. Its homes paid an average of 16.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $148 a month (its average across Illinois, for customers on its standard service). Illinois lets you buy power from another supplier; 45% of Ameren Illinois Company’s home customers do, and Ameren Illinois Company still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Which providers serve Buffalo Prairie
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Buffalo Prairie, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.
Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.
We don’t have Buffalo Prairie’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Buffalo Prairie.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Buffalo Prairie is in Rockridge Community Unit School District 300.
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Buffalo Prairie is unincorporated, so Rock Island County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Buffalo Prairie spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Buffalo Prairie residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Buffalo Prairie | ZIP’s residents in Buffalo Prairie |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61279 | Reynolds, IL | 66% | 4% |
| 61237 | Buffalo Prairie, IL | 34% | 100% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
Getting around, the ER and the library
One line each; the subject pages have the rest.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Buffalo Prairie
Who provides electricity in Buffalo Prairie?
Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois Company), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 16.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Buffalo Prairie?
61279 (66%), 61237 (34%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Buffalo Prairie in?
Rockridge Community Unit School District 300.
How do I register to vote in Buffalo Prairie?
In Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before). Elections here are run by the Rock Island County Clerk. Check your registration at ova.elections.il.gov.
Sources & dates
Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.
- Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
- Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
- Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
- Registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
- Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
- Internet (FCC): pending.