Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Carmi Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 669th among Illinois's 767 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $118K, 2.1 years of the county’s $55K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 29% of working residents work locally in Carmi Township, against 8.3% in Illinois’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 61 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score higher on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Burrell Park, at 80 acres.
Where Carmi Township beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1816, comes before those of 98% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,512 in 1880, 4,865 in 2020. The archive holds 27 old photos and papers going back to 1871 and 2 maps from 1940 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Carmi Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carmi 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Carmi Township.
Carmi Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois.
Against the 6,888 U.S. towns with household incomes like Carmi Township’s, it is less healthy than 65%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
17% of Carmi Township adults report frequent physical distress. Carmi Township beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 25% of Carmi Township adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Carmi Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Carmi Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.8% | 75.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.1% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Carmi-White County CUSD 5. Three of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Carmi-White County High School, with 419 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Attendance CenterLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 269 | B |
| Carmi-White County High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 419 | C+ |
| Jefferson Attendance CenterTop results in townGrades 2–3 | Grades 2–3 | 158 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
| Carmi Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.1% | 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. Bradshaw Park | 0.3 mi | 19 |
| 2. Burrell Park | — | 80 |
| 3. White County Fairgrounds | — | 38 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 37 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Carmi Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Carmi Township has chilly winters and warm summers. Carmi Township’s July high is 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,620 working residents takes 20.8 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 3 of Carmi Township’s working residents works in town. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Carmi Township. The top destinations are Carmi (29%), Evansville (6%) and Mount Vernon (3%).
| Carmi Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Carmi Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Carmi Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
City in Illinois, United States
Carmi (CAR-mī) is a city in and the county seat of White County, Illinois, United States, along the Little Wabash River. As of the 2020 census, Carmi had a population of 4,865.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Carmi Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmi Township | #669 | C− | B | — | B− | C− |
| Enfield Township | — | — | A | — | C− | C+ |
| Heralds Prairie Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Burnt Prairie Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hawthorne Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Phillips Township | — | — | A+ | — | B− | C− |
Enfield Township and Phillips Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Carmi Township, Enfield Township and Phillips Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Heralds Prairie Township, Burnt Prairie Township and Hawthorne Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Carmi Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Carmi Township grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #669 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.