Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Carrier Mills Township’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for schools. Only 62 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score higher on cost of living. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 85 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. 48% of the land in Carrier Mills Township is conserved, against 3.7% in Illinois’ towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. Only 15 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on the outdoors. The biggest place to walk is Sahara Woods State Recreation Area, 3,718 acres with 14.2 miles of trail. Carrier Mills Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Carrier Mills Township beats most towns.
47.5% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Carrier Mills Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 427 in 1900, a peak of 3,000 in 1920, 1,672 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1905 and 4 maps from 1925 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Carrier Mills 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 Carrier Mills Township.
43 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Carrier Mills Township’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, where Illinois’ towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sahara Woods State Recreation Area | 14.2 mi | 3,718 |
| 2. Carrier Mills Park | — | 6 |
| 3. Washington Street Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Carrier Mills-Stonefort CUSD 2. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier Mills-Stonefort Elem SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 300 | C− |
| Carrier Mills-Stonefort H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 94 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 80% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Carrier Mills Township since 1981.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Carrier Mills Township for work: only 4% work in town. 20% of Carrier Mills Township residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Carrier Mills Township has lost 97 jobs, to 339 in 2023.
| Carrier Mills Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Carrier Mills Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Carrier Mills Township is 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Carrier Mills Township beats the Illinois average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Carrier Mills Township.
| Carrier Mills Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Carrier Mills Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 11.2% | 13.2% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.5% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Carrier Mills Township
About 2 of every 100 Carrier Mills Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where Carrier Mills Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Village in Illinois, United States
Carrier Mills, formerly Carrier's Mills and Morrilsville, also known as Catskin, is a village in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,672 at the 2020 census. Carrier Mills was named after George Washington Carrier's saw and grist mills, and was one of the early Cairo and Vincennes Railroad boomtowns. Founded as a mill town and then a coal mining community, Carrier Mills has slowly lost 44% of its population since the 1920 census high of 3,000, due to the decline of the local coal industry. The village has primarily become a bedroom community, located seven miles (11 km) southwest of Harrisburg, which is the village's main source of employment, entertainment, and shop…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Carrier Mills Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrier Mills Township | — | — | A+ | — | D | C+ |
| Stonefort Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brushy Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Harrisburg Township | #710 | D | B+ | — | C− | C |
| Independence Township | — | — | B− | — | C− | C |
Carrier Mills Township and Independence Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Carrier Mills Township, Harrisburg Township and Independence Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Stonefort Township and Brushy Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Carrier Mills Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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+.