Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,490. 2.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
The best of Cartwright Township’s subject grades are an A− for incomes and health and an A for civic life. 2.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Cartwright Township, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. A typical home costs about $174K, 2.3 years of the Springfield metro’s $76K median household income. Only 30 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on the outdoors. Clayville Tavern is on the National Register of Historic Places. On civic life, just 58 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns do better. Cartwright Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cartwright Township beats most towns.
Clayville TavernIn a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Cartwright Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2015.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cartwright Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi LandmarkLincoln Tomb
14 mi National Historic SiteLincoln Home National Historic Site124K visitors a year
10 mi MuseumLincoln's New Salem14 mi National MonumentSpringfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument
14 mi MuseumOld State Capitol State Historic Site
37 mi MuseumDickson MoundsLincoln Tomb: David Jones, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lincoln Home National Historic Site: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lincoln's New Salem: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Old State Capitol State Historic Site: Shadow2700 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Dickson Mounds: MattHucke, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cartwright 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 Cartwright Township.
Cartwright Township beats the Illinois average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of adults get no exercise outside work in Cartwright Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 23% and U.S. towns at 25%. 9.1% of adults worry about having enough food in Cartwright Township.
| Cartwright Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Cartwright Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.1% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Pleasant Plains CUSD 8. Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Pleasant Plains High School, with 416 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Plains High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 416 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Cartwright Township for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Cartwright Township has added 106 jobs, to 352 in 2023. Cartwright Township’s median household income is $101,000.
| Cartwright Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $101,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Cartwright Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 19° and about 18 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 62% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cartwright Township
About 4 of every 100 Cartwright Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where Cartwright Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Illinois, United States
Cartwright Township is located in Sangamon County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,482 and it contained 615 housing units. The township is named after pioneer missionary and Methodist minister Peter Cartwright, who lived in the township and is buried there. A United Methodist congregation within the limits of Pleasant Plains also bears his name. The most populated area of Cartwright Township is the town of Pleasant Plains, Illinois. Pleasant Plains has approximately 800 residents within its boundaries. The rest of the township is dotted with farmsteads and crop fields. Cartwright Township is known for its rich, fertile land and its agricultural roots. It is also the or…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2.3 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
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 B+.
