Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Colchester Township’s subject grades are an A− for the outdoors and history; the weakest is a C for incomes. Colchester Township’s typical journey to work is 16 minutes, where Illinois’ towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 73% of U.S. towns. Argyle Lake State Park, at 644 acres with 6.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Colchester Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Colchester Township beats most towns.
1,837 counted in 2010 and 1,559 in 2020; an estimated 1,511 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Colchester Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,067 in 1880, a peak of 1,747 in 1970, 1,108 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1881 and 2 maps from 1913 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Colchester 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 Colchester Township.
For half of commuters, work is under 9 miles away. Colchester Township’s median household income stands at $64,000. Only just over a tenth of working residents stay in Colchester Township for work; the rest commute out. Jobs locally fell by 27 from 2013 to 2023, to 428.
| Colchester Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $64,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
West Prairie CUSD 103 runs its public schools. Of its 4 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Public school enrollment in Colchester Township: 432 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Prairie South Elementary SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 182 | A+ |
| West Prairie Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 170 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
A winter brings about 11 inches of snow, with January nights at 17° and July afternoons at 85°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Compared with 66% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Colchester Township is lower. 25% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from cold waves, followed by inland flooding at 18%.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6.3 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. For Colchester Township, the trail density is 0.4 miles per square mile.
| Colchester Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 10% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Argyle Lake State Park | 6.2 mi | 644 |
| 2. Friendway Park | — | 14 |
| 3. Colchester City Fair Grounds | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
15% of adults smoke cigarettes in Colchester Township. The town does better than the Illinois average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 9. Two figures for adults locally: 15% report frequent physical distress, 13% have diabetes.
| Colchester Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Colchester Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 13.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.5% | 9.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Colchester Township
About 1 of every 100 Colchester Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Where Colchester Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Colchester Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Illinois, United States
Colchester is a city in McDonough County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,108 at the 2020 census, down from 1,401 in 2010. The city is named after the city of Colchester, England.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Colchester Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colchester Township | — | — | B | — | C+ | B− |
| Chalmers Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tennessee Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Emmet Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hire Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Colchester Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Colchester Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Chalmers Township, Tennessee Township, Emmet Township and Hire Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Colchester Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
