Coloma TownshipIL
A town of 10,277, settled in 1853.
Is Coloma Township a good place to live?
Coloma Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $87K for a typical one, or 1.3 years of the Sterling area’s $68K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 545th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $52K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 76% of U.S. towns. 22% of residents live below the poverty line in Coloma Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.4% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. The biggest park or preserve is Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park, at 70 acres.
What makes Coloma Township stand out
Where Coloma Township beats most towns.
88% of working residents leave Coloma Township for work
Where Coloma Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Coloma Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Coloma Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Coloma Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Coloma 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Coloma Township.
Coloma Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
Most of Coloma Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
The average commute for its 4,333 working residents takes 16.8 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Coloma Township for work: only 12% work in town. The average trip to work in Coloma Township is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Coloma Township fell to 2,196 in 2023, 383 fewer than in 2013.
| Coloma Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.8% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Coloma Township’s schools rank behind 53% of Illinois districts
Its public schools are run by Rock Falls ESD 13. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Rock Falls Township High School, with 530 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 278 | – |
| Rock Falls Township High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 530 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
On CDC estimates, Coloma Township is less healthy than 73% of U.S. towns
Against the 6,516 U.S. towns with household incomes like Coloma Township’s, it is healthier than 56%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Coloma Township beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress in Coloma Township.
| Coloma Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Coloma Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 78.9% | 75.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Coloma Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hennepin Canal Feeder Parkway State Park | 0.7 mi | 70 |
| 2. Run Bike and Walk Park | 0.4 mi | 5 |
| 3. Centennial Park | 0.3 mi | 54 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Coloma Township
Coloma Township has cold winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 14° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Coloma Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 13 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Coloma Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Everything we know about Coloma Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Coloma Township
About 4 of every 100 Coloma Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Coloma Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Coloma Township is located in Whiteside County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 11,371 and it contained 5,162 housing units. It consists of the area in and around Rock Falls, Illinois.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 11 sq mi
- Elevation
- 650 ft
Coloma Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Coloma Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coloma Township | #545 | C+ | A− | — | B− | C |
| Sterling · Sterling Township | #514 | C+ | B+ | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Hopkins Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C+ |
| Rock Falls | #659 | C− | A− | D | B− | C− |
| Montmorency Township | — | — | B | — | B | C |
| Nelson Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hume Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Hopkins Township and Montmorency Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Coloma Township, Hopkins Township and Montmorency Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Nelson Township and Hume Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Sterling Township and Sterling are one community, graded once. Compare Coloma Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Coloma Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Coloma Township, IL a good place to live?
Coloma Township grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #545 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Coloma Township, IL expensive?
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−.