Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Decatur Township grades D overall, 697th of 767 graded towns in Illinois, mostly because of schools and incomes. Its schools rank behind 98% of the state's. The median household income is $49K, and 24% of residents live below the poverty line. One bright spot: a typical home costs about $87K, 1.4 years of the Decatur metro’s $63K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns. 43% of working residents work locally in Decatur Township, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On health, just 107 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns do worse. Rock Springs Conservation Area, at 1,353 acres with 8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Decatur Township beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Decatur Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Decatur Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,839 in 1860, 70,522 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 5 maps from 1929 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Decatur 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 Decatur Township.
Decatur Township draws workers from Decatur and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D−, Long Creek Township highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by Decatur SD 61. Two of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johns Hill Magnet SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 627 | C− |
| MacArthur High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,059 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
27,210 jobs are based in Decatur Township, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
The average trip to work in Decatur Township is 17 minutes. Jobs based in Decatur Township grew to 27,210 in 2023, 1,798 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Decatur (53%), Springfield (4%) and Chicago (3%).
| Decatur Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
18 miles of trail in 35 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rock Springs Conservation Area | 8 mi | 1,353 |
| 2. Nelson Park | 1.3 mi | 153 |
| 3. Hess Park | 0.8 mi | 22 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 5,341 U.S. towns with household incomes like Decatur Township’s, it is healthier than 52%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of Decatur Township adults have obesity. Decatur Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 20. 40% of Decatur Township adults have high blood pressure.
| Decatur Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Decatur Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.7% | 10.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.4% | 7.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.2% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Decatur Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 55 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Decatur Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Decatur Township
About 6 of every 100 Decatur Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
12.5% of the town is conserved land, across 35 parks and preserves.
City in Macon County, Illinois, United States
Decatur ( dih-KAY-tər) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 70,522. It is the 17th-most populous city in Illinois and the "fastest shrinking city" in Illinois. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production. The city is home to Millikin University and Richland Community College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Decatur Township.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Whitmore Township (C−) is closest. Long Creek Township next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Decatur Township’s D−) and lower for cost of living (B− to A−).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decatur Township | #697 | D | A− | — | D− | C− |
| Long Creek Township | #399 | B | B− | — | B+ | B− |
| Hickory Point Township | #500 | B− | B− | — | B+ | C− |
| South Wheatland Township | #420 | B | B | — | B+ | B− |
| Oakley Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Decatur | #758 | D− | B+ | D | D− | C− |
| Whitmore Township | #628 | C− | B | — | C | B− |
| Harristown Township | — | — | A | — | C | C |
Harristown Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Decatur Township, Long Creek Township, Hickory Point Township, South Wheatland Township, Whitmore Township and Harristown Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Oakley Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Decatur Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Decatur Township grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #697 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and D− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D−.
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−.