Dodds TownshipIL
A town of 2,682.
Is Dodds Township a good place to live?
Dodds Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $111K for a typical one, or 1.8 years of the Mount Vernon area’s $63K median household income. It grades C overall, 599th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. 14% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Dodds Township, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Dodds Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 82% of U.S. towns.
How Dodds Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Dodds Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Dodds Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dodds 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 Dodds Township.
On state tests, Dodds Township’s schools trail 69% of Illinois districts
Its public schools are run by Bethel SD 82. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Grade SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 154 | C+ |
| Mt Vernon Alternative SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Health in Dodds Township trails 70% of U.S. towns
Dodds Township beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 17% of adults smoke cigarettes in Dodds Township.
| Dodds Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Dodds Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.4% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.1% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Dodds Township
Dodds Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Dodds Township is 87°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Earthquakes leads a high hazard risk in Dodds Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 2012, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dodds Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
About two in five of Dodds Township’s working residents commute to Mount Vernon
The average commute for its 1,025 working residents takes 21 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Dodds Township for work: only 5% work in town. Dodds Township’s average trip to work is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Mount Vernon (41%), Springfield (2%) and Marion (2%).
| Dodds Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.3% | 11% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.3% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Dodds Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rend Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area | — | 1,223 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Dodds Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Dodds Township
About 4 of every 100 Dodds Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Dodds Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Dodds Township is one of sixteen townships in Jefferson County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,690 and it contained 1,197 housing units. Dodds Township bears the name of James Dodds, a pioneer settler.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 440 ft
Dodds Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Dodds Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodds Township | #599 | C | A | — | C | C |
| McClellan Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | C+ |
| Spring Garden Township | #622 | C | A | — | C | C |
| Pendleton Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | C− |
| Mount Vernon · Mount Vernon Township | #736 | D | B | — | D | C |
McClellan Township and Pendleton Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Dodds Township, McClellan Township, Spring Garden Township, Pendleton Township and Mount Vernon report no FBI crime data of their own. Mount Vernon Township and Mount Vernon are one community, graded once. Compare Dodds Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Dodds Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Dodds Township, IL a good place to live?
Dodds Township grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #599 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health and C for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Dodds 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.