Elk TownshipIL
A town of 1,721.
Is Elk Township a good place to live?
Elk Township’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. On hazard risk, just 45 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. The median household income is $47K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. On health, just 87 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns do worse. On civic life, just 79 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns do worse. Elk Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
97% of working residents leave Elk Township for work
Where Elk Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Elk Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Elk Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Elk Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elk 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 Elk Township.
Elk Township is less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns
Elk Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 16% of adults report frequent physical distress in Elk Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 13% and U.S. towns at 14%. 18% of Elk Township adults smoke cigarettes.
| Elk Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Elk Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 17.7% | 12.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.8% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Public schools in Elk Township beat 56% of Illinois districts
Its public schools are run by Elverado CUSD 196. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elverado Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 102 | – |
| Elverado High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 102 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Elk Township faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by earthquakes
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 84% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elk Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Elk Township has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Elk Township for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Elk Township is 28 minutes. The top destinations are Carbondale (22%), Murphysboro (9%) and Du Quoin (7%).
| Elk Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $47,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.8% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Elk Township has four seasons and hot summers
Elk Township has chilly winters and warm summers. Elk Township’s July high is 88°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Elk Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.6% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Burning Star State Fish and Wildlife Area | 1.6 mi | 2,312 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Elk Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Elk Township
About 3 of every 100 Elk Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Elk Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Elk Township is one of sixteen townships in Jackson County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,746 and it contained 849 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 367 ft
Elk Township’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Elk Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | — | — | A | — | B | C− |
| De Soto Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C |
| Six Mile Township | #718 | D | A | — | D | C− |
| Vergennes Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Elk Township and De Soto Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Elk Township, De Soto Township and Six Mile Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Vergennes Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Elk Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Elk Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Elk 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.