19960106 21 BNSF, 1996
Erie Township’s story
176 years in pictures
Census counts: 537 in 1880, 1,518 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1996 and 2 maps from 1952 on.
- 1850Erie Township is settled
Erie TownshipIL
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0
Population
1,842
2025 Census estimate · −2.3% since 2020
Median home value
$157K
Census ACS
Household income
$82K
median
Median age
42.3
years
Jobs based here
404
A commuter town
Is Erie Township a good place to live?
The best of Erie Township’s subject grades is an A for cost of living; the weakest is a D for walkability. Only 109 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score lower on walkability. Erie Township’s average trip to work is 20 minutes, below both Illinois’ towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest park or preserve is Big Bend State Conservation Area, at 467 acres. Erie Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Erie Township stand out
Where Erie Township beats most towns.
A commuter town
88% of working residents leave Erie Township for work
Where Erie Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
404jobs based in Erie Township
12%of working residents work in town
22 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Erie Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Erie Township is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $157K, 2.3 years of the Sterling area’s $68K median household incomeAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 5 of 20; 1.6% of households have no car; 0.5% of workers walk, bike or ride transitDOpen →Jobs & income$82K median household incomeB+Open →HealthHammond Henry Hospital 13 miles awayBOpen →SchoolsGraded on exam and test resultsBOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 41% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors8 miles of trails; 3% conserved landCOpen →HistoryBased on listed places, the town’s age and notable peopleC+Open →Civic life1.6 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Erie Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Erie Township, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterErie water system2 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Erie Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereWhiteside County ClerkWhiteside County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Aug 2026
ZIP code6125061250 100%Census 2020
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 Erie Township.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
Erie Township has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For residents in Erie Township, the share who live below the poverty line is 3.1%. Only 12% of working residents stay in Erie Township for work; the rest commute out. Jobs based in Erie Township grew to 404 in 2023, 84 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Erie (11%), Davenport (7%) and Morrison (6%).
12%work in town
| Erie Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Erie Township12%
Erie11%
Davenport7%
Morrison6%
Moline5%
22 mi
median commute distance
404
jobs based in Erie Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
D
Walkability grade: more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
SchoolsB
Erie Township’s public schools outperform 60% of Illinois districts
Its three schools are below. The public schools here belong to Erie CUSD 1. 3 public schools serve Erie Township, with 603 students in all.
60%of IL districts it outscoresBSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 242 | B+ |
| Erie High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 190 | B+ |
| Erie Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 171 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Erie Township
Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 14°; snowfall runs to about 30 inches a winter. Winters in Erie Township are cold and summers warm.
30″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–34°
Spring39–61°
Summer62–83°
Fall42–63°
Oct 16
typical first frost
Apr 22
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB
On CDC estimates, Erie Township is healthier than three in five U.S. towns
Erie Township beats the Illinois average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. The share of adults in Erie Township who binge drink: 18%. 31% of adults in Erie Township feel lonely; 11% worry about having enough food.
61%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Erie Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 33% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
5 better22 too close to call5 worse
| What stands out | Erie Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 15.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.9% | 10.3% |
Hammond Henry Hospital
13 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Erie Township faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Erie Township break down as 44% from inland flooding and 14% from drought.
41risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingDroughtTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
OutdoorsC
Erie Township has set aside 2.9% of its land for conservation
Trails total 8.3 miles in 2 parks and preserves. Erie Township’s density of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
2.9%conserved
| Erie Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
2.9%
conserved · 463 of 15,709 acres
8.3 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big Bend State Conservation Area | 0.6 mi | 467 |
| 2. Heritage Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Erie Township
18pages on Erie Township
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Erie Township
About 8 of every 100 Erie Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Erie Township
Village in Illinois, United States
Erie is a village in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Erie had a population of 1,518. It is known for its unusual layout, specifically its "town triangle".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.5 sq mi
- ZIP code
- 61250
Erie Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Erie Township.
Portland TownshipCanoe Creek TownshipFenton TownshipErieCoe TownshipErie Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie Township | — | — | A | — | B | B |
| Portland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Canoe Creek Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fenton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Erie | — | — | A | — | B | B+ |
| Coe Township | — | — | C− | — | A− | B+ |
Erie Township, Erie and Coe Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Erie Township, Erie and Coe Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Portland Township, Canoe Creek Township and Fenton Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Erie Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Erie Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Erie 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.