Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Forreston Township’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living. On hazard risk, just 14 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. Only 26 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on the outdoors. Forreston Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Forreston Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Forreston Grade School | 1–5 | 238 |
| Forreston Jr/Sr High Sch | 6–12 | 406 |
Where Forreston 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 Forreston Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,108 in 1880, 1,435 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1942 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Forreston 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 Forreston Township.
At 11 of 100, Forreston Township’s FEMA risk score is where Illinois’ towns sit at 50 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by Forrestville Valley CUSD 221. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Forreston Jr/Sr High Sch, with 406 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forreston Grade SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 238 | B+ |
| Forreston Jr/Sr High SchLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | 406 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Forreston Township for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Forreston Township grew to 459 in 2023, 114 more than in 2013. 5.5% of Forreston Township residents live below the poverty line, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
| Forreston Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Forreston Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Forreston Township’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Forreston Township beats the Illinois average on 3 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 41% of adults have obesity in Forreston Township.
| Forreston Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Forreston Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.3% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 13.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Forreston Township
About 3 of every 100 Forreston Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Forreston is a village in Ogle County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Forreston had a population of 1,435.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Forreston Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forreston Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Maryland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cherry Grove-Shannon Township | — | — | B+ | — | A− | B− |
| Forreston | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
Forreston Township, Cherry Grove-Shannon Township and Forreston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Forreston Township, Cherry Grove-Shannon Township and Forreston report no FBI crime data of their own. Maryland Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Forreston Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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.