Garden PrairieIL
Home to 403 people, the town was settled in 1853.
Is Garden Prairie a good place to live?
Garden Prairie’s January low is 13°F, below both Illinois’ towns (17°F) and U.S. towns (22°F). Garden Prairie’s density of trails is 3.0 miles per square mile, against 0.3 in Illinois’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Garden Prairie has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
403 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Garden Prairie.
Most of Garden Prairie’s workers commute out: the town has 0.1 jobs for each of them
Half commute less than 18 miles. The top destinations are Rockford (24%), Belvidere (12%) and Chicago (5%).
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The climate in Garden Prairie brings four seasons and pleasant summers
The typical July afternoon high locally is 83°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest natural risk in Garden Prairie is inland flooding, at a low overall level
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. FEMA puts 57% of Garden Prairie’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 17% to tornadoes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
How healthy Garden Prairie is
Among adults in Garden Prairie, 21% say their health is fair or poor. This Illinois town does better than the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 6.
| Garden Prairie | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 19% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Garden Prairie | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults screened for colon cancer | 66% | 60.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical home in Garden Prairie is valued at about $329K
Typical home values rose 8.3% in the year to September 2026. In Garden Prairie, 82% of households live in a home they own.
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7.5% of the land in Garden Prairie is protected from building
1.8 miles of trail.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Garden Prairie
Illinois Railway Museum and 22 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garden Prairie. Close and well known come first.
10 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
36 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
20 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
22 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
26 mi Theme parkSanta's Village Amusement & Water Park
18 mi GardenAnderson Japanese GardensPhoto credits
Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alpine Valley Music Theatre: chad davis, CC BY-SA 2.0 · BMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · Santa's Village Amusement & Water Park: Martin Lewison from The Hague, Zuid-Holland, The Netherlands, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Moving to Garden Prairie: who provides what
Garden Prairie is unincorporated, so Boone County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
100% of working residents leave Garden Prairie for work
Where Garden Prairie’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Garden Prairie
About 6 of every 100 Garden Prairie residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Questions about Garden Prairie
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Garden Prairie, IL a good place to live?
Garden Prairie has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
Say something about Garden Prairie.
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