Garfield TownshipIL
A town of 1,452.
Is Garfield Township a good place to live?
The best of Garfield Township’s subject grades is an A− for cost of living; the weakest is a C− for hazard risk. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Garfield Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.4% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On the outdoors, just 2 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. Garfield Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,452 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Garfield Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Garfield Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Garfield Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Garfield 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 Garfield Township.
Most of Garfield Township’s workers head elsewhere: there are 0.5 jobs for each of them
The average trip to work in Garfield Township is 30 minutes. For most workers, Garfield Township is a place to come home to: only 4% work in town. Jobs in Garfield Township grew by 27 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 364. The top destinations are Chicago (10%), Morris (6%) and Joliet (6%).
| Garfield Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.9% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $88,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Garfield Township’s public schools trail 51% of Illinois districts
Its two schools are below. Gardner S Wilmington Twp HSD 73 runs its public schools. 2 public schools serve Garfield Township, with 300 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 146 | B− |
| Gardner-South Wilmington Twp H SLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 154 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
High risk in Garfield Township, with inland flooding at the top
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Households in Garfield Township have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. 48% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 37%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Garfield Township, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 16° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health in Garfield Township trails 56% of U.S. towns
For adults in Garfield Township, the share who binge drink is 20%. Among adults here, 18% report frequent mental distress, above both the Illinois town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (17%).
| Garfield Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Garfield Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16% | 10.3% |
| More smokers | 16.1% | 12.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Everything we know about Garfield Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Garfield Township; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Garfield Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
96% of working residents leave Garfield Township for work
Where Garfield Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Garfield Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Garfield Township is one of seventeen townships in Grundy County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,454 and it contained 659 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 18 sq mi
- Elevation
- 594 ft
Questions about Garfield Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Garfield 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−.