Sheffield-Hotel-Grand-Detour, 1910
Grand Detour’s story
191 years in pictures
The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1918 on.
- 1835Grand Detour is founded
Grand DetourIL
2 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Ben Jacobson (Kranar Drogin) · CC BY 2.5
Population
297
Census survey, 2020–24
Median home value
$192K
Census ACS
Household income
$76K
median
Median age
51.6
years
Jobs based here
123
A commuter town
Is Grand Detour a good place to live?
Grand Detour’s age of the median resident is 51.6 years, above both the Illinois town median (40.7 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). Grand Detour has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Grand Detour stand out
Where Grand Detour beats most towns.
Small town
297 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Grand Detour TownshipTaylor TownshipGrand Detour
Getting set up
Moving to Grand Detour: who provides what
Grand Detour is unincorporated, so Ogle County and regional agencies provide most services.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterDixon Correctional Center water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet3 providers77% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & county servicesOgle CountyOgle County provides services here
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 hereOgle County ClerkOgle County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code6102161021 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 Grand Detour.
Work & commute
With only 0.7 jobs per working resident, most people in Grand Detour work out of town
The top destinations are Dixon (16%), Sterling (9%) and Polo (6%). Commuting out is the norm in Grand Detour: 2% of working residents work locally. Jobs in Grand Detour grew by 47 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 123. In Grand Detour, the average trip to work is 19 minutes.
2%work in town
| Grand Detour | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Grand Detour2%
Dixon16%
Sterling9%
Polo6%
Chicago5%
16 mi
median commute distance
123
jobs based in Grand Detour
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards
The biggest natural risk in Grand Detour is inland flooding, at a low overall level
49% of Grand Detour’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 15%. FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in the town than in 75% of U.S. communities.
25risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers: that is Grand Detour’s year
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 13°, with about 32 inches of snow a winter.
32″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–33°
Spring38–60°
Summer60–82°
Fall41–62°
Oct 19
typical first frost
Apr 21
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
Compared with most of Illinois and the rest of the country, more of Grand Detour’s adults have high blood pressure
Of 32 CDC measures, Grand Detour beats the Illinois average on 8 and trails it on 9. Grand Detour: just over two in five adults have obesity.
| Grand Detour | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
8 better15 too close to call9 worse
| What stands out | Grand Detour | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.4% | 13.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.6% | 9.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10.1% | 5.9% |
OSF Saint Katharine Medical Center
5.2 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: primary care, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Nearby attractions
All 28 attractions →Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site and 8 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Grand Detour. Close and well known come first.
6 mi National Historic SiteRonald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
30 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
6 mi MuseumJohn Deere House and Shop
34 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
33 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
34 mi MuseumEllwood HouseSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0 · BMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · John Deere House and Shop: IvoShandor, CC BY 2.5 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ellwood House: Paul R. Burley, CC0
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Keep exploring
Everything we know about Grand Detour
15pages on Grand Detour
The big questions
Out and about
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Grand Detour
About 8 of every 100 Grand Detour residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Grand Detour for work
Where Grand Detour’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
123jobs based in Grand Detour
2%of working residents work in town
16 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Grand Detour
CDP in Illinois, United States
Grand Detour is an unincorporated census-designated place in Ogle County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Grand Detour had a population of 424. The village is named after an odd turn in the Rock River, which flows north past the village, rather than its normal southwestern course. John Deere invented the steel plow in Grand Detour, and the John Deere House and Shop is a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.4 sq mi
- Elevation
- 656 ft
- Area code
- 815
Questions about Grand Detour
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Grand Detour, IL a good place to live?
Grand Detour has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.