After levee break 10 miles-Grand Tower, Ill, 1927
Grand Tower Township’s story
171 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1927.
- 1855Grand Tower Township is settled
Grand Tower TownshipIL
3 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Markkaempfer · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
555
2025 Census estimate · −1.2% since 2020
Median home value
$52K
Census ACS
Household income
$36K
median
Median age
23.8
years
Jobs based here
66
A commuter town
Is Grand Tower Township a good place to live?
32% of residents live below the poverty line in Grand Tower Township, above both the Illinois town median (8.4%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Of the 769 Illinois towns we compare, none has a lower share of adults with a bachelor’s degree than Grand Tower Township. 53% of the land in Grand Tower Township is conserved, above both Illinois’ towns (3.7%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest park or preserve is Devil's Backbone Park, at 23 acres. Grand Tower Township has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Grand Tower Township stand out
Where Grand Tower Township beats most towns.
Small town
555 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Pomona TownshipFountain Bluff TownshipSand Ridge TownshipGrand Tower Township
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Grand Tower Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Grand Tower Township, and how to reach them.
PowerAmeren Illinois Company16.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterGrand Tower water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers82% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Grand Tower 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 hereJackson County ClerkJackson County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code6294262942 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 Tower Township.
Outdoors
Nearly a third of Grand Tower Township is conserved land
Across 1 park or preserve: 8.0 miles of trail. The density of trails for Grand Tower Township comes to 0.2 miles per square mile.
53.4%conserved
53.4%
conserved · 11,370 of 21,280 acres
8.0 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Devil's Backbone Park | 0.1 mi | 23 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazards
Compared with most of Illinois and the rest of the country, the FEMA risk score in Grand Tower Township is higher
Of the losses FEMA expects in Grand Tower Township, 40% come from inland flooding and 31% from earthquakes. One declared disaster, in 2009, has brought federal aid to Grand Tower Township households. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 87% of U.S. communities.
87risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingEarthquakesStrong wind
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commute
The average trip to work in Grand Tower Township is longer than in the typical Illinois or U.S. town
For half of commuters, work is under 18 miles away. In Grand Tower Township, 2.4% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Carbondale (19%), Murphysboro (13%) and Marion (5%).
2%work in town
| Grand Tower Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 37 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Grand Tower Township2%
Carbondale19%
Murphysboro13%
Marion5%
Murphysboro Township4%
18 mi
median commute distance
66
jobs based in Grand Tower Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
The climate in Grand Tower Township brings four seasons and hot summers
For Grand Tower Township, the July high is 89°F.
6″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter27–45°
Spring46–68°
Summer66–88°
Fall46–69°
Oct 22
typical first frost
Apr 9
typical last frost
+0.9°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
How healthy Grand Tower Township is
For adults in Grand Tower Township, the share who report frequent mental distress is 18%. The town does better than the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 15. Two figures for adults locally: 19% smoke cigarettes, 43% have obesity.
| Grand Tower Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
1 better16 too close to call15 worse
| What stands out | Grand Tower Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.4% | 75.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 11.3% | 6.3% |
St. Joseph Memorial Hospital
11.7 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Grand Tower Township
17pages on Grand Tower Township
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Grand Tower Township
About 6 of every 100 Grand Tower Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Grand Tower Township for work
Where Grand Tower Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
66jobs based in Grand Tower Township
2%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Grand Tower Township
City in Illinois, United States
Grand Tower is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 479 at the 2020 census. The town gets its name from Tower Rock, a landmark island in the Mississippi River.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 358 ft
- ZIP code
- 62942
- Area code
- 618
Questions about Grand Tower Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Grand Tower Township, IL a good place to live?
Grand Tower Township has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.