Harter TownshipIL
A town of 5,912.
Is Harter Township a good place to live?
Harter Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $82K, 1.4 years of the county’s $60K median household income. It grades C overall, 582nd among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 83% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $53K, and 16% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns. 22% of working residents work locally in Harter Township, against 8.3% in Illinois’ towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On history, just 103 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Charley Brown Park, at 109 acres.
How Harter Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Harter Township is from typical.
Its best grade is an A for history (#69 of 768 in Illinois), which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its C comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Harter Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Harter 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 Harter Township.
Harter Township stands out in Illinois and nationally: a larger share of its adults have been diagnosed with depression
Against the 6,792 U.S. towns with household incomes like Harter Township’s, it is less healthy than 65%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
24% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Harter Township. Harter Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 42% of adults have obesity in Harter Township.
| Harter Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Harter Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.1% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 18% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
On state tests, Harter Township’s schools beat 52% of Illinois districts
Its public schools are run by Flora CUSD 35. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Flora High School, with 353 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flora Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 672 | B |
| Flora High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 353 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
About one in three of Harter Township’s working residents commute to Flora
About one in 5 of Harter Township’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Harter Township has lost 168 jobs, to 1,649 in 2023. Harter Township’s average trip to work is 24 minutes.
| Harter Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $53,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Harter Township
Harter Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Harter Township is 87°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Earthquakes leads a moderate hazard risk in Harter Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities. Since 2015, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Harter Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Harter Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charley Brown Park | — | 109 |
| 2. Kiwanis Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Library park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Harter Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Harter Township; the nearest are
About 8 of every 100 Harter Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Harter Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Harter Township is one of twelve townships in Clay County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,159 and it contained 2,871 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 56 sq mi
- Elevation
- 482 ft
Harter Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Harter Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harter Township | #582 | C | A− | — | B− | C− |
| Songer Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Louisville Township | — | — | A | — | D | D |
| Stanford Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Keith Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Xenia Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Louisville Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Harter Township and Louisville Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Songer Township, Stanford Township, Keith Township and Xenia Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Harter Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Harter Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Harter Township, IL a good place to live?
Harter Township grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #582 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and B− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Harter 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−.