Helvetia TownshipIL
A town of 8,312, settled in 1840. 58% more nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Is Helvetia Township a good place to live?
Helvetia Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $213K for a typical one, or 2.7 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades A overall, 131st among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 75% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, the median household earns $85K. Only 84 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score higher on civic life. Helvetia Township’s average trip to work is 30 minutes, where Illinois’ towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
What makes Helvetia Township stand out
Where Helvetia Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Highland Primary School | PK–2 | 544 |
| Highland Elementary School | 3–5 | 504 |
| St. Paul Catholic School | PK–8 | 241 |
| Widest gap | Helvetia Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 9.9% |
87% of working residents leave Helvetia Township for work
Where Helvetia Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Helvetia Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Helvetia Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Helvetia Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Helvetia 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 Helvetia Township.
Helvetia Township pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and has less no health insurance than most of Illinois.
Helvetia Township’s schools rank ahead of 78% of Illinois districts
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $213K.
Its public schools are run by Highland CUSD 5. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 544 | – |
| Highland Elementary SchoolTop results in townGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 504 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Helvetia Township ranks healthier than 76% of the country’s towns
Its widest gap with Illinois is no health insurance: 5.8% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 9.9% statewide.
Helvetia Township beats the Illinois average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of Helvetia Township adults binge drink.
| Helvetia Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Helvetia Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.7% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of Helvetia Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.7 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Helvetia Township for work: only 13% work in town. 6.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Helvetia Township. The top destinations are Highland (21%), St.
| Helvetia Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Helvetia Township faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Helvetia Township has four seasons and hot summers
Helvetia Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Helvetia Township is 88°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
More middle-aged adults than Illinois overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (39% statewide). Helvetia Township’s median age is 44.7 years. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Helvetia Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 44.7 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 19% | 18% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Helvetia Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.2% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.5% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.7% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.1% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.5% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.1% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.6% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.1% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Helvetia Township has set aside 0.6% of its land for conservation
1.4 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Lindendale Park, at 47 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The Square | 0.6 mi | 2 |
| 2. Lindendale Park | 0.2 mi | 47 |
| 3. VFW Club Park | — | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Helvetia Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Helvetia Township
About 7 of every 100 Helvetia Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
About Helvetia Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Helvetia Township is a township of the city Highland in Madison County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 8,646 and it contained 3,638 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 489 ft
Helvetia Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Helvetia Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helvetia Township | #131 | A | B+ | — | A− | A− |
| Saline Township | #139 | A | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| St. Jacob Township | #162 | A | C+ | — | A | A |
| St. Rose Township | — | — | B+ | — | A− | B+ |
| Sugar Creek Township | #81 | A | B+ | — | A− | B+ |
| Marine Township | — | — | B+ | — | A | A− |
St. Rose Township and Marine Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Helvetia Township, Saline Township, St. Jacob Township, St. Rose Township, Sugar Creek Township and Marine Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Helvetia Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Helvetia Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Helvetia Township, IL a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Helvetia Township grades A overall, better than 90% of U.S. towns and #131 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Helvetia Township, IL expensive?
Not for the area. Louis, MO-IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.