4th of July (1896) celebration in Marengo showing clowns with cannon, simple ferris wheel, 1896
Marengo Township’s story
191 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1896.
- 1835Marengo Township is settled
Marengo TownshipIL
4 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Andy McMurray · CC BY 2.5
Population
7,354
2025 Census estimate · +1.6% since 2020
Median home value
$235K
Census ACS
Household income
$74K
median
Median age
32.7
years
Jobs based here
2,050
A commuter town
Is Marengo Township a good place to live?
Marengo Township’s median age is 32.7 years, below both the Illinois town median (40.7 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). 14% of the land in Marengo Township is conserved, above both the Illinois town median (3.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Marengo Ridge Conservation Area, at 790 acres with 6.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. We don’t grade Marengo Township yet; the figures below are still real.
What makes Marengo Township stand out
Where Marengo Township beats most towns.
A commuter town
91% of working residents leave Marengo Township for work
Where Marengo Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
2,050jobs based in Marengo Township
9%of working residents work in town
26 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Marengo Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Marengo Township, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterMarengo water system1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet9 providers89% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Marengo Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsMarengo Community High School District 154Marengo-Union Elementary Consolidated District 1652 districts serve Marengo Township; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
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 hereMcHenry County ClerkMcHenry County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code6015260152 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 Marengo Township.
Work & commute
Most of Marengo Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.6 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Marengo Township for work: only 9% work in town. Marengo Township’s average trip to work is 31 minutes. The top destinations are Marengo (9%), Chicago (9%) and Elgin (5%).
9%work in town
| Marengo Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 8.8% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Marengo Township9%
Marengo9%
Chicago9%
Elgin5%
Rockford4%
26 mi
median commute distance
2,050
jobs based in Marengo Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Schools
The schools Marengo Township’s kids attend
Its public schools are run by the Marengo-Union E Consolidated D 165 school district. One of its 4 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locust Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 501 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts
Climate
Marengo Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Marengo Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 14° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
31″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter17–32°
Spring37–58°
Summer60–82°
Fall41–61°
Oct 12
typical first frost
Apr 28
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
13.5%conserved
13.5%
conserved · 3,093 of 22,868 acres
15 mi
of trails · 0.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Marengo Ridge Conservation Area | 6.2 mi | 790 |
| 2. Indian Oaks Park | — | 56 |
| 3. Sponable Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Health
How healthy Marengo Township is
Marengo Township beats the Illinois average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 31% of Marengo Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Marengo Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 37% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 78% | 79% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
4 better26 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Marengo Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.7% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.9% | 7.6% |
Mercy Harvard Hospital
9.5 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazards
Moderate risk in Marengo Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Marengo Township.
40risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingTornadoesCold waves
12
paid flood claims since 1978
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Marengo Township
18pages on Marengo Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Marengo Township
About 7 of every 100 Marengo Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
About Marengo Township
City in Illinois, United States
Marengo is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States on the Kishwaukee River. It lies approximately 60 miles west northwest of Chicago and approximately 30 miles east of Rockford. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,568.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1835
- Area
- 7.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 833 ft
- ZIP code
- 60152
- Area code
- 815
Marengo Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Marengo Township.
Riley TownshipBonus TownshipDunham TownshipSeneca TownshipMarengo Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marengo Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Riley Township | #357 | B+ | C | — | B+ | B+ |
| Bonus Township | #699 | D | C | — | C− | B− |
| Dunham Township | #491 | B− | B | — | D | B− |
| Seneca Township | #501 | B− | D | — | B+ | B+ |
Riley Township, Bonus Township, Dunham Township and Seneca Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Marengo Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Marengo Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Marengo Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Marengo Township, IL a good place to live?
We don’t grade Marengo Township yet; the figures below are still real.