MendotaDepot, 1889
Mendota Township’s story
173 years in pictures
Census counts: 1,934 in 1860, 7,061 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1876 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
- 1853Mendota Township is settled
Mendota TownshipIL
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0
Population
7,006
2025 Census estimate · −2.3% since 2020
Median home value
$147K
Census ACS
Household income
$58K
median
Median age
41.2
years
Jobs based here
2,491
Balanced
Is Mendota Township a good place to live?
26% of working residents work locally in Mendota Township, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). The biggest place to walk is Mendota Lake Park, 213 acres with 1.3 miles of trail. We don’t grade Mendota Township yet; the figures below are still real.
What makes Mendota Township stand out
Where Mendota Township beats most towns.
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Mendota Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mendota Township, and how to reach them.
PowerCommonwealth Edison17.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterMendota water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet8 providers96% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Mendota Township’s trash rules yet
SchoolsMendota Community Consolidated School District 289Mendota Township High School District 2802 districts serve Mendota 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 hereLaSalle County ClerkLaSalle County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2023
ZIP code6134261342 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 Mendota Township.
Natural hazards
In Mendota Township, the FEMA risk score runs lower than in the typical Illinois or U.S. town
Just over two fifths of Mendota Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 33%. Paid flood insurance claims in the town since 1978: 16. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities.
11risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingCold wavesTornadoes
16
paid flood claims since 1978
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Schools
The schools Mendota Township’s kids attend
Mendota CCSD 289 runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Mendota Twp High School, with 493 students. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northbrook SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 526 | C+ |
| Mendota Twp High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 493 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts
Climate
Expect four seasons and pleasant summers in Mendota Township
A winter brings about 25 inches of snow, with January nights at 14° and July afternoons at 84°.
25″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter18–33°
Spring38–60°
Summer61–82°
Fall41–62°
Oct 15
typical first frost
Apr 27
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Work & commute
Mendota Township has 0.8 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The mean commuting time in Mendota Township is 19 minutes. In Mendota Township, about one in four working residents works in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Mendota Township dropped by 834, to 2,491. The share of residents in Mendota Township who live below the poverty line: 13%.
26%work in town
| Mendota Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Mendota Township26%
Mendota25%
Peru7%
Chicago5%
Ottawa3%
21 mi
median commute distance
2,491
jobs based in Mendota Township
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Health
How healthy Mendota Township is
In Mendota Township, 38% of adults have obesity. Among adults in the town, 13% have diabetes and 22% say their health is fair or poor.
| Mendota Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 19% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
0 better23 too close to call9 worse
| What stands out | Mendota Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.3% | 6.3% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.6% | 5.9% |
| More adults in frequent physical distress | 14.8% | 12.2% |
OSF Saint Paul Medical Center
2.4 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Outdoors
In Mendota Township, 0.5% of the land is conserved
There are 2.7 miles of trail across 4 parks and preserves. Mendota Township’s concentration of trails stands at 0.1 miles per square mile.
0.5%conserved
| Mendota Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
0.5%
conserved · 112 of 22,927 acres
2.7 mi
of trails · 0.1 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mendota Lake Park | 1.3 mi | 213 |
| 2. Strouss Park | — | 12 |
| 3. Blackstone Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Mendota Township
18pages on Mendota Township
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Mendota Township; the nearest are
Illinois Valley Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Oglesby18.5 mi$4,200 in-state tuitionNorthern Illinois UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Dekalb30.2 mi$13,248 in-state tuition
About 7 of every 100 Mendota Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
About Mendota Township
City in Illinois, United States
Mendota is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, in the state's north-central region. The population was 7,061 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Mendota is located approximately 85 miles (137 km) west of Chicago, 70 miles (110 km) east of Moline and 55 miles (89 km) south of Rockford. The current mayor is David W. Boelk, an independent elected to a four-year term. The name "Mendota" is derived from a Lakota word meaning "junction of two trails", which was found appropriate for the city since there was a nearby railroad junction for the Illinois Central Railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1855
- Area
- 5.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 741 ft
- ZIP code
- 61342
Mendota Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Mendota Township.
Troy Grove TownshipMeriden TownshipMendotaClarion TownshipBrooklyn TownshipMendota Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mendota Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Troy Grove Township | — | — | A− | — | C | C+ |
| Meriden Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mendota | #382 | B | A− | A− | C | C+ |
| Clarion Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brooklyn Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Troy Grove Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Troy Grove Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Mendota Township, Meriden Township, Clarion Township and Brooklyn Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Mendota Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Mendota Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Mendota Township, IL a good place to live?
We don’t grade Mendota Township yet; the figures below are still real.