Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Morton grades A overall, ranked 141st of 767 in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 88% of the state's and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 84% of the country. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $94K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $288K for a typical one and 4 times the Peoria metro’s $72K median household income. Morton’s average trip to work is 17 minutes, below both the Illinois town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest park or preserve is Northwood Park, at 97 acres.
Where Morton beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Morton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 426 in 1880, 17,117 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 4 maps from 1928 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Morton, 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Morton.
Morton has less food insecurity than most of Illinois, has commutes shorter than most of Illinois and is safe by national standards but not by Illinois’s.
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 8.8% of its 12,945 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
15% of Morton adults report frequent mental distress. Morton beats the Illinois average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of Morton adults get no exercise outside work.
| Morton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Morton | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 12.6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 51% of Illinois’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 190 to 121 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Morton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 17° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Morton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lakewood Park | 0.8 mi | 13 |
| 2. Southwood Park | 0.3 mi | 28 |
| 3. Northwood Park | — | 97 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). 46% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Morton. Morton has grown 2.2% since 2020, to 17,565 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Morton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 29% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.8 points). Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 42.0, men 40.6.
| Morton | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.3% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.6% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.1% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.7% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.5% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21.4% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 18% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.7% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 30.7% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.7% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The average commute for its 7,619 working residents takes 16.6 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 5 of Morton’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Morton has lost 1,532 jobs, to 10,521 in 2023. The top destinations are Peoria (26%), Pekin (5%) and East Peoria (5%).
| Morton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Morton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical home values rose 6.2% in the year to September 2026.
| Morton | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,074 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Morton. Close and well known come first.
39 mi MuseumDickson Mounds9 mi Zoo & aquariumPeoria Zoo
17 mi Zoo & aquariumWildlife Prairie Park26 mi Zoo & aquariumMiller Park Zoo
9 mi GardenGeorge L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden
10 mi Theme parkSpider HillDickson Mounds: MattHucke, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wildlife Prairie Park: Katherine Johnson, CC BY 2.0 · George L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden: Original uploader was ProfDEH at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Spider Hill: NatFee, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Morton
About 3 of every 100 Morton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Morton is a village in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,117 at the 2020 census. The community holds a yearly Morton Pumpkin Festival for four days every September, and claims that "99 percent of the world's canned pumpkin is produced in Morton," earning it the designation "Pumpkin Capital of the World".
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Morton.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morton · Morton Township | #141 | A | C+ | B+ | A | A− |
| East Peoria | #575 | C | B | C− | C | B |
| Washington Township | #43 | A+ | B− | — | A | A− |
| Fondulac Township | #457 | B− | B | — | C | B |
| Groveland Township | #416 | B | B | — | B | B |
Washington Township, Fondulac Township and Groveland Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Morton Township and Morton are one community, graded once. Compare Morton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Morton grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #141 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
