Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,730, settled in 1852. 44% more nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Oblong Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $103K for a typical one, or 1.4 years of the county’s $72K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 489th of 767 in Illinois. Oblong Township’s average trip to work is 16 minutes, below both the Illinois town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Oblong Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Oblong Township beats most towns.
Where Oblong Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Oblong Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 390 in 1890, a peak of 1,860 in 1970, 1,371 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 1958 and a map from 1986 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oblong 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Oblong Township.
Oblong Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois.
The average commute for its 1,191 working residents takes 16.1 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Oblong Township for work: only 15% work in town. 17% of Oblong Township residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Oblong Township has added 128 jobs, to 586 in 2023.
| Oblong Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Oblong CUSD 4. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oblong Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 361 | C+ |
| Oblong High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 165 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Oblong Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Oblong Township is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,683 U.S. towns with household incomes like Oblong Township’s, it is healthier than 63%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Oblong Township beats the Illinois average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Oblong Township.
| Oblong Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Oblong Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.8% | 13.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oblong Park | — | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Oblong Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Oblong Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Oblong is a village in Crawford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,466 at the 2010 census, and then was later recorded to be 1,371 in the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Oblong Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oblong Township | #489 | B− | A+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Licking Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Willow Hill Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Martin Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Robinson Township | #243 | A− | A | — | B | B− |
Oblong Township and Robinson Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Licking Township, Willow Hill Township and Martin Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Oblong Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Oblong Township grades B− overall, better than 48% of U.S. towns and #489 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and C+ for schools.
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+.