Alexis Phelps House
Oquawka Township’s story
190 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper.
- 1836Oquawka Township is settled
Oquawka TownshipIL
4 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Population
1,571
2025 Census estimate · −5.9% since 2020
Median home value
$104K
Census ACS
Household income
$55K
median
Median age
60.0
years
Jobs based here
289
A commuter town
Is Oquawka Township a good place to live?
The best of Oquawka Township’s subject grades are an A+ for cost of living and an A− for the outdoors; the weakest is a D for schools. 11% of residents are under 18 in Oquawka Township, below both the Illinois town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On hazard risk, just 17 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. 27% of the land in Oquawka Township is conserved, against 3.7% in Illinois’ towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Big River State Forest, 1,525 acres with 15.1 miles of trail. Oquawka Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Oquawka Township stand out
Where Oquawka Township beats most towns.
A shrinking town
Oquawka Township has shrunk 22% since 2010
1,997 counted in 2010 and 1,659 in 2020; an estimated 1,571 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Oquawka Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Oquawka Township is from typical.
Cost of livingTypical home $104K, 1.7 years of the Burlington area’s $63K median household incomeA+Open →SchoolsBehind 95% of Illinois districts on tests and graduationDOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →Jobs & income$55K median household incomeDOpen →HealthLess healthy than 81% of U.S. towns; OSF Holy Family Medical Center 14.6 miles awayC−Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.8 of 20; 4.8% of households have no car; 1.3% of workers walk, bike or ride transitC−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors26% conserved landA−Open →HistoryB+Open →Civic life4.3 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsBOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Oquawka Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oquawka Township, and how to reach them.
PowerAmeren Illinois Company16.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterOquawka water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers79% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Oquawka Township’s trash rules yet
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 hereHenderson County ClerkHenderson County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code6146961469 99%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 Oquawka Township.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Compared with most of Illinois and the rest of the country, the FEMA risk score in Oquawka Township is higher
Oquawka Township’s FEMA risk score is 88 of 100.
88risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingDroughtHail
1
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
HealthC−
Oquawka Township stands out in Illinois and nationally: a larger share of its adults have high blood pressure
43% of Oquawka Township adults have high blood pressure. Oquawka Township beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 15% of Oquawka Township adults have diabetes.
19%healthier than U.S. townsC−Health Grade
| Oquawka Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
1 better18 too close to call13 worse
| What stands out | Oquawka Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 80.7% | 75.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.4% | 10.3% |
OSF Holy Family Medical Center
14.6 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
OutdoorsA−
Nearly a quarter of Oquawka Township is conserved land
19 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The trail density in Oquawka Township is 0.7 miles per square mile.
26.5%conserved
26.5%
conserved · 4,809 of 18,133 acres
19 mi
of trails · 0.7 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big River State Forest | 15.1 mi | 1,525 |
| 2. Henderson Creek State Wildlife Area | — | 1,402 |
| 3. Delabar State Park | — | 113 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Most of Oquawka Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.4 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Oquawka Township for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Oquawka Township has lost 84 jobs, to 289 in 2023. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Oquawka Township.
12%work in town
| Oquawka Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Oquawka Township12%
Burlington11%
Oquawka11%
Monmouth8%
West Burlington6%
18 mi
median commute distance
289
jobs based in Oquawka Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C−
Walkability grade: more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Oquawka Township
Oquawka Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 15° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
17″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter19–35°
Spring41–62°
Summer63–84°
Fall43–64°
Oct 29
typical first frost
Apr 8
typical last frost
+0.7°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Oquawka Township
18pages on Oquawka Township
The big questions
Out and about
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Oquawka Township; the nearest are
Southeastern Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · West Burlington, IA15.2 mi$6,420 in-state tuitionWestern Illinois UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Macomb35.3 mi$15,264 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Oquawka Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
A commuter town
88% of working residents leave Oquawka Township for work
Where Oquawka Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
289jobs based in Oquawka Township
12%of working residents work in town
18 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Oquawka Township
Village in Illinois, United States
Oquawka is a village and the county seat of Henderson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,134 at the 2020 census. Oquawka is part of the Burlington micropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 562 ft
- ZIP code
- 61469
Oquawka Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Oquawka Township.
OquawkaBald Bluff TownshipGladstone TownshipRozetta TownshipOquawka Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oquawka Township | — | — | A+ | — | D | C− |
| Oquawka | — | — | A+ | — | D | C− |
| Bald Bluff Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gladstone Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rozetta Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Oquawka Township and Oquawka have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Oquawka Township and Oquawka report no FBI crime data of their own. Bald Bluff Township, Gladstone Township and Rozetta Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Oquawka Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Oquawka Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Oquawka Township, IL expensive?
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+.