Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ottawa Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C overall, 613th of 767 graded towns in Illinois, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $140K for a typical one, or 1.9 years of the Ottawa area’s $72K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $70K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 96% of U.S. towns. On history, just 34 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do better. Ottawa Township’s average trip to work is 19 minutes, below both Illinois’ towns (26 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Ottawa Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Ottawa Township beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Ottawa Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 7,736 in 1870, 18,840 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1848 and 4 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ottawa 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 Ottawa Township.
Its public schools are run by Ottawa Twp HSD 140. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Ottawa Township High School, with 1,223 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 387 | C+ |
| Ottawa Township High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,223 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 128 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ottawa Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3.2 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Buffalo Rock State Park, 292 acres with 2.7 miles of trail.
| Ottawa Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.7% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buffalo Rock State Park | 2.7 mi | 292 |
| 2. Lincoln-Douglas Park | — | 30 |
| 3. Fox River Park | 0.1 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ottawa Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 15° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ottawa Township has about as many jobs (5,515) as working residents, but only 842 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 19.4 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Ottawa Township for work: only 18% work in town. 5.5% of workers work from home in Ottawa Township. The top destinations are Ottawa (26%), Chicago (5%) and Peru (4%).
| Ottawa Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 5.5% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ottawa Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 15% of Ottawa Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Ottawa Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ottawa Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 8.6% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 15.3% | 12.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ottawa Township
About 3 of every 100 Ottawa Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
City in Illinois, United States
Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago to the Mississippi River. The population was 18,840 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Ottawa, Illinois, micropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Ottawa Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Township | #613 | C | B | — | C+ | C+ |
| South Ottawa Township | #648 | C− | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Rutland Township | #519 | C+ | B− | — | C+ | B− |
| Wallace Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ottawa | #656 | C− | B− | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Dayton Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Utica Township | — | — | B | — | B− | B |
Dayton Township and Utica Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ottawa Township, South Ottawa Township, Rutland Township, Dayton Township and Utica Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Wallace Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ottawa Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ottawa Township grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #613 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.