Otter Creek TownshipIL
The town has 2,623 residents and lies in Illinois.
Is Otter Creek Township a good place to live?
Otter Creek Township’s weakest subject is health — residents are less healthy than 77% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Incomes are weaker too — the median household income is $84K, and 25% of residents live below the poverty line. Cost of living is its strong suit (A): a typical home costs about $151K, 2.1 years of the Ottawa area’s $72K median household income. The overall grade lands at C+, 529th of 767 in Illinois. That leaves it better than 41% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 93 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for schools, B− for walkability and C+ for hazard risk.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · FEMA National Risk Index · USGS PAD-US.
Otter Creek Township has shrunk 12% since 2010
2,970 counted in 2010 and 2,643 in 2020; an estimated 2,623 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Otter Creek Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Otter Creek Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Otter Creek Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Otter Creek 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Otter Creek Township.
Otter Creek Township is a long drive from an emergency room, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate and has little public open land.
For health, Otter Creek Township earns a C−
The nearest emergency room, OSF Saint Elizabeth Medical Center, is 22.5 miles away in a straight line.
The share of adults in Otter Creek Township who feel lonely: 34%. Among adults locally, 17% smoke cigarettes, above both Illinois’ towns (13%) and U.S. towns (14%).
| Otter Creek Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Otter Creek Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.8% | 6.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.4% | 10.3% |
| More smokers | 17.2% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most people working in Otter Creek Township commute elsewhere
Otter Creek Township has 210 jobs for its 1,056 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Commuting out is the norm in Otter Creek Township: 1% of working residents work locally. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Otter Creek Township dropped by 41, to 210. The median commute is under 27 miles. The top destinations are Streator (18%), Ottawa (6%) and Reading Township (6%).
| Otter Creek Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 25% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Otter Creek Township
Summer afternoons peak near 85° in July, and January nights bottom out around 16°; snowfall runs to about 26 inches a winter. Otter Creek Township brings chilly winters and warm summers.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazards: low risk in Otter Creek Township, mostly inland flooding
46% of Otter Creek Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 35%. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 63% of U.S. communities. This Illinois town has had one paid flood insurance claim since 2013.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Protected land: 0.1% of Otter Creek Township
Just 34 of its 22,802 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Otter Creek Township itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.4 miles of trail.
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Otter Creek Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Otter Creek Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Otter Creek Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
99% of working residents leave Otter Creek Township for work
Where Otter Creek Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Otter Creek Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Otter Creek Township is located in LaSalle County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,643 and it contained 1,160 housing units. Otter Creek was formed from a portion of Bruce Township on an unknown date.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
Otter Creek Township’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Otter Creek Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otter Creek Township | #529 | C+ | A | — | B− | C− |
| Bruce Township | #632 | C− | A | — | C− | C− |
| Grand Rapids Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Allen Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Otter Creek Township and Bruce Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Grand Rapids Township and Allen Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Otter Creek Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Otter Creek Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Otter Creek Township, IL a good place to live?
Otter Creek Township grades C+ overall, better than 41% of U.S. towns and #529 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and B− for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Otter Creek 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.