Otto TownshipIL
A town of 2,060.
Is Otto Township a good place to live?
The best of Otto Township’s subject grades is a B for incomes; the weakest is a C− for hazard risk. 16% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Otto Township, below both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 72% of U.S. towns. Otto Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Kankakee County Fairgrounds, at 91 acres. Otto Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Otto Township has shrunk 19% since 2010
2,582 counted in 2010 and 2,137 in 2020; an estimated 2,060 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Otto Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Otto Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Otto Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Otto 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 Otto Township.
With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of Otto Township’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Otto Township for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Otto Township grew to 532 in 2023, 331 more than in 2013. 5.5% of Otto Township residents live below the poverty line, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
| Otto Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.6% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Otto Township faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 77% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 63 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Otto Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Otto Township
Otto Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 17° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Otto Township is less healthy than 60% of U.S. towns
Otto Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 39% of Otto Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Otto Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Otto Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.6% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 14.8% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Otto Township has set aside 0.1% of its land for conservation
1.6 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kankakee County Fairgrounds | — | 91 |
| 2. Gooseberry Island Nature Preserve | — | 14 |
| 3. Iroquois Woods Nature Preserve | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Otto Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Otto Township
About 3 of every 100 Otto Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
96% of working residents leave Otto Township for work
Where Otto Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Otto Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Otto Township is one of seventeen townships in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,137 and it contained 885 housing units. It was formed from portions of Aroma and Limestone townships on December 11, 1855 as Carthage Township; its name was changed to Otto Township on March 11, 1857.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 49 sq mi
- Elevation
- 636 ft
Otto Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Otto Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otto Township | — | — | B− | — | B | C+ |
| Aroma Township | #745 | D | B− | — | D− | C+ |
| Kankakee Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chebanse Township | #473 | B− | C+ | — | B | B+ |
| Limestone Township | #583 | C | B− | — | B+ | D |
| Pilot Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B |
Otto Township and Pilot Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Otto Township, Aroma Township, Chebanse Township, Limestone Township and Pilot Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Kankakee Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Otto Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Otto Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Otto Township, IL expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.