Owen TownshipIL
A town of 3,601, settled in 1883.
Is Owen Township a good place to live?
Owen Township grades D− overall, 762nd of 767 graded towns in Illinois, mostly because of health and schools. Residents are less healthy than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its public schools trail 89% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: the median household earns $95K. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Only 34 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest place to walk is Mercyhealth Sportscore One, 145 acres with 2 miles of trail.
How Owen Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Owen Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A for jobs and income (better than 89% of comparable towns) to D− for walkability (better than 3%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Owen Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Owen 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 Owen Township.
More of Owen Township’s adults have obesity than in the typical Illinois or U.S. town
47% of adults have obesity in Owen Township, against 37% in Illinois’ towns and 35% across U.S. towns. 17% of adults have diabetes in Owen Township. Owen Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 22.
| Owen Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 47% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Owen Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.3% | 10.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 15.6% | 7.8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 14.6% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For schools, Owen Township earns a D
Its public schools are run by Rockford SD 205. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurgood Marshall SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 514 | A+ |
| Winnebago Co Detention CenterLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | – | – |
| Thurgood Marshall ElementaryTop results in townGrades 1–4 | Grades 1–4 | 374 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Owen Township
Owen Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 13° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Owen Township faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 70 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Owen Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
About one in three of Owen Township’s working residents commute to Rockford
Owen Township has about as many jobs (1,567) as working residents, but only 42 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Owen Township for work: only 2% work in town. 4.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Owen Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.4% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Since 2013, Owen Township has lost 266 jobs, to 1,567 in 2023.
| Owen Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Owen Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mercyhealth Sportscore One | 2 mi | 145 |
| 2. Winnebago County Forest Preserve Headquarters | 0.5 mi | 47 |
| 3. Kennedy Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Illinois Railway Museum and 10 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Owen Township. Close and well known come first.
31 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
8 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
7 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
36 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
34 mi TheatreWoodstock Opera House
36 mi MuseumEllwood HousePhoto credits
Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · BMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · Woodstock Opera House: HrAtsuo, CC0 · Ellwood House: Paul R. Burley, CC0
Everything we know about Owen Township
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Owen Township
About 3 of every 100 Owen Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Owen Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Owen Township is located in Winnebago County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,803 and it contained 1,546 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 817 ft
Owen Township’s neighbors
8 towns share a border with Owen Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Township | #762 | D− | C | — | D | D− |
| Harlem Township | #712 | D | C+ | — | D | B− |
| Machesney Park | #737 | D | C+ | C+ | D | C+ |
| Rockford · Rockford Township | #767 | D− | C+ | D− | D | D |
| Roscoe Township | #315 | B+ | C− | — | A | B+ |
| Rockton Township | #320 | B+ | B− | — | A | B+ |
| Rockton | #152 | A | B− | B+ | A | B+ |
| Loves Park | #742 | D | C+ | C+ | D | C |
Owen Township, Harlem Township, Roscoe Township and Rockton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Rockford Township and Rockford are one community, graded once. Compare Owen Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Owen Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Owen Township, IL a good place to live?
Owen Township grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #762 of 767 in Illinois. It grades D− for health and D for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Owen 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 C.