Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Plato Township is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 60th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. The median household earns $155K, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 91% of the country, and its schools rank ahead of 88% of Illinois towns. Its lowest mark, a C+, is in cost of living. Plato Township’s median household income is $155,000, above both Illinois’ towns ($83,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000). Plato Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Memorial Washington Reformed Presbyterian Church and Robert and Elizabeth Muirhead House.
Where Plato Township beats most towns.
6,166 counted in 2010 and 9,296 in 2020; an estimated 9,235 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 50.8% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Plato Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,018 in 2000, 9,296 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 5 maps from 1925 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Plato Township. Close and well known come first.
28 mi Stadium & arenaAllstate Arena
Big draw35 mi Theme parkSix Flags Great America3.0M visitors a year
15 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
28 mi MuseumMcDonald's #1 Store Museum
37 mi Stadium & arenaSeatGeek Stadium
24 mi MuseumMorton ArboretumAllstate Arena: Nkon21, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Six Flags Great America: Feather Better, CC BY 4.0 · Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · McDonald's #1 Store Museum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5 · SeatGeek Stadium: Khvmty, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Morton Arboretum: Bruce Marlin, CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in Plato 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 Plato Township.
Plato Township has less food insecurity than most of Illinois, sends most of its workers to Chicago and beyond and has household incomes well above the Illinois norm.
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 9.2% of its 17,602 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide. Against the 2,458 U.S. towns with household incomes like Plato Township’s, it is healthier than 54%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
14% of adults report frequent mental distress in Plato Township. Plato Township beats the Illinois average on 17 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Plato Township.
| Plato Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.6% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Plato Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 5.1% | 8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 8.6% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Central CUSD 301. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Central High School, with 1,575 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country Trails ElemLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 751 | B+ |
| Central High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,575 | A |
| Central Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 8 | Grades 8 | 418 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Plato Township has 1,043 jobs for its 6,287 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here grew from 767 in 2013 to 1,043.
Most working residents leave Plato Township for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Plato Township is 35 minutes. Since 2013, Plato Township has added 276 jobs, to 1,043 in 2023.
| Plato Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 20% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.4% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Plato Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 14° and about 32 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
5.2 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve, at 882 acres.
| Plato Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.8% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fitchie Creek Forest Preserve | 1.7 mi | 464 |
| 2. Muirhead Springs Forest Preserve | 0.6 mi | 882 |
| 3. Jack E. Cook Park and Forest Preserve | 0.3 mi | 222 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Plato Township
About 6 of every 100 Plato Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Plato Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Plato Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Illinois, United States
Plato Township is one of sixteen townships in Kane County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 9,296 and it contained 3,298 housing units. It was originally named Homer Township; the name was changed to Plato on July 2, 1850.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Plato Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plato Township | #60 | A | C+ | — | A | A |
| Burlington Township | — | — | C+ | — | A | A |
| Rutland Township | #352 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Campton Township | #137 | A | C− | — | A | A |
| Elgin · Elgin Township | #526 | C+ | C | B− | C+ | B |
| Campton Hills | #6 | A+ | C | A+ | A | A+ |
| Hampshire Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Burlington Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Plato Township, Burlington Township, Rutland Township and Campton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Hampshire Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Elgin Township and Elgin are one community, graded once. Compare Plato Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Plato Township grades A overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #60 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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