Is Poplar Grove a good place to live?
Poplar Grove grades B− overall, 464th among Illinois's 767 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It is healthier than 83% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $120K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $278K for a typical one and 4.1 times the Rockford metro’s $68K median household income. On walkability, just 94 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns do worse.
98% of working residents leave Poplar Grove for work
Where Poplar Grove’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Poplar Grove grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Poplar Grove is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Poplar Grove: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Poplar Grove, 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 Poplar Grove.
Poplar Grove sends most of its workers to Rockford and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
Conserved land covers 0.3% of Poplar Grove
6.7 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Poplar Grove’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile, where Illinois’ towns sit at 0.3 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Poplar Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lions Park | — | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Poplar Grove’s grade for health is an A−
Against the 5,716 U.S. towns with household incomes like Poplar Grove’s, it is healthier than 61%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
20% of Poplar Grove adults binge drink, above both the Illinois town median (18%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). 31% of Poplar Grove adults have high blood pressure. Poplar Grove beats the Illinois average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Poplar Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Poplar Grove | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.6% | 15.9% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.3% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents commute out of Poplar Grove
Poplar Grove has 389 jobs for its 2,194 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Poplar Grove for work: only 2% work in town. 3.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Poplar Grove. Jobs based in Poplar Grove grew to 389 in 2023, 23 more than in 2013.
| Poplar Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $120,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Poplar Grove
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 77% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
More children than Illinois overall
Children under 18 are 31% of residents (22% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide). The median age in Poplar Grove is 36.5 years. Poplar Grove has grown 2.9% since 2020, to 5,206 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Poplar Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.5 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 31% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Poplar Grove | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.9% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.6% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.8% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.3% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.9% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.8% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.4% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
In Poplar Grove, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Poplar Grove has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Poplar Grove’s July high is 83°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Poplar Grove’s grade for cost of living is a C
Typical home values rose 5.9% in the year to September 2026.
| Poplar Grove | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 93% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,395 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Illinois Railway Museum and 16 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Poplar Grove. Close and well known come first.
18 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
34 mi TheatreAlpine Valley Music Theatre
14 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
12 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
29 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb34 mi MuseumVolo Auto MuseumPhoto credits
Illinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Alpine Valley Music Theatre: chad davis, 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
Everything we know about Poplar Grove
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Poplar Grove
About 5 of every 100 Poplar Grove residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
About Poplar Grove
Village in Illinois, US
Poplar Grove (founded in 1859) is a village located in Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, and of the gated community Candlewick Lake. The population was 5,049 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 7.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 876 ft
- ZIP code
- 61065
Poplar Grove’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Poplar Grove.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar Grove | #464 | B− | C | — | B− | A− |
| Candlewick Lake | #685 | D | C | — | C | B− |
| Timberlane | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Caledonia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Poplar Grove and Candlewick Lake report no FBI crime data of their own. Timberlane and Caledonia aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Poplar Grove with a neighbor →
Questions about Poplar Grove
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Poplar Grove, IL a good place to live?
Poplar Grove grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #464 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health and B− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Poplar Grove, 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.