Prairie TownshipIL
1,204 residents make their home in this town in Illinois.
Is Prairie Township a good place to live?
Prairie Township’s best subject grade is an A+ for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for walkability. Only 56 of Illinois’ 1,284 towns score higher on cost of living. 25% of residents are 65 or older in Prairie Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 19% and U.S. towns at 18%. The biggest place to walk is Hidden Springs State Forest, 635 acres with 1.1 miles of trail. Prairie Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,204 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Prairie Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Prairie Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Prairie Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Prairie 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 Prairie Township.
Prairie Township has 0.2 jobs per working resident, so most workers leave town for work
The typical household income in Prairie Township is $68,000. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Prairie Township dropped by 55, to 132. 1.9% of Prairie Township working residents work locally. The top destinations are Effingham (16%), Shelbyville (5%) and Springfield (5%).
| Prairie Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Prairie Township’s schools rank ahead of 65% of Illinois districts
Of its 3 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason. Its public schools are run by the Stewardson-Strasburg CUD 5A school district. Public school enrollment in Prairie Township: 433 students across 2 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stewardson-Strasburg Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 290 | A− |
| Stewardson-Strasburg High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 143 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Prairie Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 21° and about 16 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Residents of Prairie Township are healthier than three in five U.S. towns
Against the Illinois average, Prairie Township comes out ahead on 6 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 4. 37% of adults have high blood pressure in the town. Two figures for adults here: 11% worry about having enough food, 35% sleep under 7 hours.
| Prairie Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 35% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 6.8% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Prairie Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.3% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Prairie Township has a high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Expected losses in Prairie Township break down as 37% from inland flooding and 24% from cold waves. Prairie Township’s FEMA hazard score comes in at 60 of 100.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Prairie Township has set aside 1.8% of its land for conservation
In Prairie Township, the density of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. 2.6 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Prairie Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hidden Springs State Forest | 1.1 mi | 635 |
| 2. Stewardson City Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Prairie Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Prairie Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Prairie Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
98% of working residents leave Prairie Township for work
Where Prairie Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Prairie Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Prairie Township is located in Shelby County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,247 and it contained 557 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 54 sq mi
- Elevation
- 640 ft
Questions about Prairie Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Prairie 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+.