Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town with more to fix than most. Its weakest subject is schools: its schools rank behind 88% of the state's. Walkability is its strong suit: it is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns. It also does well on cost of living (B+) — a typical home costs about $96K, 1.3 years of the Davenport metro’s $73K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to a C− overall, ranking 671st of 767 in Illinois. That leaves it better than 17% of U.S. towns. Longview Park, at 34 acres with 1.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · OpenStreetMap.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Rock Island Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Rock Island Township beats most towns.
Rock Island Arsenal is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,711 in 1850, a peak of 51,863 in 1960, 37,108 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1844 and 4 maps from 1949 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
2 places in Rock Island Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ordered by what stands out in Rock Island Township.
Rock Island Township sends many workers across the state line to Davenport and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has poverty well above the Illinois rate.
Rock Island Township’s trail network density is 0.9 miles per square mile. Across 15 parks and preserves run 5.1 miles of trail. Also worth knowing: 143 acres of Rock Island Township lie in its parks and preserves.
| Rock Island Township | Typical Illinois town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.9% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Longview Park | 1.5 mi | 34 |
| 2. Sylvan Island | 1.5 mi | 12 |
| 3. Lincoln Park | 0.8 mi | 30 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Two of the 5 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by Rock Island SD 41. Public school enrollment in Rock Island Township: 1,264 students across 3 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island AcademyLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 540 | D |
| Thurgood Marshall Learning CtrLargest public high schoolGrades 6–12 | Grades 6–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,729 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rock Island Township’s, it is healthier than 78%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
16% of Rock Island Township adults smoke cigarettes, against 13% in Illinois’ towns and 14% across U.S. towns. The share of adults in Rock Island Township who worry about having enough food is 22%. In Rock Island Township, just over two in five adults have obesity, and 19% report frequent mental distress.
| Rock Island Township | Typical Illinois town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 13% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Rock Island Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.3% | 10.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.2% | 7.8% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 11.3% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA puts 43% of Rock Island Township’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 23% to cold waves. On expected storm and flood damage, Rock Island Township sits above 69% of U.S. communities. All told, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1979.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 85°; in January, nights fall to 14°, and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
31% of working residents cross a state line to work, Davenport among the top destinations. The average commute for its 5,778 working residents takes 17.6 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Only 4 of the 768 Illinois towns we compare have a higher share of residents below the poverty line than Rock Island Township. Most working residents leave Rock Island Township for work: only 12% work in town. Jobs based locally fell to 8,154 in 2023, 875 fewer than in 2013. For half of commuters, work is under 5 miles away.
| Rock Island Township | Typical Illinois town | Typical U.S. town | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 33% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 8.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rock Island Township. Close and well known come first.
in town Ancient siteRock Island Arsenal
3 mi MuseumBlack Hawk State Historic Site
in town MuseumFigge Art Museum77K visitors a year
3 mi MuseumPutnam Museum8 mi Zoo & aquariumNiabi Zoo
3 mi GardenVander Veer Botanical ParkRock Island Arsenal: Robert A, Ryan, J. Ceronia, and Bruce A. Harms, Photographers, Public domain · Black Hawk State Historic Site: Bill Whittaker (talk). Original uploader was Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Figge Art Museum: Ctjf83, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Putnam Museum: Ctjf83 of English Wikipedia (log), Public domain · Vander Veer Botanical Park: David Wilson, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rock Island 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.
7 within 15 miles of the center of Rock Island Township
College town 20 of every 100 Rock Island Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
City in Illinois, United States
Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi rivers, it is one of the Quad Cities along with neighboring Moline and East Moline in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities metropolitan area had a population of 384,324 in 2020. The city is home to Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States, which employs 6,000 people. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Arsenal Island.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Rock Island Township.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Moline (C) is closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island Township | #671 | C− | B+ | — | D | C |
| Moline Township | #490 | B− | B | — | C+ | C+ |
| Rock Island | #719 | D | B+ | D | D | C |
| Moline | #612 | C | B | D | C+ | C+ |
| South Rock Island Township | #603 | C | B+ | — | D | C |
| Rock Island Arsenal | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Rock Island Township, Moline Township and South Rock Island Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Rock Island Arsenal isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rock Island Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rock Island Township grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #671 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
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 B+.
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