Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,644, settled in 1859.
Sherman is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, 32nd among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The median household earns $149K, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, and its schools outperform 89% of the state's. Its lowest mark, a C, is in cost of living. Sherman’s median household income is $149,000, against $83,000 in Illinois’ towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Sherman has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cornelius Flagg Farmstead and Route 66 by Carpenter Park. Sherman is healthier than 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Sherman beats most towns.
4,148 counted in 2010 and 4,673 in 2020; an estimated 4,644 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 12.7% 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 Sherman is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 73 in 1880, 4,673 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 5 maps from 1907 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sherman. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi LandmarkLincoln Tomb
6 mi National Historic SiteLincoln Home National Historic Site124K visitors a year6 mi National MonumentSpringfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument
6 mi MuseumOld State Capitol State Historic Site
14 mi MuseumLincoln's New Salem
7 mi MuseumIllinois State MuseumLincoln Tomb: David Jones, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Lincoln Home National Historic Site: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Old State Capitol State Historic Site: Shadow2700 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Lincoln's New Salem: Unknown, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Illinois State Museum: Mike Linksvayer from Oakland, California, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sherman, 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 Sherman.
Sherman has less food insecurity than most of Illinois, has household incomes well above the Illinois norm and sees little violent crime.
4.9 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Sherman is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Village Park, at 35 acres.
| Sherman | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Village Park | — | 35 |
| 2. Waldrop Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Carpenter Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
Sherman’s property crime rate is 4.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Sherman | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 7.7% of its 3,477 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide. Against the 2,817 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sherman’s, it is less healthy than 55%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
18% of adults get no exercise outside work in Sherman. Sherman beats the Illinois average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 32% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Sherman.
| Sherman | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 23% | 25% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Sherman | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 2,221 working residents takes 20.5 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois. Jobs based here grew from 534 in 2013 to 838.
Most working residents leave Sherman for work: only 5% work in town. 2.2% of Sherman residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Sherman has added 304 jobs, to 838 in 2023.
| Sherman | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.2% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.6% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Sherman since 2008.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Sherman has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 19° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Sherman home is worth about $340,000, up 6.4% in a year, 15% above the Illinois typical home.
| Sherman | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,041 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 90% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Sherman
About 8 of every 100 Sherman residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
2.9% of the town is conserved land, across 5 parks and preserves.
Village in Illinois, United States
Sherman is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan statistical area. In 2023 the village was hit by a high end EF-2 tornado in the March 31st outbreak.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Sherman.
At #32 in IL, it grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Williams Township (A) comes closest. Capital Township next door grades lower for schools (C− to Sherman’s A) and higher for cost of living (B to C).
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman | #32 | A+ | C | A | A | A |
| Fancy Creek Township | #208 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Springfield | #702 | D | B | D− | C− | C+ |
| Springfield Township | #609 | C | A | — | D− | C+ |
| Capital Township | #580 | C | B | — | C− | B− |
| Williams Township | #64 | A | B− | — | A | A− |
Fancy Creek Township, Springfield Township, Capital Township and Williams Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Sherman with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Sherman grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #32 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, A for safety and A for schools.
That is 4.5 years of the area's median household income ($75,895 across the Springfield, IL metro area). 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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