Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,940, settled in 1884.
Somerset Township earns a D−, ranked 764th of 767 in Illinois, mostly because of health. Residents are less healthy than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. On hazard risk, just 72 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. Grange Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Somerset Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Somerset Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,152 in 2000, 3,934 in 2020. The archive holds 4 maps from 1910 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Somerset 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 Somerset Township.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $1,015 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Somerset Township’s FEMA risk score is 80 of 100, against 50 of 100 in Illinois’ towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Since 1993, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Somerset Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by Murphysboro CUSD 186. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Murphysboro High School, with 565 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carruthers Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 426 | C |
| Murphysboro High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 565 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
43% of adults have obesity in Somerset Township, above both the Illinois town median (37%) and the median of U.S. towns (35%). 40% of Somerset Township adults have high blood pressure. Somerset Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15.
| Somerset Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Somerset Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 6.3% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.6% | 10.3% |
| More smokers | 16.8% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Somerset Township for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Somerset Township has added 172 jobs, to 1,000 in 2023. 4.3% of residents live below the poverty line in Somerset Township.
| Somerset Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 4.3% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Somerset Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Somerset Township is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The biggest park or preserve is Lake Murphysboro State Park, at 261 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lake Murphysboro State Park | — | 261 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Somerset Township
About 5 of every 100 Somerset Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Township in Illinois, United States
Somerset Township is one of sixteen townships in Jackson County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,934 and it contained 1,861 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Somerset Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset Township | #764 | D− | C− | — | C | C− |
| Levan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Murphysboro Township | #717 | D | B− | — | C | C |
| De Soto Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | C |
| Vergennes Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
De Soto Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Somerset Township, Murphysboro Township and De Soto Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Levan Township and Vergennes Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Somerset Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Somerset Township grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #764 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C− for health and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.