Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,723, settled in 1860.
Summit Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $313K, 4 years of the Effingham area’s $79K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 305th of 767 in Illinois. On the plus side, the median household earns $111K. Only 57 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score lower on the outdoors. 93% of households own their home in Summit Township, where Illinois’ towns sit at 75% and U.S. towns at 73%. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Summit 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 Summit Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,432 in 1870, a low of 704 in 1950, 3,760 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 3 maps from 1950 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Summit 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 Summit Township.
Summit Township sends most of its workers to Effingham and beyond and owes part of its health edge to its incomes, but it has little public open land.
Summit Township has 456 jobs for its 1,695 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 644 in 2013 to 456.
Most working residents leave Summit Township for work: only 3% work in town. 2.7% of residents live below the poverty line in Summit Township. Since 2013, Summit Township has lost 188 jobs, to 456 in 2023.
| Summit Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $111,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). Summit Township’s median age is 46.3 years. 36% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Summit Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 46.3 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 19% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.1 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Summit Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.9% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.6% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.2% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.8% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.4% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.9% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.8% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 21% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 19% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 17.8% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.8% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,700, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Summit Township since 1993.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Summit Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Summit Township is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,937 U.S. towns with household incomes like Summit Township’s, it is less healthy than 68%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Summit Township beats the Illinois average on 5 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 18% of Summit Township adults binge drink.
| Summit Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 35% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 35% | 36% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 33% |
| What stands out | Summit Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.2% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.8% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Just 47 of its 21,990 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Summit Township itself; its outdoors grade is D.
1.9 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
| Summit Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Summit Township; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Summit Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Township in Illinois, United States
Summit Township is one of fifteen townships in Effingham County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 3,760 and it contained 1,774 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Summit Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Township | #305 | B+ | B+ | — | B− | B |
| Jackson Township | — | — | B | — | B− | B− |
| Douglas Township | #104 | A | A− | — | B+ | B |
| Moccasin Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Banner Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Effingham | #434 | B | A− | C | B− | B− |
Jackson Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Summit Township, Jackson Township and Douglas Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Moccasin Township and Banner Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Summit Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Summit Township grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #305 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health and B− for schools.
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+.