Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Public schools that outperform most of Illinois. With 4,282 residents, it is a town in Illinois.
Strong in places, weak in others. Where it does best is cost of living: a typical home costs about $120K, 1.6 years of the county’s $75K median household income. Overall, Wade Township earns a B+: better than three quarters of U.S. towns, and 287th of 767 in Illinois. Schools are a strength too: its public schools beat 78% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. The catch is incomes: the median household income is $64K, and 11% of residents live below the poverty line. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 65% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Embarras River Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. Just over a fifth of working residents work locally in the town, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · FEMA National Risk Index · National Register of Historic Places · Census LEHD, 2023.
Where Wade Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Newton Elem School | 1–6 | 476 |
| St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School | K–8 | 199 |
| Jasper Co Jr High | 7–8 | 176 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Wade Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,734 in 2000, 4,380 in 2020. The archive holds 3 maps from 1940 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Wade 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 Wade Township.
Wade Township pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
That grade comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $120K.
The largest public high school is Newton Comm High School, with 412 students. The public schools here belong to the Jasper County CUD 1 school district. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–6 | Grades 1–6 | 476 | B |
| Newton Comm High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 412 | B− |
| Jasper Co Jr HighTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 176 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
In Wade Township, 22% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Newton (20%), Effingham (14%) and Greenup (4%). Its typical journey to work stands at 23 minutes.
| Wade Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 11% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The peak summer temperature is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected losses in Wade Township break down as 41% from inland flooding and 32% from earthquakes. Flood insurance has paid out on 5 claims in the town since 1985.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest park or preserve is Peterson Park, at 27 acres. 6.8 miles of trail wind through 5 parks and preserves. Wade Township’s trail density comes in at 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Wade Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sam Parr State Fish and Wildlife Area | — | 1,056 |
| 2. Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area | — | 313 |
| 3. Peterson Park | — | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,755 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wade Township’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
15% of adults smoke cigarettes in Wade Township. CDC measures, 32 in all: Wade Township beats Illinois on 5 and trails on 7. In Wade Township, 39% of adults have obesity, and 15% report frequent physical distress.
| Wade Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wade Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.2% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10% | 13.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.9% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Wade Township; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Wade Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Township in Illinois, United States
Wade Township is one of eleven townships in Jasper County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 4,380 and it contained 2,048 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Wade Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wade Township | #287 | B+ | A | — | A− | B− |
| Crooked Creek Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Smallwood Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Muddy Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fox Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grove Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Willow Hill Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wade Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Crooked Creek Township, Smallwood Township, North Muddy Township, Fox Township, Grove Township and Willow Hill Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Wade Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Wade Township grades B+ overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #287 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health and A− 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 A.