Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Washington grades A overall, ranked 155th of 767 in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 94% of the state's and the median household earns $95K. It also does better than most on health: it is healthier than 84% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $236K, 3.3 years of the Peoria metro’s $72K median household income. 29% of residents are under 18 in Washington, above both the Illinois town median (22%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). Washington has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Cemetery Road Bridge and Dement-Zinser House.
Where Washington beats most towns.
Census counts: 712 in 1850, 16,071 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 4 maps from 1928 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Washington is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Washington, 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 Washington.
Washington pairs an A overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm, has less no health insurance than most of Illinois and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
Its widest gap with Illinois is no health insurance: 5.5% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 9.9% statewide.
19% of adults get no exercise outside work in Washington. Washington beats the Illinois average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 15% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Washington.
| Washington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Washington | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.5% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3.8 miles of trail in 11 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Meadow Valley Park, 87 acres with 2.9 miles of trail.
| Washington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meadow Valley Park | 2.9 mi | 87 |
| 2. Weaver Park | 0.5 mi | 7 |
| 3. Washington Park | — | 58 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The average commute for its 7,285 working residents takes 19.6 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
Most working residents leave Washington for work: only 12% work in town. Washington’s average trip to work is 20 minutes. Jobs based in Washington grew to 3,660 in 2023, 217 more than in 2013.
| Washington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 15% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Washington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 17° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Washington grades A overall with a typical home of about $236K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that.
Typical home values rose 5.7% in the year to September 2026. 80% of Washington households own their home.
| Washington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,155 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 66% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Washington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Washington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 38.2 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 19% | 18% |
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.3 points). Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Washington | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 16.5% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.7% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.1% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.4% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.7% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 321 to 232 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Washington is 13.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Washington | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.8 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Washington. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Zoo & aquariumWildlife Prairie Park28 mi Zoo & aquariumMiller Park Zoo
7 mi MuseumAdlai E. Stevenson I House
7 mi MuseumMetamora Courthouse State Historic Site
8 mi GardenGeorge L. Luthy Memorial Botanical GardenWildlife Prairie Park: Katherine Johnson, CC BY 2.0 · Adlai E. Stevenson I House: Nyttend, Public domain · Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site: ProfDEH, Public domain · George L. Luthy Memorial Botanical Garden: Original uploader was ProfDEH at en.wikipedia, Public domain
5 within 15 miles of the center of Washington
About 6 of every 100 Washington residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Where Washington’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Washington on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Illinois, United States
Washington is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. Washington is on U.S. Route 24 and Illinois Route 8, northeast of East Peoria. The population was 16,071 at the 2020 census, a 48.2% percent increase over 2000. It is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Washington.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | #155 | A | C+ | B− | A | A− |
| East Peoria | #575 | C | B | C− | C | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Washington grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #155 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health, B− for safety and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including Claire E. Hutchin, Jr. and Tim Tully.
