Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,252.
West Lincoln Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $133K, 2 years of the Lincoln area’s $66K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 338th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. 28% of working residents work locally in West Lincoln Township, above both Illinois’ towns (8.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). The biggest park or preserve is Memorial Park, at 53 acres.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far West Lincoln Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,042 in 2000, 7,437 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2026 and 3 maps from 1911 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in West Lincoln 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 West Lincoln Township.
West Lincoln Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois.
Its public schools are run by Lincoln ESD 27. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 271 | B |
| Central Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 183 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
West Lincoln Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 18° and about 19 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,577 working residents takes 17.2 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 4 of West Lincoln Township’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in West Lincoln Township is 17 minutes. The top destinations are Lincoln (32%), Springfield (14%) and Decatur (3%).
| West Lincoln Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.5% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3.5 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. West Lincoln Township’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| West Lincoln Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 53 |
| 2. Memorial Gardens | 0.1 mi | 5 |
| 3. Ray White Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 8,887 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Lincoln Township’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
West Lincoln Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 16% of West Lincoln Township adults smoke cigarettes.
| West Lincoln Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | West Lincoln Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.8% | 10.3% |
| More smokers | 15.6% | 12.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.1% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Lincoln Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of West Lincoln Township; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 West Lincoln Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Township in Illinois, United States
West Lincoln Township is located in Logan County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,437 and it contained 3,618 housing units.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with West Lincoln Township.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Broadwell Township (B+) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Lincoln Township | #338 | B+ | B+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| Broadwell Township | #351 | B+ | A | — | B+ | B− |
| Orvil Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Lincoln Township | #393 | B | B | — | B+ | C+ |
| Lincoln | #432 | B | B+ | C+ | B+ | C+ |
| Sheridan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
West Lincoln Township, Broadwell Township and East Lincoln Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Orvil Township and Sheridan Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Lincoln Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. West Lincoln Township grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #338 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ 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+.