Western TownshipIL
A town of 2,854. 2.5 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Illinois town.
Why does Western Township grade so well?
Because it does well by almost any measure. Western Township earns an A+, ranked 48th of 767 in Illinois. Homes are within reach, about $179K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the Davenport metro’s $73K median household income, its public schools beat 81% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation, and the median household earns $99K. Its lowest mark, an A−, is in health. On civic life, just 10 of Illinois’ 1,240 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 77% of U.S. towns. 4.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Western Township, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns.
What makes Western Township stand out
Where Western Township beats most towns.
Community nonprofits per 1,000 residents
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| C R Hanna Elem School | PK–5 | 434 |
| Orion Middle School | 6–8 | 244 |
| Orion High School | 9–12 | 285 |
87% of working residents leave Western Township for work
Where Western Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Western Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Western Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Western Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Western 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Western Township.
Western Township pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and has less food insecurity than most of Illinois.
Western Township’s grade for schools is an A−
Its A− for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $179K.
Its public schools are run by Orion CUSD 223. Its three schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C R Hanna Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 434 | A− |
| Orion High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 285 | B+ |
| Orion Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 244 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Western Township is healthier than 78% of U.S. towns
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 9.2% of its 2,248 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
Western Township beats the Illinois average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of adults binge drink in Western Township.
| Western Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 23% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 9.2% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 36% |
| What stands out | Western Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.2% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most of Western Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Western Township for work: only 13% work in town. Western Township’s average trip to work is 23 minutes. Jobs based in Western Township fell to 707 in 2023, 42 fewer than in 2013.
| Western Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $99,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 8.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Western Township, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Western Township has cold, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 15° and about 36 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
An age mix much like Illinois’s
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Illinois average. 25% of Western Township residents are under 18. Western Township has lost 2.6% of its people since 2020, down to 2,854 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Western Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 38.4 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
About 119 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.4 points). Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Western Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.7% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.6% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.2% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.8% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 8.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.7% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.8% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.4% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.8% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.3% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.9% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.8% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,900, single groups can be off by several points
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Western Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Western Township since 2015.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Love Park | — | 10 |
| 2. Central Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Rock Island Arsenal and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Western Township. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Ancient siteRock Island Arsenal
12 mi MuseumBlack Hawk State Historic Site
15 mi MuseumFigge Art Museum77K visitors a year6 mi Zoo & aquariumNiabi Zoo
16 mi MuseumPutnam Museum
16 mi GardenVander Veer Botanical ParkPhoto credits
Rock Island Arsenal: Robert A, Ryan, J. Ceronia, and Bruce A. Harms, Photographers, Public domain · Black Hawk State Historic Site: Bill Whittaker (talk). Original uploader was Billwhittaker at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Figge Art Museum: Ctjf83, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Putnam Museum: Ctjf83 of English Wikipedia (log), Public domain · Vander Veer Botanical Park: David Wilson, CC BY 2.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Everything we know about Western Township
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Western Township
About 9 of every 100 Western Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Western Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Western Township is one of twenty-four townships in Henry County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,974 and it contained 1,247 housing units. Western changed its name from Orion Township on April 13, 1857.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 761 ft
Western Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Western Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Township | #48 | A+ | A− | — | A− | A− |
| Lynn Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rural Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Osco Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Colona Township | #78 | A | A− | — | B+ | A− |
Western Township and Colona Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Lynn Township, Rural Township and Osco Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Western Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Western Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Western Township, IL a good place to live?
Yes, by almost any measure. Western Township grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #48 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
Is Western Township, IL expensive?
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−.