Willow LakeIL
A town in Illinois, home to 764 people.
Is Willow Lake a good place to live?
31% of residents are 65 or older in Willow Lake, against 19% in Illinois’ towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Among 769 Illinois towns, just 2 have a higher median age than Willow Lake. Willow Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
764 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Willow Lake: who provides what
Willow Lake is unincorporated, so Stephenson County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Willow Lake.
Most of Willow Lake’s workers commute out: the town has 0.2 jobs for each of them
The top destinations are Freeport (34%), Rockford (9%) and Chicago (3%). Willow Lake’s average trip to work comes in at 21 minutes. Jobs based here fell to 101 in 2023, 432 fewer than in 2013. For half of commuters, work is under 15 miles away.
| Willow Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $101,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.4% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Willow Lake: four seasons and pleasant summers
For Willow Lake, the peak summer temperature is 83°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Low risk in Willow Lake, with inland flooding at the top
The risk rating from FEMA in Willow Lake is 36 of 100. FEMA puts 53% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 14% to tornadoes. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 64% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Willow Lake stands out in Illinois and nationally: a larger share of its adults have high blood pressure
Among adults 18 to 64 in Willow Lake, 6% have no health insurance. The town does better than the Illinois average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 9. In Willow Lake, 82% of adults had a checkup this year, and 14% have diabetes.
| Willow Lake | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 78% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Willow Lake | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.3% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
A home in Willow Lake sells for about $165K at the median
For households in Willow Lake, the share who are owner-occupiers is 95%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Willow Lake
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Willow Lake
About 0 of every 100 Willow Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
100% of working residents leave Willow Lake for work
Where Willow Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Questions about Willow Lake
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Willow Lake, IL a good place to live?
Willow Lake has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.