Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A strong record with one exception. On incomes it is strong: the median household earns $94K. Winnebago Township’s overall grade is B, better than 57% of U.S. towns. That places it 426th of 767 in Illinois. Add schools to its strengths — its public schools beat nearly two thirds of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. It lags on cost of living as well (C+): the typical home is worth about $203K, 3 years of the Rockford metro’s $68K median household income.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow.
Where Winnebago Township beats most towns.
Where Winnebago Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Winnebago Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 504 in 1880, 2,940 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and a map from 1981 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Winnebago 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 Winnebago Township.
Winnebago Township carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Illinois (mostly inland flooding), but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
Across 4 parks and preserves: 15 miles of trail. R. Robert Funderburg Forest Preserve, at 857 acres with 9.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. The density of trails for Winnebago Township comes to 0.5 miles per square mile, near both the Illinois town median (0.3) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4).
| Winnebago Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.3% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. R. Robert Funderburg Forest Preserve | 9.8 mi | 857 |
| 2. Harry A. & Fanny B. Severson Dells Forest Preserve | 4.2 mi | 352 |
| 3. Howard D. Colman Dells Nature Preserve | 0.1 mi | 56 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The largest public high school is Winnebago High School, with 422 students. Winnebago CUSD 323 runs its public schools. Three of the 4 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Simon Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 297 | – |
| Winnebago High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 422 | B+ |
| Winnebago Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 296 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 92% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $533 per resident a year; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Of the losses FEMA expects in Winnebago Township, 47% come from inland flooding and 19% from tornadoes. The town’s risk rating from FEMA is 18 of 100. 2 flood insurance claims have been paid locally since 1978.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Among residents in Winnebago Township, 6.8% live below the poverty line, against 8.4% in Illinois’ towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. For most workers, Winnebago Township is a place to come home to: only 8% work in town. Also worth knowing: the town had 1,062 jobs in 2023, up 127 from 2013. The top destinations are Rockford (38%), Winnebago (7%) and Loves Park (4%).
| Winnebago Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8.3% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $94,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.8% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 25 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical July afternoon high for Winnebago Township comes to 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in Winnebago Township who are under 18: 25%. Adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (23% statewide); people 65 and older are 21% of residents (17% statewide). 30% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 38% across Illinois.
| Winnebago Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.8 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Winnebago Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.4% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.1% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.3% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.4% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.3% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 8.7% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.2% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.1% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.4% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 14.4% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.3% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 5,000, single groups can be off by several points
Against the 9,385 U.S. towns with household incomes like Winnebago Township’s, it is less healthy than 75%, so it trails even them.
Winnebago Township: 36% of adults have high blood pressure. 13% of adults locally have diabetes; 14% report frequent physical distress.
| Winnebago Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Winnebago Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.4% | 10.3% |
| More smokers | 14.8% | 12.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Winnebago Township. Close and well known come first.
36 mi MuseumIllinois Railway Museum
7 mi Stadium & arenaBMO Center
9 mi GardenAnderson Japanese Gardens
31 mi National Historic SiteRonald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site
33 mi TheatreEgyptian Theatre, DeKalb
33 mi MuseumEllwood HouseIllinois Railway Museum: The original uploader was Slambo at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · BMO Center: SimLibrarian, CC0 · Anderson Japanese Gardens: M. Readey, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site: Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Egyptian Theatre, DeKalb: Andy McMurray, CC BY 2.5 · Ellwood House: Paul R. Burley, CC0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Winnebago Township
About 3 of every 100 Winnebago Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Winnebago is a village in Winnebago County, Illinois. It is part of the Rockford-Winnebago Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,940 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Winnebago Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnebago Township | #426 | B | C+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| Rockford Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Seward Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Byron Township | #224 | A− | B | — | A− | B |
| Burritt Township | — | — | D | — | B+ | C+ |
Burritt Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Winnebago Township, Byron Township and Burritt Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Rockford Township and Seward Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Winnebago Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Winnebago Township grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #426 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and B+ 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+.
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