What stands out worked out from the figures below

Dummer has the shortest commute (25 min average).

Belvidere has the most people working from home (9.4%).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Dummer	Belvidere
People
Population	299Lowest	422Highest
Median age	53.6±6.4Highest 38% above U.S.	40.7±6.5Lowest 5% above U.S.
	Dummer and Belvidere are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.4%±5.1Lowest U.S.: 22%	22%±4Highest U.S.: 22%
	Belvidere and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	21.4%±4.6Highest U.S.: 17.2%	8.8%±4Lowest U.S.: 17.2%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	16.9%Lowest U.S.: 35.7%	35.9%Highest U.S.: 35.7%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0%±5.7Lowest U.S.: 6.4%	1.4%±1.3Highest U.S.: 6.4%
	Belvidere and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$91,250±$21kHighest 13% above U.S.	$81,563±$18kLowest about the U.S. average
	Dummer and Belvidere are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$242,200±$51kHighest 27% below U.S.	$239,200±$51kLowest 28% below U.S.
	Dummer and Belvidere are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,542±$1k 9% above U.S.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,898Lowest 7% below U.S.	$3,908Highest 25% above U.S.
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±100Lowest U.S.: 51.1%	66.7%±53.8Highest U.S.: 51.1%
	Belvidere and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	9%Highest U.S.: 12.5%	5.5%Lowest U.S.: 12.5%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	94.2%Highest U.S.: 65.2%	86.1%Lowest U.S.: 65.2%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest 3 yrs older than U.S.	1989Highest 9 yrs newer than U.S.
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	25 minLowest 5% below U.S.	38 minHighest 42% above U.S.
Work from home	6.8%±4.4Lowest U.S.: 15.1%	9.4%±7.6Highest U.S.: 15.1%
	Belvidere and Dummer are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

U.S. average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.