A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Goode Township$630/mo

Typical home $91K (Census) · tax rate 2.04% · or rent about $724/mo · Housing →

Barren Township$1,060/mo

Typical home $157K (Census) · tax rate est. 1.8% · Housing →

The difference: $430 a month, about $5,100 a year, between Barren Township and Goode Township.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Goode Township and Barren Township share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Goode TownshipBarren Township

Goode Township ↔ Barren Township5.1 miles apart · They share a border · Same county

Who commutes between them

14 Barren Township residents work in Goode Township (7.7% of its workers)

Work & commute in Barren Township →

Report cards

Grades and rankings, side by side

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Illinois ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

C+Goode TownshipBetter than 35% of districts in the state –Barren TownshipNot graded

Health

CGoode TownshipHealthier than 30% of U.S. towns –Barren TownshipNot graded

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Goode TownshipBarren Township

Snow a year8″8″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)71st 71st

Outdoors & history

Goode TownshipBarren Township

Trails1 mi 5 mi

Conserved land0%1.8%

Community

Goode TownshipBarren Township

Library hours a week37 hrs —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Illinois average

Goode TownshipBarren Township

People

Population 2,604Highest 311Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -2.3% —

Median age 42.2±5.9Lowest 8% above IL 48.8±31.5Highest 25% above IL

Barren Township and Goode Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 21%±5.1Highest IL: 21.8% 12.5%±15.6Lowest IL: 21.8%

Goode Township and Barren Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 18.6%±3.7Lowest IL: 17% 21.5%±11.7Highest IL: 17%

Barren Township and Goode Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 16.7%Highest IL: 37.8% 14.3%Lowest IL: 37.8%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.4%±3Highest IL: 6.3% 0%±5.9Lowest IL: 6.3%

Goode Township and Barren Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $59,420±$15kLowest 29% below IL $94,297±$54kHighest 13% above IL

Barren Township and Goode Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $91,200±$14kLowest 65% below IL $157,100±$24kHighest 40% below IL

Rentmedian gross, monthly $724±$123 43% below IL —

Property taxmedian, yearly $1,859 65% below IL —

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.9%±24.9 IL: 47.9% —

Below poverty line 19.6%Highest IL: 11.8% 0%Lowest IL: 11.8%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 75.4%Lowest IL: 67.1% 100%Highest IL: 67.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1957Lowest 14 yrs older than IL 1979Highest 8 yrs newer than IL

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 33 minHighest 19% above IL 27 minLowest 4% below IL

Work from home 7.4%±3.5Highest IL: 15.9% 0%±8Lowest IL: 15.9%

Goode Township and Barren Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 10.8%Highest 1.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.3 miLowest 19.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.33Lowest 0.74Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Mount Vernon (22%)Mount Vernon (19%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Barren Township8% work in Goode Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 1.8%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.6 miLowest 5.1 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.1 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 8Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 9.3Highest 4.9Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #204 of 384 in IL—

School district Franklin-Jefferson Co Sp Ed Dist · Sesser-Valier CUSD 196—

High school in town Sesser-Valier High School—

Students per teacherat that high school 10.2 —

Illinois average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Goode Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Goode Township’s Town Square.

Barren Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Barren Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Goode Township and Barren Township

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Goode Township

+ Compare

Tyrone Township4,636 people · $83K homes

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Sesser2,023 people · $82K homes

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Bald Hill Township805 people · $161K homes

Towns like Goode Township

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Oblong Township2,739 people · $103K homes

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Galva Township2,669 people · $89K homes

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White Hall Township2,450 people · $68K homes

+ Compare

Galva2,454 people · $84K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Illinois towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Goode Township vs Barren Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $430 more a month in Barren Township

Goode Township and Barren Township share a border

Grades and rankings, side by side

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Goode Township and Barren Township

Bordering Goode Township

Towns like Goode Township

Post to Goode Township

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