What stands out worked out from the figures below

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Okaw has the most trails (18.3 mi).

Ridge has the highest household income ($111k).

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 townOutdoorsyWalkable streets

Measure	Okaw	Ridge
People
Population	858Highest	482Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census	-6%	—
Median age	58.5±9.8Highest 50% above IL	38.7±21.4Lowest about the IL average
	Okaw and Ridge are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	19.6%±6.1Lowest IL: 21.8%	24.1%±9.4Highest IL: 21.8%
	Ridge and Okaw are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	42.9%±8.4Highest IL: 17%	11%±10.5Lowest IL: 17%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	30.2%Highest IL: 37.8%	11.7%Lowest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	0.5%±0.6Lowest IL: 6.3%	5.4%±6.9Highest IL: 6.3%
	Ridge and Okaw are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$75,357±$8kLowest 10% below IL	$111,364±$75kHighest 34% above IL
	Ridge and Okaw are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$134,900±$43k 49% below IL	—
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,060±$321 17% below IL	—
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,521Highest 52% below IL	$1,892Lowest 64% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	0%±81.3 IL: 47.9%	0%±100 IL: 47.9%
Below poverty line	20.9%Highest IL: 11.8%	10.6%Lowest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	91.3%Highest IL: 67.1%	90.4%Lowest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year	1970Highest 1 yr older than IL	1960Lowest 11 yrs older than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	22 minLowest 21% below IL	44 minHighest 59% above IL
Work from home	9.4%±7.9Highest IL: 15.9%	0%±5.1Lowest IL: 15.9%
	Okaw and Ridge are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents	0.8%Highest	0.5%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line	26.3 mi	26.3 mi
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub	0.15Highest	0.06Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town	Decatur (18%)	Shelbyville (23%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others	Few work in Ridge	Few work in Okaw
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town	9.7%Highest	0.5%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles	18.3 miHighest	0.0 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi	0.5 miHighest	0.0 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map	2Highest	0Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure	5.3Highest	2.2Lowest
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

IL average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data; commute flows: Census LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics. “±” 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.