Guest, Sign inJoin
Compare towns

Wallace Township vs Ottawa

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: street grid (36.4× in Ottawa) and size (29.6× in Ottawa).

×
Wallace Township, ILA small town of 623LaSalle County · 623 people
×
Ottawa, ILHometown of 50 notable peopleIllinois · 18,447 people
Swap order
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

Wallace TownshipA small town of 623
Quiet strengthsWallace Township doesn’t stand out on the data we haveNeighbors can tell you what the numbers miss.
All about Wallace Township →
OttawaHometown of 50 notable people
Famous people50 notable peopleborn in Ottawa Outdoors#203 most trails in IL11 miles of trails across 13 parks and preserves Housing$216K typical home27% below the IL typical home All about Ottawa →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Street grid36.4×
Ottawa has the more walkable street grid
Ottawa 50.9Wallace Township 1.4
Size29.6×
Ottawa is the bigger place
Ottawa 18,447Wallace Township 623
Home values+62%
Homes cost more in Wallace Township
Wallace Township $249,600Ottawa $154,000
Jobs per worker3×
Ottawa is more of a job hub
Ottawa 1.13Wallace Township 0.38
Homeowners+26 pts renters
Ottawa has more renters
Wallace Township 95.7%Ottawa 69.7%
Work in town+25.5 pts
More of Ottawa’s workers stay in town
Ottawa 27.1%Wallace Township 1.6%
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

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.

Wallace Township$1,710/mo
Typical home $250K (Census) · tax rate 1.94% · Housing →
Ottawa$1,600/mo
Typical home $216K (Zillow) · tax rate 2.60% · or rent about $920/mo · Housing →

The difference: $110 a month, about $1,300 a year, between Wallace Township and Ottawa.

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

Wallace Township and Ottawa share a border

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

Wallace TownshipOttawaWallace TownshipOttawa
Wallace Township ↔ Ottawa5.4 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
50 Wallace Township residents work in Ottawa (19.7% of its workers)
Work & commute in Wallace 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.

Safety
–Wallace TownshipNot graded C+OttawaSafer than 40% of U.S. towns
Schools
B−Wallace TownshipBetter than 52% of districts in the state –OttawaNot graded
Health
–Wallace TownshipNot graded C+OttawaHealthier than 40% of U.S. towns
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
Wallace TownshipOttawa
Snow a year24″24″
January low15°F15°F
July high83°F83°F
Growing season (days)183d183d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)29th77th
Outdoors & history
Wallace TownshipOttawa
Trails—11 mi
Conserved land—5.2%
Settled—1853
National Register places—7
Archive photos—10
Famous people born here—50
Community
Wallace TownshipOttawa
Library hours a week—63 hrs
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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.

Wallace TownshipOttawa
People
Population 623Lowest 18,447Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census — +0.4%
Median age 32.7±7.7Lowest 16% below IL 39.8±4.1Highest about the IL average
Ottawa and Wallace Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 32.7%±6.8Highest IL: 21.8% 25.3%±2.5Lowest IL: 21.8%
Wallace Township and Ottawa are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 13.6%±6.1Lowest IL: 17% 16.4%±2.1Highest IL: 17%
Ottawa and Wallace Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 22.9%Lowest IL: 37.8% 23.3%Highest IL: 37.8%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 1.9%±2.7Lowest IL: 6.3% 2.6%±0.8Highest IL: 6.3%
Ottawa and Wallace Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $102,917±$50kHighest 23% above IL $71,413±$9kLowest 14% below IL
Wallace Township and Ottawa are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $249,600±$77kHighest 5% below IL $154,000±$8kLowest 42% below IL
Rentmedian gross, monthly — $920±$38 28% below IL
Property taxmedian, yearly $4,833Highest 9% below IL $4,011Lowest 24% below IL
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 66.7%±100Highest IL: 47.9% 48.7%±10.9Lowest IL: 47.9%
Wallace Township and Ottawa are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line 4%Lowest IL: 11.8% 17.3%Highest IL: 11.8%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 95.7%Highest IL: 67.1% 69.7%Lowest IL: 67.1%
Typical home builtmedian year 1968Highest 3 yrs older than IL 1958Lowest 13 yrs older than IL
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 20 minLowest 30% below IL 23 minHighest 18% below IL
Work from home 2.4%±3Lowest IL: 15.9% 5.2%±1.6Highest IL: 15.9%
Ottawa and Wallace Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 1.6%Lowest 27.1%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 25.3 miHighest 20.3 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.38Lowest 1.13Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Ottawa (20%)Chicago (4%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 20% work in OttawaFew work in Wallace Township
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 0%Lowest 5.2%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 0.0 miLowest 10.5 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.7 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 0Lowest 13Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 1.4Lowest 50.9Highest
Schools
School district Wallace CCSD 195—
High school in town None in town—
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.

Wallace Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Wallace Township’s Town Square.

Ottawa neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Ottawa’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Wallace Township and Ottawa

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

Bordering Wallace Township

+ Compare
Ottawa Township11,204 people · $140K homes
D
+ Compare
Dayton Township1,971 people · $255K homes
W
+ Compare
Waltham Township613 people · $264K homes
F
+ Compare
Freedom Township432 people · $363K homes

Towns like Wallace Township

S
+ Compare
Sumner Township812 people · $319K homes
+ Compare
Claremont Township813 people · $190K homes
C
+ Compare
Columbus Township852 people · $268K homes
E
+ Compare
Essex1,026 people · $228K homes

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.

Post to Wallace Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in