Ashton Township is one of twenty-two townships in Lee County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,160 and it contained 517 housing units. Ashton Township was originally formed as Ogle Township from Bradford Township on February 12, 1861; the name was changed to Ashton on November 7, 1867.
Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Ashton Township has a total area of , of which (or 99.86%) is land and (or 0.14%) is water.
Cities, towns, villages Ashton
Cemeteries The township contains Ashton Cemetery.
Airports and landing strips Swords Heliport
Demographics As of the 2020 census there were 1,160 people, 435 households, and 260 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 517 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 90.17% White, 1.12% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 1.12% from other races, and 7.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.88% of the population.
There were 435 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.82% were married couples living together, 5.29% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 40.23% were non-families. 34.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.98.
The township's age distribution consisted of 21.2% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25% from 25 to 44, 34.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $50,958, and the median income for a family was $63,333. Males had a median income of $40,250 versus $22,907 for females. The per capita income for the township was $24,834. About 18.8% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.6% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
School districts Ashton Community Unit School District 275
Political districts Illinois's 14th congressional district State House District 90 State Senate District 45
References
United States Census Bureau 2009 TIGER/Line Shapefiles United States National Atlas
External links City-Data.com Illinois State Archives Township Officials of Illinois