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Downers Grove, Illinois

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1908 and the latest in 1998. It stands in Downers Grove Township. It lies in ZIP code area 60515. The Survey maps it on the Wheaton quadrangle. 50,247 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 705 feet above sea level.

Downers Grove within DuPage County

On record in Downers Grove

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Downers Grove grew from 47,833 to 50,247 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201047,833
202050,247+2,414 (+5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 21 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

3,959 words on this township

History Of Dupage County (1857), published 1857 has no passage naming this settlement, which was common for smaller places. Its township is covered in full.

The chapter on Downers Grove Township covers the township.

Read the chapter on Downers Grove Township - 3,959 words.

Fires near this place

1 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Downers Grove in 2005, burning under an acre in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
25 June 2005Naturalunder an acreIllinois State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in DuPage County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Downers Grove: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Downers Grove City PitStonePast Producer
Kugler PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed Limestone QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in DuPage County

Storms near this place

38 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Downers Grove in 38 storm reports between 1997 and 2026: 23 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 3 flood, 3 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2015Tornado (EF0)Downers Grove$50,000A brief EF-0 tornado touched down in DuPage county in Downers Grove. Maximum winds were estimated at 70 mph, with a path length of 0.25 miles and path width of 50-75 yards. A few hardwood trees snapped, one snapped a power pole and caused minor garage damage. Also a car parked underneath pole was crushed.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove$25,000Tree limbs as large as 18 inches in diameter were blown down between the intersections of 63rd and Main Street and 59th Street and Fairview. Structural damage was also reported to roofs.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove$1,000Numerous tree branches 18 to 24 inches in diameter were blown down. Power lines were blown down. The road was blocked on 63rd Street between Fairview Avenue and Belmont Road.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Large tree branches were downed at multiple residences near Lacey Rd and Ogden Ave in Downers Grove.
June 2025FloodDowners Grove-An NWS employee reported standing water in a few spots along Ogden Ave east of Finley Rd.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A photo showed a large tree limb that was snapped.
August 2025Flash FloodDowners Grove-A report was received via mPing of street flooding north of 55th St west of Fairview Ave in Downers Grove.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Highland Ave in Downers Grove was closed at 31st St due to downed power lines.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Several large tree limbs 6 to 12 inches in diameter were downed near 59th and Carpenter Streets in Downers Grove.
June 2024Tornado (EF0)Downers Grove-A brief tornado touched down near Fairview Avenue and 38th Street in Oak Brook. The first damage was noted along Ridgewood Court and 38th Street, where multiple trees had large branches broken. The tornado moved generally to the southeast, entering Downers Grove near Cumnor Road and 39th Street, where damage was noted to numerous trees. Minor damage was also noted to the cupola of a nearby residence. The tornado moved through the Longmeadow neighborhood, continuing to damage numerous trees. In some areas, the most significant tree damage was noted just above roof level. The tornado slightly intensified near 41st Street and Williams Street, where a few homes had minor roofing damage and numerous trees had large branches broken. Debris from damaged fences was blown in a somewhat convergent pattern toward 41st Street on opposite sides of the street. The tornado appeared to dissipate just southeast of this area as it approached Westmont. The peak wind of this tornado was estimated at 80 mph.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Widespread damage to trees on the north side of Downers Grove was determined to be the result of a severe straight-line winds with magnitude up to 70 mph.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-The steeple of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church was heavily damaged and left leaning by severe straight line winds.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Tree damage was reported in Downers Grove.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A tree was uprooted near Fairview and Ogden in Downers Grove.
July 2023Flash FloodDowners Grove-An NWS employee reported as many as 6 inches of standing water on Main St in Downers Grove between 63rd St and 75th St.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Numerous small tree limbs were blown down across southern Downers Grove.
September 2022FloodDowners Grove-Photos shared on social media showed portions of Hummer Park were flooded from the north branch of St. Joseph Creek. The park was designed to flood in heavy rain events. Rainfall of 4.78 inches was measured in Downers Grove with 2.87 inches falling in one hour ending at 7:45 am CST.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Several trees were blown down in Downers Grove.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Two roughly 6 inch diameter tree limbs were blown down on Maple Avenue.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Part of a tree was snapped off.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A large tree was blown down.
July 2019Flash FloodDowners Grove-Fairview Avenue was closed due to flooding where it crosses the north branch of the St. Joseph Creek.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A tree branch 6 to 7 inches in diameter was blown down near 63rd Street and Fairview Avenue.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A gust to 59 mph was measured at Whittier School.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A 14 inch diameter tree was uprooted near the intersection of Fairview Avenue and Gierz Street.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-An 18 inch diameter tree limb was blown down near Lincoln and Fairview Avenues.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A large tree was blown over.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A twelve inch diameter tree was blown down near 55th and Carpenter Streets. Small tree limbs were also blown down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-A large portion of a tree was blown down blocking part of Main Street.
June 2007HailDowners Grove-Nickel size hail reported at Interstate 355 and Finley Road.
August 2007FloodDowners Grove-Three to four inches of water on Main Street between 63rd and 55th Streets.
March 2005Thunderstorm WindDowners Grove-Power lines down and new homes under construction had walls knocked down.
April 2003HailDowners Grove-Reported at 63rd Street and Fairview Avenue.
March 2026HailDowners Grove-no account filed
April 2020HailDowners Grove-no account filed
August 2003HailDowners Grove-no account filed
September 2000HailDowners Grove-no account filed
June 1997HailDowners Grove-no account filed

Every storm recorded in DuPage County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Belmont1.8 miles21
Westmont2.1 miles23
Highland Hills2.8 miles21
Clarendon Hills3.1 miles23
Valley View3.3 miles21
Arboretum Estates3.4 miles21
Lisle3.4 miles21
York Center3.5 miles23

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Downers GroveAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1007011The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 421767. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.