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Brighton, Illinois

Brighton is a small town of about 2,200 people in Macoupin County, Illinois. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, St. Louis, is about 29 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,162
down 2.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$145,000
Macoupin County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$80,214
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Alton, IL
To St. Louis
29 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.9% below the U.S. average in the St. Louis metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Southwestern High School, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAlton Memorial Hospital in Alton, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 29 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Brighton meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$145,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Macoupin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$815 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$80,214U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
83%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,652 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
5%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.1U.S. average = 100 (the St. Louis metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not Brighton alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
2,1622020: 2,215
Median age
37.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
23%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (18%); retail (17%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
33 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Alton Memorial Hospital, Alton, IL, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Brighton, run by Southwestern CUSD 9. The nearest public high school is Southwestern High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Illinois's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
74%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
19°F
July average high
86°F
Days 90°F or hotter
29 a year
Nights at or below freezing
118 a year
Rain and melted snow
39.8 inches a year
Snow
16 inches a year
Elevation
661 feet

Weather stations: Jerseyville 2 SW (12 miles away) and Medora 1 S (8 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Alton Memorial Hospital, Florissant, St. Louis.

Macoupin County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Gateway Arch National Park28 miles
  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site36 miles
  • Lincoln Home National Historic Site59 miles
  • Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument59 miles

Read about Brighton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Brighton?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Shipman, IL504 people, 7 miles
  • Medora, IL365 people, 9 miles
  • Moro, IL (unincorporated)524 people, 10 miles
  • Royal Lakes, IL171 people, 11 miles
  • Prairietown, IL (unincorporated)183 people, 13 miles
  • West Alton, MO354 people, 13 miles
  • Elsah, IL539 people, 13 miles
  • Portage Des Sioux, MO321 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.