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Towns / Illinois

East Alton, Illinois

East Alton is a suburb of about 5,600 people in Madison County, Illinois, in the Alton area. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.2 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 19 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Alton

Population
5,621
down 2.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$106,700
Madison County prices up 22% since 2022
Household income
$48,815
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Alton, IL
To St. Louis
19 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 2.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood19 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town6 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byAlton Memorial Hospital in Alton, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 19 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 East Alton 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

East Alton runs into the built-up area around Alton (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$106,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 22%Madison County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$881 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,815U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,323 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 22% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not East Alton 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
5,6212020: 5,769
Median age
45.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%
College students
7%share of all residents

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 (26%); retail (18%); manufacturing (10%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
22 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%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 3 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

6 public schools in East Alton, run by East Alton SD 13 and Wood River-Hartford ESD 15.

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
70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
84%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
22°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
29 a year
Nights at or below freezing
85 a year
Rain and melted snow
45.9 inches a year
Snow
11 inches a year
Elevation
441 feet

Weather stations: Alton - Melvin Price L&d (3 miles away) and Edwardsville 2 W (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.

Madison 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 Park18 miles
  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site26 miles

Read about East Alton's history on Wikipedia.

Know East Alton?

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

  • Moro, IL (unincorporated)524 people, 5 miles
  • West Alton, MO354 people, 5 miles
  • Mitchell, IL (unincorporated)1,092 people, 8 miles
  • Prairietown, IL (unincorporated)183 people, 11 miles
  • Castle Point, MO (unincorporated)2,340 people, 12 miles
  • Portage Des Sioux, MO321 people, 13 miles
  • Elsah, IL539 people, 14 miles
  • Flordell Hills, MO702 people, 14 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.