Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
21% of residents live below the poverty line in Alton Township, above both Illinois’ towns (8.4%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Gordon F. Moore Community Park, at 220 acres with 3.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. We don’t grade Alton Township yet; the figures below are still real.
Where Alton Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 2,340 in 1840, a peak of 43,047 in 1960, 25,676 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 7 maps from 1927 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Alton Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi State parkCahokia
in town Ancient sitePiasa
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
20 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
19 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
18 mi LandmarkMonks MoundCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · Piasa: Burfalcy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Alton Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Alton Township.
Its public schools are run by Alton CUSD 11. Two of its 12 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,220 | C− |
| Journeys SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts
Alton Township has chilly winters and warm summers. At 88°F, Alton Township’s July high is where Illinois’ towns sit at 84°F and U.S. towns at 85°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in 5 of Alton Township’s working residents works in town. The median household income in Alton Township is $55,000. Since 2013, Alton Township has lost 881 jobs, to 12,807 in 2023.
| Alton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $55,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9.7% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Alton Township beats the Illinois average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 43% of adults have obesity in Alton Township.
| Alton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Alton Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.5% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6.3% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 11.1% | 7.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
8.1 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves.
| Alton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gordon F. Moore Community Park | 3.1 mi | 220 |
| 2. Riverfront Park | 0.7 mi | 29 |
| 3. Russel Commons Park | 0.7 mi | 21 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 116 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alton Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Alton Township
About 4 of every 100 Alton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
City in the United States
Alton ( AWL-tən) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about 18 miles (29 km) north of St. Louis, Missouri. Its population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. It is well known for its limestone bluffs along the river north of the city, and it is the former location of an historical state penitentiary and played a significant role preceding and during the American Civil War. It was the site of the last Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debate in October 1858. The former state penitentiary in Alton was used during the Civil War to hold up to 12,000 Con…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Alton Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Alton | #734 | D | B+ | D | D | D |
| Wood River Township | #355 | B+ | A | — | B | C+ |
| Godfrey | #530 | C+ | B | — | D | B+ |
| East Alton | #535 | C+ | A− | C | B | C− |
| Foster Township | #752 | D | C | — | D | C |
Wood River Township, Godfrey and Foster Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Alton Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Alton Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
We don’t grade Alton Township yet; the figures below are still real.
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