Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bethalto gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $203K, 2.5 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades A− overall, ranked 195th of 767 in Illinois. Bethalto Village Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. 23% of residents are 65 or older in Bethalto, above both Illinois’ towns (19%) and U.S. towns (18%). The biggest place to walk is Bethalto Sports Complex, 98 acres with 1.4 miles of trail.
Where Bethalto beats most towns.
Where Bethalto’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Bethalto is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 628 in 1880, a low of 447 in 1910, 9,310 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 7 maps from 1927 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bethalto, 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 Bethalto.
Bethalto pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
2.9 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Bethalto | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bethalto Sports Complex | 1.4 mi | 98 |
| 2. Steve Bryant Park | 1.1 mi | 28 |
| 3. Bethalto Central Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave Bethalto for work: only 8% work in town. Bethalto’s median household income is $65,000. The top destinations are Edwardsville (10%), Alton (9%) and St.
| Bethalto | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $65,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bethalto grades A− overall with a typical home of about $203K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that.
Typical home values rose 5.9% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Bethalto is $981 a month.
| Bethalto | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $981 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 113 to 57 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Bethalto has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). 30% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois. 21% of residents are under 18 in Bethalto.
| Bethalto | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 29% | 29% |
53% women, 47% men
About 89 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.7 points). Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Bethalto | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.3% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.2% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 10.9% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.9% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.2% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.1% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.3% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.6% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.7% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.3% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.1% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Against the 9,895 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bethalto’s, it is healthier than 83%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Bethalto beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 34% of Bethalto adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Bethalto | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 35% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 23% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 37% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| What stands out | Bethalto | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.1% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 12.4% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.7% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bethalto.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bethalto. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
8 mi Ancient sitePiasa
21 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
17 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
20 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a yearCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Piasa: Burfalcy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Bethalto
About 5 of every 100 Bethalto residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in the metropolitan area of St. Louis, Missouri
Bethalto is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. Bethalto, like the rest of Madison County, is part of the Illinois Metro East portion of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Early in its history, the village was a railway town along the Terre Haute and Alton Railroad. In the 19th century, industry in the town included milling of grain from local farms and coal mining. In the early 20th century, the railroad was rerouted to go through nearby Edwardsville. By the mid 20th century, the rail industry had pulled out entirely and the village became known as a bedroom town. At the 2020 census, the population of Bethalto was 9,310.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Bethalto.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethalto | #195 | A− | A− | B+ | B+ | B |
| Rosewood Heights | #111 | A | A+ | — | B | B− |
| Wood River | #495 | B− | A | C | C | B− |
| Wood River Township | #355 | B+ | A | — | B | C+ |
| Foster Township | #752 | D | C | — | D | C |
| Fort Russell Township | #306 | B+ | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Moro Township · Moro | #431 | B | C | — | A− | B+ |
Rosewood Heights, Wood River Township, Foster Township, Fort Russell Township and Moro Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Moro and Moro Township are one community, graded once. Compare Bethalto with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bethalto grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #195 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health, B+ for safety and B+ for schools.
Not for the area. Louis, MO-IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
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