Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brighton Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $166K for a typical one, or 2.1 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades A− overall, 216th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. Brighton Township’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, where Illinois’ towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes.
Where Brighton Township beats most towns.
Where Brighton Township’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 Brighton Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 691 in 1880, 2,221 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2008 and 2 maps from 1925 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brighton 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 Brighton Township.
Brighton Township sends most of its workers to Alton and beyond, but it has little public open land.
Brighton Township has 325 jobs for its 1,741 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Brighton Township for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Brighton Township has lost 34 jobs, to 325 in 2023. The top destinations are Alton (10%), Edwardsville (5%) and St.
| Brighton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.7% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Southwestern CUSD 9. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton North Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 293 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Brighton Township has chilly winters and warm summers. Brighton Township’s July high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Brighton Township beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 18% of adults binge drink in Brighton Township.
| Brighton Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 37% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 6.7% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Brighton Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.8% | 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 lower than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Just 48 of its 23,223 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Brighton Township itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Betsy Ann Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Brighton Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
12 mi Ancient sitePiasa
30 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
29 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
27 mi LandmarkMonks MoundCahokia: 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 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Brighton Township
About 4 of every 100 Brighton Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Brighton is a village located mostly in Macoupin County and partially in Jersey County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 2,221.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Brighton Township.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Piasa Township (B+) comes closest.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton Township | #216 | A− | A− | — | B | B |
| Foster Township | #752 | D | C | — | D | C |
| Bunker Hill Township | #383 | B | A | — | C | B− |
| Piasa Township | #318 | B+ | A− | — | B | B |
| Shipman Township | — | — | A+ | — | B | B |
Shipman Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Brighton Township, Foster Township, Bunker Hill Township, Piasa Township and Shipman Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brighton Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Brighton Township grades A− overall, better than 82% of U.S. towns and #216 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health 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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