Fort Russell TownshipIL
A town of 9,158.
Is Fort Russell Township a good place to live?
Fort Russell Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 306th among Illinois's 767 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 76% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 75% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $252K, 3.1 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. On history, just 124 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns do worse. 23% of residents are 65 or older in Fort Russell Township, against 19% in Illinois’ towns and 18% across U.S. towns.
What makes Fort Russell Township stand out
Where Fort Russell Township beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Fort Russell Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 9.9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Meadowbrook Intermediate Sch | 4–5 | 344 |
| Parkside Primary School | 2–3 | 321 |
| Zion Lutheran School | PK–8 | 317 |
97% of working residents leave Fort Russell Township for work
Where Fort Russell Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Fort Russell Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Fort Russell Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Fort Russell Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fort Russell 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fort Russell Township.
Fort Russell Township has less no health insurance than most of Illinois and sends most of its workers to Edwardsville and beyond.
For health, Fort Russell Township earns an A−
Its widest gap with Illinois is no health insurance: 6.2% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 9.9% statewide.
9.7% of Fort Russell Township adults have diabetes. Fort Russell Township beats the Illinois average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 12% of Fort Russell Township adults smoke cigarettes.
| Fort Russell Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 11% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 19% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Fort Russell Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.5% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For schools, Fort Russell Township earns an A−
Its public schools are run by Bethalto CUSD 8. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meadowbrook Intermediate SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades 4–5 | Grades 4–5 | 344 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Most working residents commute out of Fort Russell Township
Fort Russell Township has 852 jobs for its 4,417 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Fort Russell Township for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Fort Russell Township is 30 minutes. Jobs based in Fort Russell Township fell to 852 in 2023, 55 fewer than in 2013.
| Fort Russell Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 8.4% | 8% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 11% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fort Russell Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Fort Russell Township has chilly winters and warm summers. Fort Russell Township’s July high is 88°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Older than Illinois overall
People 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 38% across Illinois.
| Fort Russell Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 42.5 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women.
| Fort Russell Township | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.9% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.6% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.7% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.8% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.8% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.2% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.4% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.6% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.6% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
High risk in Fort Russell Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 63% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fort Russell Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fort Russell Township has set aside 0.5% of its land for conservation
5.6 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves.
| Fort Russell Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bethalto Central Park | 0.2 mi | 9 |
| 2. Khoury League Park | — | 8 |
| 3. Bethalto Arboretum | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cahokia and 52 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fort Russell Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw21 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
21 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
12 mi Ancient sitePiasa
16 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
20 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a yearPhoto credits
Cahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Piasa: Burfalcy, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Everything we know about Fort Russell Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Fort Russell Township
About 3 of every 100 Fort Russell Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
About Fort Russell Township
Township in Illinois, United States
Fort Russell Township is located in Madison County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,146 and it contained 3,903 housing units. With Moro, Meadowbrook, and Holiday Shores being notable communities within the Township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 37 sq mi
- Elevation
- 492 ft
Fort Russell Township’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Fort Russell Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Russell Township | #306 | B+ | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Wood River Township | #355 | B+ | A | — | B | C+ |
| Hamel Township | #211 | A− | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Edwardsville Township | #248 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Moro Township | #431 | B | C | — | A− | B+ |
| Roxana | — | — | A+ | — | B+ | C |
| Bethalto | #195 | A− | A− | B+ | B+ | B |
Roxana has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Fort Russell Township, Wood River Township, Hamel Township, Edwardsville Township, Moro Township and Roxana report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fort Russell Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Fort Russell Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fort Russell Township, IL a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Fort Russell Township grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #306 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health and A− for schools.
Is Fort Russell Township, IL expensive?
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 B−.