Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Glen Carbon grades A− overall, ranked 236th of 767 in Illinois, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $97K. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 78% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $335K, 4.2 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. 51% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Glen Carbon, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Glen Carbon has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Glen Carbon Grade School and Glen Carbon Village Hall and Firehouse.
Where Glen Carbon’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 Glen Carbon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,348 in 1900, 13,842 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2017 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Glen Carbon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
15 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
8 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
14 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
15 mi Ancient sitePiasaCahokia: 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 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Piasa: Burfalcy, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Glen Carbon, 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 Glen Carbon.
Glen Carbon sends many workers across the state line to St. Louis, has less no health insurance than most of Illinois and is safe by national standards but not by Illinois’s.
Its widest gap with Illinois is no health insurance: 5.4% of those 18–64 have no health insurance, against 9.9% statewide.
9.3% of Glen Carbon adults smoke cigarettes. Glen Carbon beats the Illinois average on 14 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 18% of Glen Carbon adults get no exercise outside work.
| Glen Carbon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Glen Carbon | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.1% | 15.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
29% of working residents cross a state line to work, St. Louis among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Glen Carbon for work: only 4% work in town. 21% of workers work from home in Glen Carbon. Since 2013, Glen Carbon has added 421 jobs, to 4,236 in 2023.
| Glen Carbon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.9% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.9% | 8.4% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Glen Carbon has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Glen Carbon is 88°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Glen Carbon home is worth about $335,000, up 4% in a year, 13% above the Illinois typical home.
| Glen Carbon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,097 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 60% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Glen Carbon since 2023.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 15.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 56% of Illinois’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 244 to 146 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.7 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Greenspace East Park, at 81 acres. Glen Carbon’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Glen Carbon | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.2% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenspace East Park | — | 81 |
| 2. Ray M Schon Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 70 |
| 3. Miner Park | 0.2 mi | 17 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Glen Carbon
About 6 of every 100 Glen Carbon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
Village in Illinois, United States
Glen Carbon is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States, 14 miles (23 km) northeast of St. Louis. It is part of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 13,842 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Glen Carbon.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Carbon | #236 | A− | C+ | B | A− | A |
| Edwardsville | #105 | A | C− | A− | A− | A− |
| Maryville | #253 | A− | B− | A− | C+ | A− |
| Pontoon Beach | #759 | D− | B− | C | D− | C− |
| Edwardsville Township | #248 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Collinsville Township | #407 | B | B | — | C+ | B |
Edwardsville Township and Collinsville Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Glen Carbon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Glen Carbon grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #236 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A for health, B for safety and A− for schools.
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 C+.
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