Pierre Martin House · National Register of Historic Places
Sugar Loaf Township’s story
Sugar Loaf Township in pictures
The archive holds 6 maps from 1934 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Sugar Loaf TownshipIL
A town of 6,601. Public schools that outperform most of Illinois.
7 bordering townsMap →
Pierre Martin House · Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Population
6,601
2025 Census estimate · −5.1% since 2020
Median home value
$120K
Census ACS
Household income
$73K
median
Median age
37.8
years
Jobs based here
1,365
A commuter town
TownGrade
A−
#245 of 767 in IL
Is Sugar Loaf Township a good place to live?
Sugar Loaf Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $120K, 1.5 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades A− overall, 245th among Illinois's 767 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Pierre Martin House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Sugar Loaf Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 85% of U.S. towns. Stemler Cave Woods Nature Preserve, at 381 acres with 2.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
What makes Sugar Loaf Township stand out
Where Sugar Loaf Township beats most towns.
Comm Unit School District No 196
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bluffview Elem School | PK–6 | 501 |
| Dupo Jr High School | 7–8 | 124 |
| Dupo High School | 9–12 | 259 |
SchoolsB+
On state tests and graduation
NCES · EDFacts.
Pierre Martin HouseHistoryB+
1 historic place
1 place on the National Register
Listed for their history, architecture or both.
A commuter town
92% of working residents leave Sugar Loaf Township for work
Where Sugar Loaf Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
1,365jobs based in Sugar Loaf Township
8%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Sugar Loaf Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Sugar Loaf Township is from typical.
Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listDOpen →Cost of livingA−Open →SchoolsB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.8 of 20; 6.1% of households have no car; 0.7% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →HealthTouchette Regional Hospital 5.8 miles awayBOpen →Jobs & income$73K median household incomeBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors8% conserved landB+Open →History1 place on the National RegisterB+Open →Civic life1 library visits per resident; 0.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 59 attractions →Cahokia and 57 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Sugar Loaf Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw12 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
7 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
7 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
12 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
8 mi Stadium & arenaEnterprise CenterSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo 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 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Enterprise Center: Haaron755, CC BY-SA 3.0
.jpg){kind=link}
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Sugar Loaf Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sugar Loaf Township, and how to reach them.
PowerAmeren Illinois Company16.7¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterDupo water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers86% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNearest public drop-offDrop Off Recycling, 4 miOpenStreetMap
SchoolsDupo Community Unit School District 196Columbia Community Unit School District 42 districts serve Sugar Loaf Township; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES
Register to voteOnlineIn Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSt. Clair County ClerkSt. Clair County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2023
ZIP codes62239, 62240, 62236, 6226062239 64% · 62240 24% · 62236 10% · 62260 3%Census 2020
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 Sugar Loaf Township.
Sugar Loaf Township sends many workers across the state line, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Illinois (mostly inland flooding).
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D
Very high risk in Sugar Loaf Township, with inland flooding at the top
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of Illinois towns, with expected losses of about $697 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 2024, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Sugar Loaf Township.
83risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingEarthquakesHeat waves
2
paid flood claims since 2024
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
SchoolsB+
On state tests, Sugar Loaf Township’s schools beat 74% of Illinois districts
Its public schools are run by Community Unit School District No 196. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
74%of IL districts it outscoresB+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluffview Elem SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 501 | C+ |
| Dupo High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 259 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
OutdoorsB+
7.8% of Sugar Loaf Township is conserved land
That puts Sugar Loaf Township where Illinois’ towns sit at 3.6% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. 11 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
#347for trails in IL
| Sugar Loaf Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.8% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
7.8%
conserved · 1,564 of 20,155 acres
11 mi
of trails · 0.3 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stemler Cave Woods Nature Preserve | 2.5 mi | 381 |
| 2. Dupo Community Park | 0.6 mi | 22 |
| 3. American Legion Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Sugar Loaf Township’s workers commute out
39% of working residents cross a state line to work.
Most working residents leave Sugar Loaf Township for work: only 8% work in town. Since 2013, Sugar Loaf Township has added 140 jobs, to 1,365 in 2023. 6.2% of residents live below the poverty line in Sugar Loaf Township, below both Illinois’ towns (8.4%) and U.S. towns (9.6%).
8%work in town
| Sugar Loaf Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7.5% | 11% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
In Sugar Loaf Township8%
St. Louis12%
Dupo6%
Columbia6%
Belleville5%
12 mi
median commute distance
1,365
jobs based in Sugar Loaf Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
A typical July afternoon in Sugar Loaf Township is hotter than in most of Illinois or the rest of the country
Sugar Loaf Township’s July high is 89°F. Sugar Loaf Township has chilly winters and warm summers.
14″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter26–44°
Spring46–67°
Summer67–87°
Fall48–68°
Oct 26
typical first frost
Apr 8
typical last frost
+1.1°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB
Sugar Loaf Township ranks healthier than 61% of the country’s towns
Sugar Loaf Township beats the Illinois average on 6 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 19% of adults binge drink in Sugar Loaf Township.
61%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Sugar Loaf Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 6.8% | 7.9% | 8.1% |
32 measures vs. Illinois
6 better22 too close to call4 worse
| What stands out | Sugar Loaf Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.8% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.2% | 13.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.6% |
Touchette Regional Hospital
5.8 mi away · emergency room
3 of 3
care shortages: primary care, dental, mental health
45th
percentile among IL towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Sugar Loaf Township
18pages on Sugar Loaf Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
15 within 15 miles of the center of Sugar Loaf Township
Ponce Health Sciences University-St LouisUniversity or college · Private for-profit · St. Louis, MO8.2 miHarris-Stowe State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Saint Louis, MO8.3 mi$7,008 in-state tuitionSouthwestern Illinois CollegeCommunity college · Public · Belleville14.2 mi$3,960 in-state tuition
About 3 of every 100 Sugar Loaf Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
Sugar Loaf Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with Sugar Loaf Township.
Centreville TownshipStookey TownshipCahokia HeightsMillstadt TownshipDupoLemaySt. LouisSugar Loaf Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugar Loaf Township | #245 | A− | A− | — | B+ | B |
| Centreville Township | #721 | D | A− | — | D | D− |
| Stookey Township | #226 | A− | B | — | B+ | B |
| Cahokia Heights | — | — | C | — | D | — |
| Millstadt Township | #363 | B+ | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Dupo | #576 | C | A− | B− | C− | C+ |
Sugar Loaf Township, Centreville Township, Stookey Township, Cahokia Heights and Millstadt Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Cahokia Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Sugar Loaf Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Sugar Loaf Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Sugar Loaf Township, IL a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Sugar Loaf Township grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #245 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Sugar Loaf Township, IL expensive?
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−.