Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Waterloo’s best grade is for incomes: the median household earns $99K. The trade-off is hazard risk (C): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than three fifths of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Homes run about $323K for a typical one, 4 times the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns. That places it 53rd of 767 in Illinois. This Illinois town has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Peterstown House and Waterloo Historic District. Waterloo's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 88% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Lakeview Park, at 112 acres.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Waterloo beats most towns.
Peterstown House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| W J Zahnow Elem School | PK–1 | 487 |
| Rogers Elem School | 2–3 | 417 |
| Gardner Elementary School | 4–5 | 374 |
Its founding year, 1818, comes before those of 96% of the Illinois towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 791 in 1850, 11,013 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1933 and 5 maps from 1910 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Waterloo is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Waterloo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
20 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
19 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
31 mi Theme parkMid America Adventure
23 mi LandmarkMonks MoundCahokia: 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 · Mid America Adventure: Chris Hagerman from New Port Richey, FL, US, CC BY 2.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Waterloo, 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 Waterloo.
Waterloo pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and sends many workers across the state line to St. Louis.
Its A− for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $323K.
The public schools here belong to Waterloo CUSD 5. The largest public high school is Waterloo High School, with 876 students. Three of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waterloo Junior High SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 613 | A− |
| Waterloo High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 876 | A− |
| Rogers Elem SchoolTop results in townGrades 2–3 | Grades 2–3 | 417 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 8.8% of its 8,509 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
15% of Waterloo adults say their health is fair or poor, below both Illinois’ towns (18%) and U.S. towns (19%). Of 32 CDC measures, Waterloo beats the Illinois average on 9 and trails it on 2. For adults in the town, the share who worry about having enough food is 8.8%.
| Waterloo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 23% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 8.8% | 13% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Waterloo | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.8% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
32% of working residents cross a state line to work, St. Louis among the top destinations.
The share of residents in Waterloo who live below the poverty line: 5.9%. Just 16% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The top destinations are St. Louis (11%), Columbia (5%) and Belleville (5%). Since 2013, Waterloo has added 245 jobs, to 3,219 in 2023.
| Waterloo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 11% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The range runs from 24° on a January night to 88° on a July afternoon, with about 9 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In 7 parks and preserves, walkers have 1.6 miles of trail. The density of trails for Waterloo comes to 0.2 miles per square mile, against 0.3 in Illinois’ towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Waterloo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.4% | 3.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Konarcik Park | 0.3 mi | 61 |
| 2. Lakeview Park | 0.1 mi | 112 |
| 3. Waterloo Fairgounds | — | 32 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (23% statewide). Here, 37% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 38% in Illinois as a whole. Just over a fifth of residents are 65 or older in Waterloo.
| Waterloo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 37% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Median age | 41.5 years | 40.7 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.9 points. Across Illinois, 50.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 43.1, men 39.8.
| Waterloo | IL | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.7% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.2% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.7% | 13.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 13.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.3% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.9% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.7% | 10% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.9% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.3% | 9.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23% | 25.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.9% | 19.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 8.3% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23.5% | 22.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 15.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Expected losses in Waterloo break down as 26% from earthquakes and 23% from inland flooding. Households here have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2013. Also worth knowing: 3 flood insurance claims have been paid in the town since 1993.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes are within reach (about $323K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 21 miles.
Home values are up 2.4% over the year to September 2026. The midpoint rent for Waterloo comes to $886 a month. Bidding over the asking price: 25% of homes sold in the town.
| Waterloo | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $886 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Waterloo; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Waterloo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
9,811 counted in 2010 and 11,013 in 2020; an estimated 11,132 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 places in Waterloo on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Illinois, United States
Waterloo is a city in and county seat of Monroe County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,013 at the 2020 census, up from 9,811 in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Waterloo grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #53 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A− for health and A− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
.jpg){kind=link}
