Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wood River gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $134K, 1.7 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 495th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 77% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 16% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wood River, below both the Illinois town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). The biggest park or preserve is Belk Park, at 31 acres.
Where Wood River beats most towns.
Where Wood River’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 Wood River is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 84 in 1910, 10,464 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1961 and 7 maps from 1927 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wood River. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
7 mi Ancient sitePiasa
18 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
14 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
17 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a yearCahokia: 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 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wood River, 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 Wood River.
Wood River is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay.
At 1.7 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income, the typical home (about $134K) costs less against local pay than in 88% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,133, against $5,298 across Illinois, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Wood River home is worth about $134,000, up 4.1% in a year, 55% below the Illinois typical home. Wood River’s median rent is $936 a month.
| Wood River | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 67% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $936 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Wood River for work: only 7% work in town. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Wood River. The top destinations are Edwardsville (10%), Alton (8%) and St.
| Wood River | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 11% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1978, 21 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wood River.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The property crime rate in Wood River is 17 per 1,000 residents.
| Wood River | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 17 per 1,000 residents | 7.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.7 per 1,000 residents | 1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Wood River has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves.
| Wood River | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sixth Street Park | 0.4 mi | 17 |
| 2. Wood River Central Park | 0.3 mi | 6 |
| 3. Belk Park | — | 31 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 9,549 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wood River’s, it is healthier than 68%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Wood River beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 19% of Wood River adults binge drink.
| Wood River | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 33% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| What stands out | Wood River | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.8% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.5% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Wood River
About 6 of every 100 Wood River residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
7 notable people were born in Wood River.
City in Illinois, United States
Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois. The population was 10,464 as of the 2020 census. Wood River developed as a company town around a Standard Oil refinery built in 1907 and 1908 and was chartered as a city in 1923. The community lies near the site of Camp River Dubois, the winter staging camp of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a heritage reflected in the city's motto, "Progressing in the Spirit of Lewis & Clark."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Wood River.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood River | #495 | B− | A | C | C | B− |
| Rosewood Heights | #111 | A | A+ | — | B | B− |
| East Alton | #535 | C+ | A− | C | B | C− |
| Roxana | — | — | A+ | — | B+ | C |
| Bethalto | #195 | A− | A− | B+ | B+ | B |
| Hartford | — | — | A+ | — | C− | C |
Roxana and Hartford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Rosewood Heights, Roxana and Hartford report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wood River with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wood River grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #495 of 767 in Illinois. It grades B− for health, C for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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.
7 notable people were born here, including Jean Stothert and Ken Retzer.
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