Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some subjects shine; others lag. Its strongest is cost of living — a typical home costs about $117K, 1.5 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. Wood River Township’s overall B+ puts it 355th of 767 in Illinois. Nationally, it does better than two thirds of U.S. towns. What holds it back is health: residents are less healthy than 63% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It lags on hazard risk as well (C): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 67% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. The biggest place to walk is Bethalto Sports Complex, 105 acres with 1.4 miles of trail. 17% of working residents work locally in the town, where Illinois’ towns sit at 8.3% and U.S. towns at 8%.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap · Census LEHD, 2023.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Wood River Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 84 in 1910, 10,464 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 7 maps from 1927 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wood River Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
7 mi Ancient sitePiasa
18 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
15 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
18 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 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Wood River Township.
Wood River Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes and trades workers with Edwardsville and other neighbors.
Walkers can cover 6.3 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. Wood River Township’s trail network density comes in at 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Wood River Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.1% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bethalto Sports Complex | 1.4 mi | 105 |
| 2. Steve Bryant Park | 1.1 mi | 29 |
| 3. Roxana Community Park | 0.5 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Two of the 19 schools are below, and why each made the list. The 4 public schools in Wood River Township teach 1,381 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilbur Trimpe Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 556 | B− |
| Civic Memorial High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 760 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Expect July afternoons of 88° and January nights of 23°, with about 11 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected losses in Wood River Township break down as 37% from inland flooding and 22% from earthquakes. Since 1978, Wood River Township has seen 101 flood insurance claims paid out. One declared disaster, in 2006, has brought federal aid to Wood River Township households.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 9,433 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wood River Township’s, it is healthier than 55%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Wood River Township, 40% have obesity and 15% report frequent physical distress. For adults in the town, the share who report frequent mental distress is 19%.
| Wood River Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wood River Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.6% | 10.3% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.3% |
| More smokers | 15.9% | 12.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Wood River Township has about as many jobs (11,141) as working residents, but only 2,206 people both live and work here.
Half the trips to work are shorter than 12 miles. In Wood River Township, 14% of residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Edwardsville (10%), Alton (9%) and St. Louis (7%). The town’s average commute stands at 23 minutes.
| Wood River Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
2 within 15 miles of the center of Wood River Township
About 6 of every 100 Wood River Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Illinois.
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)
9 towns share a border with Wood River Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood River Township | #355 | B+ | A | — | B | C+ |
| Alton · Alton Township | #734 | D | B+ | D | D | D |
| East Alton | #535 | C+ | A− | C | B | C− |
| Foster Township | #752 | D | C | — | D | C |
| Fort Russell Township | #306 | B+ | B− | — | A− | A− |
| Bethalto | #195 | A− | A− | B+ | B+ | B |
| Roxana | — | — | A+ | — | B+ | C |
| Chouteau Township | #577 | C | A+ | — | D− | C+ |
Roxana has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Wood River Township, Foster Township, Fort Russell Township, Roxana and Chouteau Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Alton Township and Alton are one community, graded once. Compare Wood River Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Wood River Township grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #355 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C.
Not for the 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.
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