Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 26/100
F
Median home value$103,700
St. Louis $244,800
Median rent$1,015/mo
St. Louis $1,113/mo
Cost-burdened households36%
St. Louis 26%
Alton
Madison County25,279 residents2 school districts
45
D
Suburbgrade score
52nd of 60 St. Louis suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
45
St. Louis median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Alton yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 45 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Alton is like to live in, by category
Bars show Alton against St. Louis. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 34/100
F
Within-state proficiency15th pct
St. Louis median 68th pct
Student–teacher ratio15.3
St. Louis median 14.5
Graduation rate—
St. Louis median 94%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 59/100
C
Housing cost index78
St. Louis 100
Eff. tax rate1.80%
St. Louis 1.16%
Local sales tax8.96%
St. Louis median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 60/100
C
Mean commute22.7 min
St. Louis 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes69%
St. Louis 65%
Transit stops / sq mi0.1
St. Louis median 1.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 63/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés45
St. Louis median 32 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
St. Louis median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks26
St. Louis median 21 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median household income$54,568
St. Louis $80,196
Unemployment5.4%
St. Louis 4.2%
Professional occupations35%
St. Louis 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Alton yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Alton on housing & affordability
Alton's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Creve Coeur23 mi from AltonB+ 76 B Clayton20 mi from AltonB 77 B Webster Groves25 mi from AltonB 76 B Old Jamestown9 mi from AltonB− 49 D+ O'Fallon25 mi from AltonC 62 C St. Charles21 mi from AltonC 69 B− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Alton
Is Alton, IL a good place to live?
Alton scores 45 out of 100, 52nd of 60 St. Louis suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Alton expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $103,700, 58% below the St. Louis median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.80%. $1,015/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Alton?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Alton sit at the 15th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 15.3 student–teacher ratio. Alton is served by Alton Cusd 11 and Bethalto Consolidated Unit School District 8. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Alton?
The mean commute is 22.7 min, with 69% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.7% working from home. Transit density is 0.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Alton?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 45 restaurants and cafés and 26 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Alton old or new?
The median home in Alton was built in 1953 — older than the St. Louis median of 1973. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 77% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.