Metro East

Metro East is a region in Illinois that comprises the eastern suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties (and parts of three others) in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. The region's most populated city is Belleville at 45,000 residents. The Metro East is the second largest urban area in Illinois after the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census the population of the Metro East statistical area is 599,845. As of 2010, the same area has a noted population above 700,000.

The Metro East is a loose collection of small and mid-sized cities sitting along the American Bottom and the bluffs of the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, there has been a major shift in population from the older rust belt industrial cities in the bottom, such as East St. Louis and Alton, to the more suburban satellite cities, such as, Belleville and Ofallon sitting on the bluffs. This is mainly due to continued white flight. The Metro East is connected with the Missouri by the Metro Link rail service.

The middle class suburban communities of Greater St. Louis' Metro East are getting good reviews for being a family friendly environment, such as when a 2010 issue of Family Circle magazine named Edwardsville third on their "Top 10 Best Towns for Families".



Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the five counties of the region have a total area of 6,974 km² (2,692 mi²). 6,787 km² (2,620 mi²) of it is land and 186 km² (71 mi²) of it (2.74%) is water.

As of the 2010 census, the most populated cities in the region include

Principal cities City populations
 * -valign="top"
 * Belleville
 * Granite City
 * O'Fallon
 * Alton
 * East St. Louis
 * Collinsville
 * Edwardsville
 * 44,478
 * 29,849
 * 28,281
 * 27,865
 * 27,006
 * 26,016
 * 24,293
 * }

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 599,845 people, 229,888 households, and 160,260 families residing in the five Metro-East counties.

The most common language is English, although various other languages are spoken. German speakers exist in southeastern Madison, and Clinton, and southern and eastern St. Clair Counties. Spanish is spoken in the Fairmont City area, and in parts of Clinton County. The largest concentration of African-Americans is in Madison, Venice, western Granite City, East St. Louis, Washington Park, Belleville, and Alton. Secondary languages tend to be cultural or reminiscent of ancestry, and not related to the general business of the area.

List of counties

 * Clinton
 * Jersey
 * Madison
 * Monroe
 * St. Clair
 * Bond (partial)
 * Calhoun (partial)
 * Macoupin (partial)
 * Washington

List of cities, towns, and villages
Notes:
 * ^ means part of city in another county(ies)
 * Bold indicates County Seat

Clinton County

 * -valign="top"
 * Albers
 * Aviston
 * Bartelso
 * Beckemeyer
 * Breese
 * Carlyle
 * Centralia ^ (Also in Marion County)
 * Damiansville
 * Germantown
 * Huey
 * Keyesport ^ (Also in Bond County)
 * New Baden ^ (Also in St. Clair County)
 * Trenton
 * Wamac ^ (Also in Washington and Marion Counties)
 * }
 * Wamac ^ (Also in Washington and Marion Counties)
 * }

Jersey County

 * -valign="top"
 * Brighton ^ (Also in Macoupin County)
 * Chautauqua
 * Delhi
 * Dow
 * Elsah
 * Fidelity
 * Fieldon
 * Grafton
 * Jerseyville
 * Otterville
 * }
 * Otterville
 * }

Madison County

 * -valign="top"
 * Alhambra
 * Alton
 * Bethalto
 * Collinsville ^ (Also in St. Clair County)
 * Dorsey
 * East Alton
 * Edwardsville
 * Fairmont City ^ (Also in St. Clair County)
 * Glen Carbon
 * Godfrey
 * Granite City
 * Hamel
 * Highland
 * Livingston
 * Madison
 * Marine
 * Maryville
 * New Douglas
 * Pierron ^ (Also in Bond County)
 * Pontoon Beach
 * Roxana
 * South Roxana
 * Troy
 * Venice
 * Wood River
 * Worden
 * }
 * Venice
 * Wood River
 * Worden
 * }

St. Clair County

 * -valign="top"
 * Alorton
 * Belleville
 * Brooklyn
 * Cahokia
 * Caseyville
 * Centreville
 * Collinsville ^ (Also in Madison County)
 * Dupo
 * East St. Louis
 * Fairmont City ^ (Also in Madison County)
 * Fairview Heights
 * Fayetteville
 * Freeburg
 * Lebanon
 * Lenzburg
 * Marissa
 * Mascoutah
 * Millstadt
 * New Athens
 * O'Fallon
 * St. Libory
 * Sauget
 * Scott AFB
 * Shiloh
 * Swansea
 * Washington Park
 * }
 * Swansea
 * Washington Park
 * }
 * }

Colleges and universities

 * Greenville College
 * Kaskaskia College
 * Lewis and Clark Community College
 * McKendree University
 * The Principia
 * Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
 * Southwestern Illinois College

State routes

 * -valign="top"
 * Illinois Route 3
 * Illinois Route 4
 * Illinois Route 13
 * Illinois Route 15
 * Illinois Route 16
 * Illinois Route 100
 * Illinois Route 109
 * Illinois Route 111
 * Illinois Route 127
 * Illinois Route 140
 * Illinois Route 143
 * Illinois Route 153
 * Illinois Route 156
 * Illinois Route 157
 * Illinois Route 158
 * Illinois Route 159
 * Illinois Route 160
 * Illinois Route 161
 * Illinois Route 162
 * Illinois Route 163
 * Illinois Route 177
 * Illinois Route 203
 * Illinois Route 255 (An extension of I-255)
 * Illinois Route 267
 * }
 * Illinois Route 203
 * Illinois Route 255 (An extension of I-255)
 * Illinois Route 267
 * }

U.S. routes

 * U.S. Route 40
 * U.S. Route 50
 * U.S. Route 51
 * U.S. Route 66 (Historical Route Designation)
 * U.S. Route 67

Interstate freeways

 * I-55
 * I-64
 * I-70
 * I-255
 * I-270

Major employers

 * Anheuser-Busch
 * Boeing
 * Charter Communications
 * Scott Air Force Base
 * Monsanto
 * National Steel
 * U.S. Steel
 * Olin Corporation
 * Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
 * Norrenberns Trucking
 * Illinois Department of Transportation
 * Korte Construction
 * ConocoPhillips Wood River Refinery

Tourist attractions

 * -valign="top"
 * National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Centreville, near Belleville; operated by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
 * Brooks Catsup Bottle, Collinsville
 * Cahokia Mounds, Collinsville, on Madison-St. Clair County line
 * GCS Ballpark, Sauget
 * Pere Marquette State Park, Grafton
 * Raging Rivers Water Park, Grafton
 * The Game, Glen Carbon
 * St. Clair Square Mall, Fairview Heights
 * Robert Wadlow Statue, Alton
 * Horseshoe Lake, Pontoon Beach, Madison, and Granite City
 * Alton Square Mall, Alton
 * Carlyle Lake, Carlyle
 * }
 * Carlyle Lake, Carlyle
 * }

Residents, historic figures, and contributors

 * -valign="top"
 * Jason Boyd, Edwardsville, AAA pitcher
 * Jimmy Connors, East St. Louis and Belleville, world-famous tennis player
 * Buddy Ebsen, Belleville, Television Actor
 * Brian Daubach, Belleville, former MLB 1B/DH/Outfielder
 * Miles Davis, East St. Louis and Alton, world-famous jazz artist
 * Jay Farrar, Belleville, musician
 * Norm Greenberg, Belleville, Metro-East television personality
 * Scott Wolf, Belleville, Actor
 * Louis Jolliet, explorer of the Mississippi River
 * Jackie Joyner-Kersee East St. Louis, athlete
 * Ken Kwapis Belleville, Film/Television director and producer
 * Mark Little, Edwardsville, AAA outfielder
 * Père Jacques Marquette, French discoverer
 * Laurie Metcalf, Edwardsville, Film/Television actress (Rosanne, Uncle Buck, JFK)
 * Peter Sarsgaard, Belleville/Scott AFB, Actor (Flightplan, Jarhead, Green Lantern)
 * Jeff Tweedy, Belleville, lead singer of the band Wilco
 * Uncle Tupelo, Belleville, alternative country band
 * Robert Pershing Wadlow, Alton, World's Tallest Man
 * William Holden, O'Fallon, Hollywood actor
 * Michael Stipe, Collinsville, lead singer of the band REM
 * Josephine Baker, East St. Louis, performer and activist
 * Senator Richard J. Durbin, East St. Louis, U.S. senator
 * T. J. Mathews, Columbia, former MLB pitcher
 * Neal Cotts, Lebanon, Pitcher currently playing for the Chicago Cubs
 * }
 * Lea DeLaria, Belleville, Jazz Singer, Actress, and Comedian
 * Ray Bradbury, Belleville, Science Fiction Author
 * Ray Bradbury, Belleville, Science Fiction Author

St. Louis Area TV stations

 * Note: This list is for the entire Metro-East area, however, the low-powered stations may not reach the entire 5-county Metro-East area. WSIU, despite not being based from the St. Louis DMA, is available in Clinton, Washington, and most of St. Clair.

Champaign-Urbana/Decatur/Springfield Area TV stations

 * Note: This list is for Jersey County, however, the majority of these stations are not available for most Jersey County residents. These stations are more likely to be available in Greene and Macoupin counties, which border Jersey County.

Paducah/Cape Girardeau/Harrisburg Area TV stations

 * Note: This list is for St. Clair, and Clinton counties, however, the majority of the stations, with the exception of WSIU and WPXS and possibly KFVS, are not available for a majority of the St. Clair, and/or Clinton County residents. These stations are more likely to be available in Washington County and the Centralia area.

Daily newspapers

 * Note: daily newspaper coverage depends on county.


 * Alton Telegraph (Madison, Jersey counties)
 * Belleville News-Democrat (region-wide)
 * Centralia Sentinel (Clinton and Washington counties)
 * Southern Illinoisan (mainly in Washington County, rarely found elsewhere in Metro-East)
 * St. Louis Post-Dispatch (region wide)
 * Edwardsville Intelligencer (Madison County)

Radio stations

 * Note: stations listed are licensed and have offices in Metro-East counties only.  Stations that can be heard in the Metro-East but not listed have offices outside the Metro-East counties.


 * -valign="top"
 * WSIE 88.7 FM (Edwardsville), jazz/public radio
 * WLCA 89.9 FM (Godfrey), alternative/college radio
 * WRXX 95.3 FM (Centralia), pop
 * WFUN 95.5 FM (Bethalto), hip-hop
 * WDLJ 97.5 FM (Carlyle), classic rock
 * KATZ 100.3 FM (Alton), urban
 * WJAF 103.7 FM (Centralia)
 * WNSV 104.7 FM (Nashville), Hot AC
 * WAOX 105.3 FM (Staunton), Hot AC
 * WSMI 106.1 FM (Litchfield). country
 * WILY 1210 AM (Centralia), oldies
 * WJBM 1480 AM (Jerseyville), talk
 * WESL 1490 AM (East St. Louis), urban
 * WQQW 1510 AM (Highland, Belleville)
 * WBGZ 1570 AM (Alton), news/talk
 * }
 * WBGZ 1570 AM (Alton), news/talk
 * }

See also: Radio stations in Illinois

Metro East in fiction
Laurell K. Hamilton has used the Metro-East as a setting in several books from the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series. In the Merry Gentry series, fairies of the Unseelie Court have made their home in Monk's Mound.

Robert J. Randisi set one of his Joe Keough mysteries, East of the Arch (2002), in the Metro East communities of East St. Louis and Fairview Heights.

Area codes

 * Area code 217: extreme northeast part of Metro East, in Madison County (around New Douglas).
 * Area code 618: majority of the Metro-East is in this area code.