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Metro East is a region in
southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...
that contains eastern and northern suburbs and exurbs of St. Louis,
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
, United States. It encompasses five
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of the Upland South than the Mi ...
counties (and parts of three others) in the
St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area Greater St. Louis is a bi-state metropolitan area that completely surrounds and includes the independent city of St. Louis, the principal city. It includes parts of both Missouri and Illinois. The city core is on the Mississippi Riverfront on th ...
. The region's most populated city is Belleville, with 45,000 residents. The Metro East is the second largest urban area in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
after the
Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hin ...
and, as of the 2000 census, the population of the Metro East statistical area was 599,845 residents, a figure that had risen to above 700,000 in 2010. The significant growth in the Metro East is mainly due to people in smaller outlying towns in Illinois moving to the area for better economic/job opportunities.


Geography

The Metro East is a loose collection of small and mid-sized cities sitting along the
American Bottom The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about , mo ...
and the bluffs of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...
. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, 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 2020 census, the most populated cities in the region included the following


Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there had been a major shift in population from the older
rust belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...
industrial cities in the Mississippi River bottom, such as East St. Louis and Alton, to the more suburban satellite cities, such as, Belleville, Edwardsville, and O'Fallon sitting on the bluffs. This is mainly due to continued
white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
. As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
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 Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
, western Granite City,
East St. Louis East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
, Washington Park, Belleville,
Cahokia The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( 11 MS 2) is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city (which existed 1050–1350 CE) directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. This historic park lies in south- ...
, Alorton 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

*
Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...
* Calhoun * Clinton *
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...
* Macoupin *
Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
* Monroe * St. Clair


List of cities, towns, and villages

Notes: *''^'' means part of city in another county/counties *Bold indicates county seat


Clinton County


Jersey County


Madison County


St. Clair County


Colleges and universities

*
Kaskaskia College Kaskaskia College is a public community college in Centralia, Illinois. Kaskaskia College's Community College District 501 serves all or part of nine counties, including Bond, Clinton, Fayette, Marion, Washington, Jefferson, St. Clair, Madison ...
* Lewis and Clark Community College *Lindenwood University-Belleville * McKendree University *
The Principia The Principia is an educational institution for Christian Scientists located on two campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area of the United States. Principia School, located in Town and Country, West St. Louis County, serves st ...
* Southern Illinois University Edwardsville *
Southwestern Illinois College Southwestern Illinois College is a public community college in Illinois with campuses in Belleville, Granite City, and Red Bud. It also has off-campus sites throughout the district, including Scott Air Force Base and the East St. Louis Commu ...


Transportation


State routes


U.S. routes

*
U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...
* U.S. Route 50 * U.S. Route 51 *Historic U.S. Route 66 * U.S. Route 67


Interstate freeways

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


Light rail

The Metro East is connected with Missouri by the Metro Link light rail train. The Metrolink includes 11 stations on the Illinois side of St Louis, from the East St. Louis Riverfront, through Belleville Illinois, and ending at Scott Air Force Base. It links the Metro East to downtown St. Louis, area universities, downtown Clayton, and the major commercial airport, Lambert St. Louis International. St. Clair County (East St. Louis, Washington Park, Fairview Heights, Swansea, O'Fallon, Cahokia, Belleville, Shiloh, and Scott AFB) shares public transit with the St. Louis metropolitan area, including bus and rail. Madison County has a public transit system that includes bus services and bikeways converted as part of a
Rail to Trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...
conversion.


Major employers

*
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
*
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...
*
Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribe ...
*
Illinois Department of Transportation The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is a state agency in charge of state-maintained public roadways of the U.S. state of Illinois. In addition, IDOT provides funding for rail, public transit and airport projects and administers f ...
* Korte Construction *
Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...
* National Steel * Norrenberns Trucking * Olin Corporation *
Scott Air Force Base Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the ...
* Southern Illinois University Edwardsville * U.S. Steel * Wood River Refinery


Tourist attractions

*
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a Catholic shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Belleville, Illinois, nine miles southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. The Shrine's director is the Reverend Father David Uribe, OMI. The shrine is i ...
, Centreville, near Belleville; operated by the
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...
* Brooks Catsup Bottle, Collinsville * Belle Clair Fairgrounds and Expo Center, Belleville * Cahokia Mounds, Collinsville, on Madison-St. Clair County line * Confluence Crush Roller Derby, Belleville (at Belle Clair Fairgrounds) * GCS Ballpark, Sauget *
Gateway International Raceway World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway International Raceway and Gateway Motorsports Park) is a motorsport racing facility in Madison, Illinois, just east of St. Louis, Missouri, United States, close to the Gateway Arch. It features a ...
, Madison * Eads Bridge, historic bridge, among East. Louis, on the East St. Louis, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri border, over the Mississippi River *
Pere Marquette State Park Pere Marquette State Park is an protected area in southwestern Jersey County, Illinois, United States. It is located near the city of Grafton, Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. The park is located ...
, Grafton * Raging Rivers Water Park, Grafton * The Game, Glen Carbon * St. Clair Square, Fairview Heights *
Robert Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raise ...
Statue, Alton * Horseshoe Lake, Pontoon Beach, Madison, and Granite City * Alton Square Mall, Alton *
Carlyle Lake Carlyle Lake is a reservoir largely located in Clinton County, Illinois, with smaller portions of the lake within Bond County, Illinois, Bond and Fayette County, Illinois, Fayette counties. It is the largest man-made lake in Illinois, and the lar ...
, Carlyle * National Building Arts Center, Sauget


Residents, historic figures, and contributors

*
Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...
, East St. Louis, performer and activist * Jason Boyd, Edwardsville, AAA pitcher *
Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and ...
, Belleville, science fiction author *
Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 ...
, East St. Louis and Belleville, tennis player * Neal Cotts, Lebanon, former MLB pitcher * Brian Daubach, Belleville, former MLB 1B/DH/outfielder *
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
, East St. Louis and Alton, jazz artist * Lea DeLaria, Belleville, jazz singer, actress, and comedian (''Orange is the New Black'') *
Elizabeth Donald Elizabeth Donald (born 1975) is an American author and journalist, best known for writing horror and science fiction, including the ''Nocturnal Urges'' vampire mystery series and ''Blackfire'' zombie series. Life and career Elizabeth Donald was ...
, Edwardsville, horror novelist *
Dick Durbin Richard Joseph Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Illinois, a seat he has held since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, Durbin has served as the Senate De ...
, East St. Louis, U.S. senator * Buddy Ebsen, Belleville, television actor * Jay Farrar, Belleville, musician * William Holden, O'Fallon, film actor *
Louis Jolliet Louis Jolliet (September 21, 1645after May 1700) was a French-Canadian explorer known for his discoveries in North America. In 1673, Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Catholic priest and missionary, were the first non-Natives to explore and ...
, explorer of the Mississippi River * Jackie Joyner-Kersee, East St. Louis, Olympic athlete * Ken Kwapis, Belleville, film and television director and producer * Père Jacques Marquette, French discoverer *
T. J. Mathews Timothy Jay Mathews (born January 9, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Houston Astros. Mathews wa ...
, Columbia, former MLB pitcher *
Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...
, Edwardsville, film and television actress (''Rosanne'', ''Uncle Buck'', ''JFK'') * Yadier Molina, Caseyville, Cardinals Baseball catcher (resides there only during baseball season, and is originally from Puerto Rico) * Jake Odorizzi, Highland, MLB Pitcher *
Van Allen Plexico Van Allen Plexico (born January 12, 1968) is an American professor of Political Science and History, a Sports and Pop Culture podcast host and producer, and a science fiction and fantasy author. He is generally considered one of the leading ...
, Smithton, author and professor * Peter Sarsgaard, Belleville/Scott AFB, actor (''Magnificent Seven'', ''Jarhead'', ''Green Lantern'') * John Shimkus, Collinsville, Congressman from Illinois's 15th congressional district (1997–2021) *
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...
, Collinsville, lead singer of the band REM *
Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in hi ...
, Belleville, lead singer of the band Wilco * Uncle Tupelo, Belleville, alternative country band * Craig Virgin, distance runner *
Robert Pershing Wadlow Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant and the Giant of Illinois, was an American man who was the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. He was born and raise ...
, Alton, world's tallest man * Scott Wolf, Belleville, actor


Media in the Metro East


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 five-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 ''The Telegraph'' is an American daily newspaper published seven days a week in Alton, Illinois, serving the St. Louis Metro-East region. It was owned by Civitas Media, based in Davidson, North Carolina, a subsidiary of Philadelphia-based Versa ...
'' (Madison, Jersey counties) *'' Belleville News-Democrat'' (region-wide) *'' Centralia Sentinel'' (Clinton and Washington counties) *''
Southern Illinoisan ''The Southern Illinoisan'' is a daily newspaper based in Carbondale, Illinois, known locally as "The Southern." As of October 2014, it has a daily circulation of 21,270, and a Sunday circulation of 26,958. It is one of the major regional newspa ...
'' (mainly in Washington County, rarely found elsewhere in the Metro East) *'' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (region-wide) *''
Edwardsville Intelligencer The ''Edwardsville Intelligencer'' is an American daily newspaper in Illinois based in Edwardsville. The paper is circulated in Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, and nearby rural areas. The newspaper was founded in 1862. In 1960, longtime owner and ...
'' (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. See also
Radio stations in Illinois


The Metro East in film

*Note, the following is a partial list of films shot, often partially, sometimes with significant production, within the Metro East. All data can be rechecked via the Internet Movie Database. "Uncredited" means a Metro East location was not credited within the database, but was clearly shot on Metro East soil upon watching the film itself. *'' In the Heat of the Night'' - feature-length film, shot in Belleville, Illinois ( 1968 Oscar winner for Best Picture of 1967) *'' Things Are Tough All Over'' (uncredited) - feature-length film, shot on the East St. Louis riverfront (1982) *''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, Illinois (1993) *'' A Will of their Own'' - feature-length TV film, shot in Belleville, Illinois (1998) *'' The Big Brass Ring'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, Illinois (1999) *''
Steel City The Steel City is a common nickname for many cities that were once known for their production of large amounts of steel. With industrial production also in developing countries, like those in Eastern Europe and Asia, most of these cities do n ...
'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, East Alton, Godfrey, and Jerseyville, Illinois (2006) *'' The Lucky Ones'' - feature-length film, Shot in Edwardsville, Illinois (2008) *''
The Coverup ''The Coverup'', previously known as ''The Thacker Case'', is a 2008 crime-thriller film directed by Brian Jun and starring Gabriel Mann and Eliza Dushku. Plot This movie, based on a true story, centers on the 1984 investigation of the death of ...
'' - feature-length film, shot in Alton, Illinois (2008) *'' Kingshighway'' - feature-length film, shot in Fairview Heights, Illinois (2010) *'' Joint Body'' - feature-length film, shot in various locations throughout the Metro East (2011)


Metro East in fiction

Laurell K. Hamilton has used the Metro East as a setting in several books from the
Anita Blake Anita Blake is the title and viewpoint character of the '' Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series by Laurell K. Hamilton. The series takes place in a parallel world in which supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves exist alongside regul ...
and Merry Gentry series. In the Merry Gentry series, fairies of the
Unseelie Court Seelie is a term for fairies in Scottish folklore, appearing in the form of seely wights or The Seelie Court. The Northern and Middle English word (also , , ), and the Scots form , mean "happy", "lucky" or "blessed." Despite their name, the se ...
have made their home in Monk's Mound.
Robert J. Randisi Robert Joseph Randisi (born August 24, 1951) is an American author, editor and screenwriter who writes in the detective and Western genres. Biography Randisi has authored more than 650 published books and has edited more than 30 anthologies of sh ...
set one of his Joe Keough mysteries, ''East of the Arch'' (2002), in the Metro East communities of East St. Louis and Fairview Heights.


Awards

The 2010 issue of '' Family Circle'' magazine named Edwardsville third in their "Top 10 Best Towns for Families"."10 Best Towns for Families: 2010"
, '' Family Circle'', Retrieved on 2010-08-07.


Area codes

*
Area code 217 Area codes 217 and 447 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for much of the central part of the U.S. state of Illinois. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes the state capital, Springfield, and Champaign, Urba ...
: extreme northeast part of Metro East *
Area code 618 Area code 618 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for southern Illinois. One hundred and twenty-six municipalities are included in the numbering plan such as Carbondale, Cairo, Belleville, East St. Louis, Edwar ...
: the majority of the Metro East is in this area code.


References


External links


Illinois Department of Employment Security - Metro East: 1965 to Today By: Dennis Hoffman
{{coord, 38, 40, N, 90, 0, W, region:US-IL_scale:500000, display=title Regions of Illinois Regions of Greater St. Louis