Godfrey, Illinois
Area Profile
17,712 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Godfrey, in Madison County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesGodfrey ranks in the top 18% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $94,543. The unemployment rate is published for Madison County, IL, which contains Godfrey, rather than for Godfrey alone.
In the public schools here, 32% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.1 students for every teacher. Math proficiency is published for Madison County, IL, which contains Godfrey, rather than for Godfrey alone.
Rent takes 32% of renter income here, above the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 1.8 times what its owners earn.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Madison County, IL, which contains Godfrey, is 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Madison County, IL, which contains Godfrey, grew 0.8% over the past year, to 129,468 employed residents.
32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US cities.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsMadison County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $56,466 | 19th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftMadison County, IL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $59,588 | 24th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$10,4212024 ACS 5-Year | $94,543 | Top 21%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,5252024 ACS 5-Year | $49,529 | Top 18%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.7% | Top 27%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.3 min | Bottom 47%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 32.4% | Top 27%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.1% | 50th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentMadison County, IL’s figureJuly 2026 | 129,468 | Top 39%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Madison County, IL’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.3% | Bottom 48%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Madison County, IL’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.8% | Top 22%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceMadison County, IL’s figureJuly 2026 | 134,121 | 61st percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 81.7% | Top 37%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageSt. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $66,330 | Bottom 37%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageSt. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $49,990 | Bottom 40%of 3,729 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.5% | 79th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Madison County, IL’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.9% | Top 14%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateMadison County, IL’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.5% | Top 19%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 16.3% | 79th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — St. Louis, MO-IL
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| General and Operations Managers | 46,410 | $93,140 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 44,200 | $34,490 |
| Registered Nurses | 35,200 | $83,180 |
| Cashiers | 31,130 | $32,380 |
| Retail Salespersons | 29,750 | $33,820 |
| Stockers and Order Fillers | 28,940 | $37,840 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Madison County, IL, which contains this city.
32% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 34% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Madison County, IL, which contains Godfrey, rather than for Godfrey alone.
There are 16.1 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, more than in most measured places.
The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Madison County, IL: too few schools in Godfrey reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Elementary School | Alton CUSD 11 | 549 | 16.1 | 24% | 18% |
| Early Childhood | Alton CUSD 11 | 267 | 33.4 | — | — |
| Lewis & Clark Elem School | Alton CUSD 11 | 251 | 13.2 | — | — |
| Gilson Brown Elem School | Alton CUSD 11 | 176 | 11.0 | — | — |
54.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Illinois’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 4.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,675 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.91% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,160, close to the $1,153 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,160 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,400 a year, about 49% of the median household income here of $94,543.
The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,153 a month.
A median home at $192,200 costs 1.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $107,219, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against Godfrey’s median household income of $94,543, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2023 | 95.0 | Top 27%of 3,700 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +4.1% | 67th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +40.5% | 43rd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2 | +81.9% | 34th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year | 1.8 | Top 25%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 84.0% | 67th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3772024 ACS 5-Year | 7,906 | 92nd percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $950 | Top 18%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,490 | Top 17%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,160 | Top 18%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1582024 ACS 5-Year | $1,153 | Bottom 35%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$16,9492024 ACS 5-Year | $192,200 | 51st percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$2402024 ACS 5-Year | $3,675 | 80th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$8,6382024 ACS 5-Year | $107,219 | Top 22%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.21%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.91% | 91st percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 31.5% | Bottom 34%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year | 0 | 1st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.7% | 43rd percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2142024 ACS 5-Year | 454 | 89th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
Population has fallen 1% since 2020, to 17,610 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 29 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Madison County, which contains Godfrey, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $56,466, below the $59,588 of households that moved out.
At 1.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- St. Clair County, IL 2,126 people · 23% of arrivals
- St. Louis County, MO 944 people · 10% of arrivals
- Macoupin County, IL 433 people · 4.7% of arrivals
- St. Louis city, MO 405 people · 4.4% of arrivals
- Jersey County, IL 302 people · 3.3% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- St. Clair County, IL 1,764 people · 20% of departures
- St. Louis County, MO 877 people · 10% of departures
- Macoupin County, IL 489 people · 5.6% of departures
- St. Louis city, MO 389 people · 4.4% of departures
- St. Charles County, MO 323 people · 3.7% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Madison County, IL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
Weather & climate
7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 22°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 39.4 inches.
Air quality measures a median index of 49, in the Good band, and about 6 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 71 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 39.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 22°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 89°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 7 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 6 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 49 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 48°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 35% of it.
Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, landslide, cold wave, winter weather, ice storm, drought, strong wind, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Madison County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.9 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.
Drug overdose deaths run at 18.3 per 100,000 residents in Madison County.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Godfrey (Madison County) rather than Godfrey itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest St Louis Rgnl at 10 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 91.7% | Top 41%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 10 mi | Top 28%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 4 | Bottom 38%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.5% | Top 45%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Louis Rgnl | ALN | 10 mi | 8,099 ft |
| St Louis Lambert Intl | STL | 16 mi | 11,020 ft |
| Scott AFB/Midamerica St Louis | BLV | 35 mi | 10,000 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Other cities in St. Louis, MO-IL
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | St. Louis city | 288,512 | 54 | St. Louis vs Godfrey |
| O'Fallon | St. Charles County | 93,801 | 74 | O'Fallon vs Godfrey |
| St. Charles | St. Charles County | 71,508 | 69 | St. Charles vs Godfrey |
| St. Peters | St. Charles County | 59,092 | 71 | |
| Florissant | St. Louis County | 51,773 | 57 | |
| Chesterfield | St. Louis County | 49,574 | 75 | |
| Wentzville | St. Charles County | 47,061 | 70 | |
| Belleville | St. Clair County | 41,370 | 53 | |
| Oakville | St. Louis County | 35,333 | 67 | |
| Wildwood | St. Louis County | 35,133 | 72 | |
| University City | St. Louis County | 34,685 | 66 | |
| O'Fallon | St. Clair County | 32,262 | 68 |
Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Godfrey side by side with a similar place.
Moving to Godfrey from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
ZIP codes in Godfrey
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Godfrey with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Godfrey closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62035 | 15,892 | $93,973 | $182,000 | — |