Welcome to Alton ...
The city of Alton is located in Madison County<1>.
The pronunciation of Alton: AWL-tuhn<2>
Alton was established in 1818.
When the people of Alton refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altonian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Alton has a population of 26,262 people<4> (see below for details).
The community of Alton is 520 feet [158 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Alton lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Alton is located in the (618) area code.
The ZIP code for Alton: 62002<6>
Websites for Alton ...
Official Website: www.alton-il.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Alton had an population of 26,262 people. This is a decrease of 5.75% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 13.88% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Alton had a population of 27,865 people (which is 10.35% of the total population of Madison County). This makes Alton the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Alton represents 0.22% of the total population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 76th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 27,865 people, the population of Alton decreased 8.63% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 30,496 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Alton.
Communities Also Named Alton ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 37 communities that are also named Alton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia (2), Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maine, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario (3), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alton.
Communities near Alton ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alton.
- Saint Louis
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
- Saint Louis is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297,645 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Louis <7>
- Florissant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
- Florissant is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 50,795 people
- University City
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
- University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
- Granite City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
- Granite City is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27,959 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Granite City <7>
- East Saint Louis
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Saint Louis
- East Saint Louis is located in Saint Clair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,776 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Saint Louis <7>
- Edwardsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Edwardsville is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,189 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwardsville <7>
- Hazelwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Hazelwood is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,042 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hazelwood <7>
- Collinsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Collinsville is located in Madison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,217 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collinsville <7>
- Ferguson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Clayton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Clayton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,775 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alton.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alton. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alton.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton. Our list includes 49 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Alton.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alton ...
Looking for more information about Alton? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Alton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Alton.
Adding Alton to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Alton in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alton was in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
We also found Alton in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Alton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Alton: www.alton-il.com/
The official website for Madison County: www.co.madison.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Madison, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Alton. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Alton refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Alton may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Alton. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Alton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Alton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |