Metro East is a region in southern Illinois that contains eastern and northern suburbs and exurbs 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, with 45,000 residents. The Metro East is the second largest urban area in Illinois after the Chicago metropolitan area 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 and the bluffs of the Mississippi River. 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 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 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.
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, Cahokia, 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
Clinton
Jersey
Madison
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
Lewis and Clark Community College
Lindenwood University-Belleville
McKendree University
The Principia
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Southwestern Illinois College
Transportation
State routes
U.S. routes
U.S. Route 40
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
Bus transit
Madison County Transit
St. Clair County Transit District
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 conversion.