Metro-East is a region in Illinois that comprises the eastern suburbs of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. It encompasses five Southern Illinois counties in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area.[1] The region's largest city is Belleville. The Metro-East is the second largest urban area in Illinois after the Chicago metropolitan area.
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.
Demographics
As of the census[2] 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, Clinton, southern and eastern St. Clair Counties, and most of Monroe County. 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
List of cities, towns, and villages
Notes:
- ^ means part of city in another county(ies)
- Bold indicates County Seat
Clinton County
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Jersey County
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Madison County
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Monroe County
St. Clair County
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Colleges and Universities
- Greenville College
- Kaskaskia College
- Lewis and Clark Community College
- 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
- U.S. Route 66 (Historical Route Designation)
- U.S. Route 67
Interstate freeways
Major Employers
- Anheuser-Busch
- 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
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Residents, historic figures, and contributors
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- Lea DeLaria, Belleville, Jazz Singer, Actress, and Comedian
- Ray Bradbury, Belleville, Science Fiction Author
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 5-county Metro-East area. WSIU, despite not being based from the St. Louis DMA, is available in Monroe, Clinton, Washington, and most of St. Clair.
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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.
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Paducah/Cape Girardeau/Harrisburg Area TV stations
- Note: This list is for Monroe, 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, Clinton, and/or Monroe County residents. These stations are more likely to be available in Washington County and the Centralia area.
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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.
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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, faries 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.[3]
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.
References
- ^ State of Illinois. Metro-East. "The Illinois Section of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area, better known as the Metro East, is comprised of five counties: Clinton, Jersey (In 1965, the Metro East Area did not include Jersey County), Madison, Monroe and St. Clair."
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/East-Arch-Joe-Keough-Mystery/dp/0312283989/ref=pd_sim_b_3
External links
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