What it's like to live in Godfrey
Godfrey is a small city in Illinois with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, household incomes running above the national average, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Godfrey deals with air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, cold winters, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Air quality concerns
- Cold winters
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Godfrey compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Godfrey
Based on Godfrey's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$2,306
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $46,120 a year
- 47% of Godfrey renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$38,440
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $19,220
- Homes cost 2.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 18% below US
$1,153/mo median rent
Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,153 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $192,200. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $192,200 · 47% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Madison County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Madison County (county-wide)
Safety
104 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Godfrey doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Madison County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 890/100k · Policed by Madison County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
26 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.7 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 10% below US
32% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 32% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Gateway Arch National Park (23 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Godfrey's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are air quality that falls short of national benchmarks and cold winters. A year of median rent ($1,153/mo) equals 15% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
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