O'Fallon-Shiloh Overview

Welcome to Our Area
"New-fashioned progress and old-fashioned friendliness;
a wonderful place to live and raise a family"

Those are O'Fallon's themes and they seems to fit perfectly. O'Fallon enjoys wonderful growth and state-of-the art services and conveniences of all kinds, but it maintains old-fashioned small town friendliness. The features in a nutshell:

A residential community of significance Outstanding public and private schools.

Family livability is tops.

A fine topography... rolling uplands fringed with woods.
Immediate access to major shopping areas.

A great relationship with Scott AFB.

Great access to the interstate system and downtown St. Louis (14 miles)

The general citizenship is as good as it gets!

And all that adds up to great resaleability, too.

Conveniently located just a few miles from Scott AFB and right on Interstate 64, (with three access and egress sites), O'Fallon also enjoys quick access to downtown St. Louis, (the first exit is just 14 miles from the bridge). So it's easy to get to any employment or entertainment that the St. Louis area has to offer. Just a few miles to the east will take you to rural America and that wonderful, slow-changing landscape. It also has easy access to other important interstates: 255, 55, 70 and even 270.

The nearby village of Shiloh is also included in the O'Fallon High School District, so we include it here in these general descriptions. A resident in nearby Shiloh might not even know he wasn't in O'Fallon, except the police and fire departments are different, and the grade school. It's even closer to Scott AFB than O'Fallon. We love the name!)

The City of O'Fallon and the Village of Shiloh share O'Fallon Township.

Dynamic growth is the hallmark of the O'Fallon area. The most recent census figures show both O'Fallon and Shiloh as having incredible growth, the greatest in SW Illinois:

O'fallon grew from 16,073 in 1990 to 21, 910 in 2000. That's growth of 5,837 or 36.3%.

Shiloh grew from 2,655 in 1990 to 7,643 in 2000... growth of 4,988 or 187.9%.

O'Fallon/Shiloh, (and the township) also have some of the highest average incomes in SW Illinois, and average home prices well way above average:

O'Fallon and Shiloh offer a broad range of living opportunities... from apartments to luxury single family homes and developments, in a broad price range, but tending to the upscale. While actual pictures of homes scattered through this presentation are from the area, a special section provides access to the market for homes and related statistics.

O'Fallon is almost entirely a bedroom community and the working population is roughly divided into "fourths". About one fourth are based at Scott AFB, (although only 17 or 18% of O'Fallon Township's working population wear a uniform to work, there are many other non-military employees at Scott.) (see Scott statistics)

Another one fourth work in Missouri (just 15 miles to downtown).

Another one fourth work in business and industry in nearby Illinois.

And about one fourth work within the businesses support services of the communities themselves. The immediate area has developed into a rich "defense" industry... and there are many ex-military working for companies with contracts with the Department of Defense, working closely with Scott AFB, in nice facilities, but without much identity or fanfare.

Prairie Farms Dairy is about the only really local "industry", employing about 100 people. The westerly part of O'Fallon however, blends into Fairview Heights, one of the largest commercial "regional" centers in the Midwest. That puts many large retail stores within its boundaries, including Home Depot, the O'Fallon Auto Mall, Wehrenberg's new 15 screen cinema, and much more, generating considerable sales tax revenues.

Scott AFB is on the other hand, one of the midwest's largest employers, with 7000 military and 5000 non-military based there. Scott is considered an "officer-rich" base in that it hosts two major commands, the U.S. Transportation Command, and the U.S. Communication Command. (see Scott AFB for additional information.)

As testimony to the desirability of living in SW Illinois; there are almost as many family members from retired military than there are the active military in SW Illinois! Many military families like it so well they return after retirement, or just stay. Many also stay after retirement but work as civilians in defense oriented businesses adjacent to Scott AFB, which is considered a significant local employment base.

The O'Fallon area also enjoys great public and private schools, this the subject of a separate section (link.)

All of the daily shopping necessities are available right in O'Fallon, and restaurants as well as 'fast food' facilities are plentiful and conveniently located. More seem to pop up weekly.

But mega-shopping facilities are available in immediately adjacent Fairview Heights where St. Clair Square and an enormous amount of peripheral commercial development offer anything a family would need, in abundance. It's a huge commercial complex that is the center of retailing for many miles in all directions. It's one of the largest commercial areas in the entire St. Louis area and even the Midwest. (Fairview Heights Business and community information)

And quite a few motels exist around the interstate exchanges.

Churches representing every denomination are located in or near O'Fallon.

Several fine parks are located within O'Fallon, including a 36 acre community park right in the center of town. Facilities include a swimming pool, basketball and tennis courts, baseball, softball, and T-ball diamonds, soccer and football fields, along with several outdoor pavilions.

Sports enthusiasts will find golf, bowling, indoor tennis, fitness facilities, indoor softball, gymnastics, soccer and indoor batting cages, available nearby. The Kitty Cavins Center, a wonderful community center adjacent to the park recently completed its renovation with the help of volunteer community efforts.