Affordable Storage in Pontoon Beach

Moving and storage go hand in hand. Whether traveling across town or the country, moving is an exciting and fresh start. While Storage Rentals of America is here to help you with all your storage needs, we also want to help you get familiar with the area. That's why we put together this resource guide for Pontoon Beach, IL.

About Pontoon Beach, IL

Pontoon Beach is a small village in Madison County located at the junction of Highway 111 and Highway 162. It is a part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The 2020 census counted 5,876 people who live there.

The village is new and was founded in 1963. The surrounding areas had already been developed extensively. The village is next to the communities of Granite City (west), Mitchell (northwest), Edwardsville (north), Glen Carbon (east), Collinsville (southeast), Fairmont City (south), and Madison (southwest).

The village is 12.4 square miles. Ten square miles are land, and 2.5 square miles are water. It is in the American Bottom region and the Mississippi floodplain.

The village is best known for the cottages and clubhouse constructed next to Long Lake. It got its name, Pontoon Beach, from either the bridge built across the lake supported by pontoons or the docks that residents made and connected to form a “beach” that floated on pontoons.

What to do in Pontoon Beach, IL

Pontoon Beach has many nice features and amenities.

• Features: This village is close enough to easily drive to St. Louis and yet has the benefits of a neighborly small-town lifestyle with a supportive local community. The area is a good place for picnicking, fishing, hunting, swimming, and other recreational activities.
• Events: There is an annual Pontoon Beach Party at the Beach and a summer barbecue at Pagano Park.
• Museums: The nearest museums are found in neighboring communities. Museums worth a visit include the Old Six Mile Museum, the Museum of Westward Expansion, the Speed Art Museum, the Glen Carbon Heritage Museum, the Collinsville Historical Museum, and the Old Fire Engine Museum.
• Destination: Most of the tourists come to visit the Horseshoe Lake State Park, which offers camping, fishing, boating, and watersports. There are close to 3,000 acres to explore by hiking and mountain-biking trails. There are playgrounds for the kids to enjoy, lovely spots to have a picnic, and an abundance of wildlife to view. It is a bird-watcher’s paradise.

Working in Pontoon Beach, IL

The local economy depends on manufacturing, transportation, hospitality, and health care. The unemployment rate is 5.4%, which is reasonable. The median household income is $49,672 per year, which is about $19,000 less than the American average of $69,021. The economy is growing but less than the national average. Pontoon Beach's predicted job growth rate for the next decade is 31.5%, compared to the national rate of 33.5%.

The industries offering the most jobs are healthcare (8.7%), metal products (8.2%), hospitality (8.5%), construction (5.3%), finance/insurance (6.3%), education (5.5%), professional, scientific, technical services (4.6%), and truck transportation (3.7%).

Pontoon Beach, IL Neighborhoods

The best neighborhoods with the most expensive homes are near the lake.

Here are the areas with nice homes for sale:

• Pontoon Beach North: This area has a median real estate price of $127,731. This neighborhood has a mixture of homes, small apartment buildings, and townhouses. Most of the houses are owner-occupied. The houses were built in the 1960s to the present day. The vacancy rate is 8.5%. The average rent is $1,379 per month, except for vacation rentals on the lake, which are much higher.
• Four Corners / Village Center: This nice neighborhood has a median real estate price of $160,977, which is less expensive than 72.2% of Illinois. This is a new neighborhood. Nearly all the houses were built between 1970 and 1999. Rental homes are $1,419 monthly. The vacancy rate is 2.4%.
• Eagle Park Acres / Viaduct: This nice neighborhood has a median real estate price of $146,201. Apartments and homes are available for an average rent of $1,179 monthly. The vacancy rate is 17.8%, so renting in this area is easy.
• Nameoki Heights: This neighborhood is in the adjacent village of Nameoki. It has a median real estate price of $141,830. Rental homes are available for an average rent of $1,355 per month.  In this neighborhood, there are apartment complexes mixed in with small single-family homes. The vacancy rate is 8.3%. Finding a place to rent in this area is easy.

Pontoon Beach, IL School District

The public school district is the Granite City School District 9. The school district spends $12,184 each year per student. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17 to one, creating an average class size.

There are no private schools in this village; however, there are five private schools in nearby communities. The top three private schools are Holy Family School (K to 8th), Metro East Montessori School (PK to 6th), and Central Baptist School (K to 12th).

There are 35 colleges and universities within a 50-mile radius. The best private university close by is the Saint Louis University. The best nearby public school is the Harris Stowe State University, a four-year school.

Moving to Pontoon Beach, IL Resource Guide

Pontoon Beach has an elected mayor and six elected members on the Board of Trustees. The trustees are elected every two years on a staggered basis for four-year terms,

The village administration is responsible for the public park and the Bel-Air business park.

Pontoon Beach, IL Housing

The median home price in Pontoon Beach is $177,500, trending up by 1.5% year-over-year. It is a balanced market with about the same number of homes listed for sale that have interested buyers looking for a home.

The cost of living in Pontoon Beach is very low. It is 15% lower than other cities in Illinois and 19% less than the national average for the United States.