Waterloo, IL: how dark is the sky here?

Satellite radiance puts Waterloo in the suburban edge band. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Only 35.8% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Waterloo.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

How far Waterloo is from a meaningfully darker sky

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Glen Carbon, IL, roughly 30 miles away in a straight line, rated rural. Road distance will be more.

Glen Carbon, IL is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Waterloo compares nationally

Waterloo, IL counts roughly 11,165 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Waterloo places 1,143 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.