Malta was founded in 1855, under the name of Milton. Shortly afterwards, the name was changed to Etna, then Malta after the Galena Railway station that served the village. The present name is after the island of Malta. Malta was the site of the first "seedling mile" of concrete pavement for the transcontinental Lincoln Highway in 1914. This short stretch of road in front of the Malta cemetery was one of a number of such seedling miles built to demonstrate construction techniques and generate support for the highway. Malta struggled financially until the end of World War I, when an influx of new residents to the area arrived. Currently, Malta is a farming community. It also contains Kishwaukee College, founded in 1968.
Geography
Malta is located at . According to the 2010 census, Malta has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
Business
Malta has no large businesses. Most are small operations. Farming and the agriculture industry surround the town. Primary crops are corn and soybeans. Hog confinement operations are near the village. A bank, gas station/convenience store, excavating company, grain elevator, apple orchard, small restaurant, a few auto repair facilities, post office, a photographer, a plumbing company, and an auctioneering company make up the businesses in or near the village. A few individuals in the vicinity have their own businesses that involve carpentry, plumbing, landscaping, and animal control.
Schools
For many years Malta had its own school system. It is now part of the DeKalb School District after being absorbed for the start of the 2000-2001 school year. Kishwaukee College is located just outside Malta. Some of the schools: Malta Elementary, Huntley Middle School, Tyler Elementary, etc
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 969 people, 372 households, and 264 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,584.0 people per square mile. There were 389 housing units at an average density of 1,037.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 95.98% White, 0.62% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 1.24% from other races, and 1.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.37% of the population. There were 372 households out of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.6% were married couplesliving together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.0% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04. In the village, the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $45,417, and the median income for a family was $51,667. Males had a median income of $40,260 versus $23,611 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,839. About 4.3% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
