Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bellefontaine Neighbors grades D− overall, 245th of 247 graded towns in Missouri, mostly because of health and safety. On CDC health estimates it is near the bottom nationally. Its police reported 74 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 95% of U.S. towns. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. Bellefontaine Neighbors’ violent crime rate is 7.2 per 1,000 residents, above both the Missouri town median (2.2) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). On civic life, just 7 of Missouri’s 390 towns do worse. Bellefontaine Neighbors's public schools trail 94% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation.
Where Bellefontaine Neighbors beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Bellefontaine Neighbors | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 25.2% | 9% |
Where Bellefontaine Neighbors’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Bellefontaine Neighbors is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 88% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 1%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 13,650 in 1960, 10,740 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1819 and 7 maps from 1933 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellefontaine Neighbors. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
9 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
9 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
11 mi LandmarkMonks Mound
10 mi Ancient sitePiasaCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Busch Stadium: Lee Ann Ratledge, CC BY 4.0 · Gateway Arch National Park: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Monks Mound: Skubasteve834, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Piasa: Burfalcy, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellefontaine Neighbors, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bellefontaine Neighbors.
Bellefontaine Neighbors has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
34% of Bellefontaine Neighbors adults say their health is fair or poor. Bellefontaine Neighbors beats the Missouri average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 23. 39% of Bellefontaine Neighbors adults feel lonely.
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 17% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 12% | 12% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 42% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bellefontaine Neighbors | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 11% | 16.3% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.1% | 8.6% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 25.2% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Riverview Gardens school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Riverview Gardens SR. High, with 1,246 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gibson Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 387 | D− |
| Riverview Gardens SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,246 | D |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
At 1.3 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income, the typical home (about $102K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Values fell 3.9% in the past year while the Missouri typical home rose 3.4%.
The typical Bellefontaine Neighbors home is worth about $102,000, 62% below the Missouri typical home. 58% of households own their home in Bellefontaine Neighbors.
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,151 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 404 to 353 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Bellefontaine Neighbors’ property crime rate is 27 per 1,000 residents. Bellefontaine Neighbors reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 95% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here fell from 2,284 in 2013 to 1,809.
Most working residents leave Bellefontaine Neighbors for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Bellefontaine Neighbors has lost 475 jobs, to 1,809 in 2023. The median household income in Bellefontaine Neighbors is $49,000.
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 68 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bellefontaine Neighbors.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bellefontaine Neighbors has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 17 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
0.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Bellefontaine Conservation Area, at 146 acres.
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.7% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bellefontaine Conservation Area | 0.4 mi | 146 |
| 2. Bella Fontaine Park East | 0.1 mi | 121 |
| 3. Wilderness Park | — | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
23 within 15 miles of the center of Bellefontaine Neighbors
About 1 of every 100 Bellefontaine Neighbors residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
City in Missouri, United States
Bellefontaine Neighbors ( bel-FOWN-tən) is an inner-ring suburban city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 10,740 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Bellefontaine Neighbors.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D−; Glasgow Village (D) is closest.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | #245 | D− | B+ | D | D | D− |
| Riverview | — | — | A | D− | D− | D |
| Moline Acres | — | — | B+ | D | D− | D− |
| Spanish Lake | #225 | D | B | — | D | D− |
| Jennings | #213 | D | A− | — | D | D− |
| Glasgow Village | #240 | D | B | — | D− | D− |
| Castle Point | — | — | B+ | — | D− | D− |
| St. Louis | #227 | D | B | D− | D− | C |
Riverview, Moline Acres and Castle Point have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Spanish Lake, Jennings, Glasgow Village and Castle Point report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bellefontaine Neighbors with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bellefontaine Neighbors grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #245 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D− for health, D for safety and D for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Not for the area. That is 1.3 years of the area's median household income ($80,196 across the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
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