Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,402, laid out in 1808. Public schools that outperform most of Missouri.
Trash day: ThursdayHerculaneum gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $300K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 61st among Missouri's 247 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, the median household earns $93K. 91% of households own their home in Herculaneum, against 64% in Missouri’s towns and 73% across U.S. towns. Herculaneum's schools outperform 89% of the state's.
Where Herculaneum beats most towns.
3,468 counted in 2010 and 4,672 in 2020; an estimated 5,402 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 15.9% since 2020, after 34.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Herculaneum is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1808, comes before those of 96% of the Missouri towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,603 in 1950, 4,672 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1854 and 6 maps from 1912 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Herculaneum, 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 Herculaneum.
Herculaneum pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally.
Its A for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $300K.
Its public schools are run by the Dunklin R-V school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Herculaneum High, with 466 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senn-Thomas MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 347 | C |
| Herculaneum HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 466 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Herculaneum for work: only 2% work in town. Herculaneum’s average trip to work is 29 minutes. The top destinations are St.
| Herculaneum | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.6% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 13% | 8% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,525 U.S. towns with household incomes like Herculaneum’s, it is less healthy than 91%, so it trails even them.
Herculaneum beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 41% of Herculaneum adults have obesity.
| Herculaneum | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 32% | 33% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 25% |
| What stands out | Herculaneum | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.8% | 15.8% |
| Fewer adults seeing a dentist | 55.5% | 60.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1979, 47 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Herculaneum.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Herculaneum has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Herculaneum is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $300K for the typical one, B for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
Typical home values rose 4.9% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 35 to 64 are 41% of residents (37% statewide). Herculaneum has grown 16% since 2020, to 5,402 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 23% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across Missouri.
| Herculaneum | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 22% | 29% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.1 points. Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Herculaneum | MO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.8% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 15.3% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.9% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.5% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.2% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.6% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.8% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28.7% | 30.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 28.3% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.1% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.8% | 12.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 17.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 68% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 52 to 78 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Herculaneum. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi State parkCahokia
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
23 mi Theme parkMid America Adventure
27 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
27 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
33 mi LandmarkMonks MoundCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · The Dome at America's Center: Paul Sableman, CC BY 2.0 · Mid America Adventure: Chris Hagerman from New Port Richey, FL, US, 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of Herculaneum
About 4 of every 100 Herculaneum residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
Where Herculaneum’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Herculaneum.
City in Missouri, United States
Herculaneum is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, and is a suburb of St. Louis. The population was 4,273 at the 2020 United States census. The City of Herculaneum was the first county seat of Jefferson County from January 1, 1819, to 1839. The city celebrated its bicentennial throughout 2008. The city received the "Tree City USA" designation by the Arbor Day Foundation for 11 consecutive years, 2007 through 2017. The city is the honorary hometown of the 40th Airlift Squadron, "The Screaming Eagles," from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Herculaneum.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herculaneum | #61 | B+ | B | B− | A | C |
| Pevely | #130 | C+ | B | B− | B− | C |
| Crystal City | #17 | A | A | A− | A− | C |
| Festus | #73 | B+ | A− | B− | A+ | C |
| Horine | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Horine isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Herculaneum with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Herculaneum grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #61 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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.
Herculaneum was laid out in 1808. 3 notable people were born here, including Thomas Clement Fletcher and Guy M. Bryan.
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