Where it falls short is safety (D−): its police reported 3,364 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 99% of U.S. towns. Homes run about $181K for a typical one, 2.3 times the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. Walkability is its strong suit: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 98% of U.S. towns. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking 227th of 247 in Missouri. Set against the rest, it does better than 8% of U.S. towns. It lags on schools as well: its public schools trail 97% of Missouri towns on state tests and graduation. Its National Register listings include Eads Bridge and Anheuser-Busch Brewery. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 460 places on the National Register.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · National Register of Historic Places.
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial National Historic Site · National Register of Historic Places
St. Louis’s story
262 years in pictures
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial National Historic Site is one of 13 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its founding year, 1764, is the earliest of any Missouri town we grade.
Census counts: 1,600 in 1810, a peak of 856,796 in 1950, 301,578 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 6 maps from 1933 on.
459 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Louis draws workers from University City and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the Missouri rate.
Violent crime runs at 12.2 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Missouri rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 50 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the Missouri rate, most of it theft.
The level of violent crime for St. Louis comes to 12.2 per 1,000 residents.
Three of the 137 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the St. Louis City school district. 6 public schools serve St. Louis, with 3,658 students in all.
210,992 jobs are based in St. Louis, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
39% of working residents work locally in St. Louis, above both Missouri’s towns (13%) and U.S. towns (8%). Among residents here, 21% live below the poverty line. The median commute is under 6 miles. St. Louis’ median household income is $56,000.
39%work in town
St. Louis
Missouri towns
U.S. towns
Working residents who work in town
39%
13%
8%
Below the poverty line
21%
14%
9.6%
Work from home
17%
9%
11%
Median household income
$56,000
$62,000
$80,000
Where working residents work
In St. Louis39%
Clayton4%
Maryland Heights4%
Creve Coeur3%
Chesterfield2%
6 mi
median commute distance
210,992
jobs based in St. Louis
A job hub
jobs vs. working residents
A+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
Forest Park, at 1,345 acres with 13.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Trails total 38 miles in 132 parks and preserves. The concentration of trails in St. Louis is 0.6 miles per square mile.
494 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 23 properties have flooded more than once.
In St. Louis, the FEMA risk score is 78 of 100, above both the Missouri town median (54 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100). 494 flood insurance claims have been paid here since 1978. FEMA puts 48% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to heat waves, and 25% to inland flooding. Federal aid has come to St. Louis households in 9 declared disasters; the latest was in 2025.
At 2.3 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income, the typical home (about $181K) costs less against local pay than in 85% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. At about $181K, home values are up 11% in five years, against a rise of 26% across Missouri.
A home in St. Louis typically sold within 23 days of listing. Homes here are typically worth about $181,000, about the same as a year ago, 32% below the Missouri typical home. 45% of households live in a home they own in the town.
Only 45.3% of households own their home, against 68.1% across Missouri.
For residents in St. Louis, the share who are under 18 is 18%. Adults 18 to 34 are 28% of residents (22% statewide); children under 18 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts St. Louis at 278,144 residents, down 7.7% since 2020. Here, just over two in five adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 32% in Missouri as a whole.
36.8median age · MO 39
St. Louis
Missouri towns
U.S. towns
Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+
41%
22%
29%
Under 18
18%
23%
22%
Median age
36.8 years
38.5 years
40.5 years
Aged 65 or older
16%
17%
18%
St. LouisMissouriUnited States
Ages · share of residents
20%
<1010–1718–2425–3435–4445–5455–6465–7475+
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma9%
High school24%
Some college19%
Associate’s7%
Bachelor’s23%
Graduate19%
Women and men · all residents
51.5% women, 48.5% men
WomenMOU.S.Men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.3, men 36.3.
St. Louis (officially the City of St. Louis) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while its metropolitan area, which extends into Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million. It is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second-largest in Illinois. The city's metropolitan statistical area is the 23rd-largest in the United States. The land that became St. Louis had been occupied by Native American cultures for thousands of years before European settlement. The city was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert…
Riverview has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Lemay and Glasgow Village report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare St. Louis with a neighbor →
Questions about St. Louis
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is St. Louis, MO a good place to live?
St. Louis grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #227 of 247 in Missouri. It grades C for health, D− for safety and D− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is St. Louis, MO expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
What is St. Louis, MO known for?
22 notable people were born here, including T. S. Eliot and Maya Angelou.
in town
in town
in town
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