Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wildwood grades A overall, ranked 21st of 247 in Missouri. The median household earns $161K. Residents are healthier than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its schools rank ahead of 93% of Missouri towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $577K, 7.2 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income. 69% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wildwood, against 22% in Missouri’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 13 of Missouri’s 419 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is Rockwoods Reservation Conservation Area, 1,970 acres with 11.4 miles of trail.
Where Wildwood beats most towns.
18.4% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Wildwood is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for jobs and income (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 15%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 32,884 in 2000, 35,417 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1928 and 6 maps from 1940 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wildwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi State parkCahokia
4 mi Theme parkMid America Adventure
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaThe Dome at America's Center
26 mi Stadium & arenaBusch Stadium
26 mi National ParkGateway Arch National Park2.2M visitors a year
33 mi LandmarkMonks MoundCahokia: Thank You (24 Millions ) views, CC BY 2.0 · Mid America Adventure: Chris Hagerman from New Port Richey, FL, US, 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wildwood, 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 Wildwood.
Wildwood has less tooth loss than most of Missouri and pairs an A for schools with high home prices, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Missouri.
At 7.2 years of the St. Louis metro’s $80K median household income, the typical home (about $577K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Missouri towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $6,164, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Wildwood is $1,661 a month. The typical Wildwood home is worth about $577,000, up 3.1% in a year, about twice the Missouri typical home. 92% of households own their home in Wildwood.
| Wildwood | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 92% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,661 a month | $970 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $577K.
Its public schools are run by Rockwood R-VI. Three of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lasalle Springs MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 927 | A− |
| Lafayette SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,669 | A |
| Fairway Elem.Top results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 346 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Missouri is tooth loss: 5.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 15.8% statewide. Against the 2,105 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wildwood’s, it is healthier than 72%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
14% of Wildwood adults report frequent mental distress. Wildwood beats the Missouri average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 27% of Wildwood adults have obesity.
| Wildwood | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 19% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wildwood | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.4% | 15.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.8% | 13.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
43 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. Wildwood’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rockwoods Reservation Conservation Area | 11.4 mi | 1,970 |
| 2. Greensfelder County Park | 3.8 mi | 1,799 |
| 3. Howell Island Conservation Area | — | 110 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here fell from 6,487 in 2013 to 5,021. 24.7% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri.
Most working residents leave Wildwood for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Wildwood has lost 1,466 jobs, to 5,021 in 2023. Among 247 Missouri towns, just 8 have a higher median household income than Wildwood.
| Wildwood | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $161,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 25% | 9% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 2.2% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Wildwood has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 22° and about 11 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 53% of U.S. communities. Since 1993, 17 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wildwood.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7 within 15 miles of the center of Wildwood
About 5 of every 100 Wildwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
Where Wildwood’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
6 places in Wildwood on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Wildwood.
City in Missouri, United States
Wildwood is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is located in the far western portion of the county. It was incorporated on September 1st, 1995. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,417. Wildwood is the home of the Al Foster Trail, and numerous other trails, parks, and reserves such as Rockwoods Reservation and Babler State Park.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Wildwood.
At #21 in MO, it grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Chesterfield (A) comes closest.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood | #21 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Ellisville | #35 | A− | D | B+ | A | A |
| Eureka | #46 | A− | C− | B+ | A | A− |
| Chesterfield | #27 | A | D | B | A | A+ |
| Clarkson Valley | #38 | A− | D | — | A | A+ |
Wildwood and Clarkson Valley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wildwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Wildwood grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #21 of 247 in Missouri. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. 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 D.
3 notable people were born here, including Luke Voit and Tony Meier.
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