St. Louis city, MO

County Profile

288,512 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for St. Louis city, MO.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 29% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity873rd of 1,463 counties measured50
Schools1,214th of 1,377 counties measured18
Growth1,262nd of 1,453 counties measured29
Housing affordabilityTop 36% of 1,462 counties measured77
ClimateTop 35% of 1,463 counties measured72
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured62
AccessTop 4% of 1,463 counties measured99
Economic stability1,195th of 1,463 counties measured35
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $56,160, putting employment conditions in the middle range of counties measured.

In the public schools here, 23% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 11.6 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 28% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.3 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
288,512
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$56,160
Bottom 26% nationally
Density
4,675/sq mi
61.7 sq mi of land
Median age
36.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
St. Louis city
Missouri
Nearest major airport
STL
10 mi · St Louis Lambert Intl
Median home value
$197,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% — higher than in all but 38% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment grew 0.5% over the past year, to 151,599 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 92% of measured US counties.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$52,84632nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$67,35972nd percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,3052024 ACS 5-Year$56,160Bottom 26%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9972024 ACS 5-Year$41,187Top 22%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$63,640Top 28%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year19.4%Bottom 17%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year23.8 minTop 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year41.1%Top 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year64.1%6th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026151,599Top 16%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 38%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+0.5%Top 29%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026158,60384th percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year79.7%Top 29%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%99th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 22%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.4%Bottom 38%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year17.0%92nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.22.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% in July 2026. It has been rising for the last 2 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202456k49k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $56,160 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — St. Louis, MO-IL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers46,410$93,140
Home Health and Personal Care Aides44,200$34,490
Registered Nurses35,200$83,180
Cashiers31,130$32,380
Retail Salespersons29,750$33,820
Stockers and Order Fillers28,940$37,840

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

23% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 29% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.6 students for every full-time teacher across 99 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
108
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
11.6
across 99 of them
Math proficiency
22.6%
Bottom 1% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
28.5%
Bottom 1% in Missouri
The 12 largest of 108 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Premier Charter School · charterPREMIER CHARTER SCHOOL9749.132%39%
Gateway HighST. LOUIS CITY8609.216%30%
South City · charterCONFLUENCE ACADEMIES83811.827%30%
Roosevelt HighST. LOUIS CITY73412.215%17%
Vashon HighST. LOUIS CITY62115.53%8%
McKinley Class. Leadership Ac.ST. LOUIS CITY61014.573%84%
St. Louis Lang Immersion School · charterST. LOUIS LANG IMMERSION SCH49312.039%39%
Stix Early Childhood Ctr.ST. LOUIS CITY47213.5——
Gateway Science Academy High · charterGATEWAY SCIENCE ACAD/ST LOUIS46113.245%65%
Old North Academy · charterCONFLUENCE ACADEMIES44812.19%8%
Confluence Preparatory Academy · charterCONFLUENCE ACADEMIES44213.82%10%
KIPP Victory Academy · charterKIPP ST LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS43313.530%30%

92.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Missouri’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 5% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 95.0, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area is up 41% over five years, and up 4.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,033 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.03% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,218, some 22% above the $997 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,218 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $48,700 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $56,160.

The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $997 a month.

A median home at $197,500 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $85,328, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
95.0

Prices here run about 5% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,218
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$997
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$197,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against St. Louis city’s median household income of $56,160, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure202395.0Bottom 46%of 8872023
Home price change (1 year)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.1%63rd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.5%32nd percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+81.9%31st percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 39%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year45.3%1st percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1322024 ACS 5-Year174,11194th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$995Bottom 45%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,568Bottom 49%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,218Bottom 46%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$152024 ACS 5-Year$997Bottom 31%of 3,2152024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,3022024 ACS 5-Year$197,50056th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$762024 ACS 5-Year$2,03366th percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,4352024 ACS 5-Year$85,328Top 32%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.03%67th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year28.2%Bottom 46%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3252024 ACS 5-Year81370th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%11th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year16.3%89th percentileof 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1,1972024 ACS 5-Year29,22098th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

29/ 100
Ranks 1,262 of 1,453 published county profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 3 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 7% since 2020, to 279,695 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 3 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — up 54% on the prior year.

80% of the 304 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show St. Louis city lost about 2.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $52,846, below the $67,359 of households that moved out.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
304
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 19% nationally
Year over year
+54%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
80.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024300k280k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−2.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
40%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$52,846
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$67,359
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. St. Louis County, MO 8,205 people · 47% of arrivals
  2. St. Charles County, MO 703 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  3. St. Clair County, IL 579 people · 3.3% of arrivals
  4. Jefferson County, MO 500 people · 2.9% of arrivals
  5. Madison County, IL 389 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. St. Louis County, MO 11,755 people · 53% of departures
  2. St. Charles County, MO 910 people · 4.1% of departures
  3. Jefferson County, MO 851 people · 3.9% of departures
  4. St. Clair County, IL 692 people · 3.1% of departures
  5. Madison County, IL 405 people · 1.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k272
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−36%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 24°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.8 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 54, in the Moderate band, and about 10 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CAHOKIA ST LOUIS AP, 6.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year742024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year102024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year542024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
54
Moderate on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
74
90th percentile index
Days above 100
10
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

62 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are heat wave, inland flooding and earthquake, with heat wave alone responsible for 48% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

TornadoModerate
EarthquakeModerate
Inland floodingElevated

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, strong wind, lightning, cold wave, hail, ice storm, winter weather, landslide, hurricane, wildfire, drought, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

St. Louis city records 28.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 39.0 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 61.4 per 100,000 residents in St. Louis city.

Homicide
28.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
39.0
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
61.4
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
18.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe St. Louis city as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest St Louis Lambert Intl at 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year86.8%Bottom 49%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 10%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year9.8%Top 46%of 3,2212024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
St Louis Lambert IntlSTL10 mi11,020 ft
St Louis RgnlALN21 mi8,099 ft
Scott AFB/Midamerica St LouisBLV23 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
53
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
Housing, IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in St. Louis city, MO

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.