Union, Missouri

Area Profile

12,781 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Union, in Franklin County.

66out of 100
Area Score
Top 26% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 27% of 4,199 cities measured68
SchoolsTop 44% of 4,162 cities measured54
GrowthTop 27% of 4,224 cities measured61
Housing affordabilityTop 1% of 4,218 cities measured94
Climate2,132nd of 4,225 cities measured70
Physical resilience2,455th of 4,226 cities measured49
Access3,441st of 4,226 cities measured78
Economic stability2,177th of 4,226 cities measured57
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.7% and median household income $73,435, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Franklin County, MO, which contains Union, rather than for Union alone.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.3 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 115 units authorized over the past twelve months, 40% below the prior year.

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
12,781
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$73,435
Top 41% nationally
Density
1,406/sq mi
9.1 sq mi of land
Median age
33.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Missouri
Nearest major airport
STL
40 mi · St Louis Lambert Intl
Median home value
$205,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Franklin County, MO, which contains Union, is 3.7%, lower than in 74% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Franklin County, MO, which contains Union, grew 0.5% over the past year, to 52,930 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsFranklin County, MO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,65640th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftFranklin County, MO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,86119th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$7,6252024 ACS 5-Year$73,435Top 41%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,2072024 ACS 5-Year$33,416Bottom 49%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year8.1%Top 38%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year26.3 minTop 48%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year23.7%Top 42%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.0%56th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentFranklin County, MO’s figureJuly 202652,930Bottom 48%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Franklin County, MO’s figureJuly 2026+1.0%Top 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Franklin County, MO’s figureJuly 2026+0.5%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceFranklin County, MO’s figureJuly 202654,94948th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year79.5%Top 46%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSt. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$66,330Bottom 37%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSt. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,990Bottom 40%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year0.7%81st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Franklin County, MO’s figureJuly 2026−0.4%Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateFranklin County, MO’s figureJuly 20263.7%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%56th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $73,435 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Franklin County, MO, which contains this city.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.3 students for every full-time teacher across 7 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
7
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.0%
Bottom 44% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
53.8%
Top 49% in Missouri
All 7 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Union HighUNION R-XI95615.424%51%
Union MiddleUNION R-XI70415.043%53%
Central Elem.UNION R-XI64311.567%62%
Prairie Dell ElementaryUNION R-XI49511.8——
Beaufort Elem.UNION R-XI32212.448%49%
Clearview ElementaryWASHINGTON29514.857%52%
Autumn Hill SchoolMO SCHLS FOR THE SEV DISABLED325.3——

45.0% 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 $1,739 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.85% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $990, some 15% above the $858 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $990 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $39,600 a year, about 54% of the median household income here of $73,435.

The typical renter household here spends 21% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $858 a month.

A median home at $205,200 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,726, 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
20.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$990
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$858
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$205,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Union’s median household income of $73,435, 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 figure202395.0Top 27%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.1%67th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+40.5%43rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+81.9%34th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.3Top 43%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year60.6%21st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2972024 ACS 5-Year5,39989th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$800Top 8%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,270Top 6%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$990Top 7%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$532024 ACS 5-Year$858Top 37%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,7772024 ACS 5-Year$205,20055th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1062024 ACS 5-Year$1,73949th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,8032024 ACS 5-Year$89,726Top 37%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year0.85%42nd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year20.8%Top 17%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1202024 ACS 5-Year7086th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.3%64th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%46th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2222024 ACS 5-Year40988th percentileof 32,3302024 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

61/ 100
Top 27% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in 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 grown 6% since 2020, reaching 13,198 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 13,198 residents in 2024, up 1.5% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 115 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 13% are in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Franklin County, which contains Union, gained about 0.8% 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 $66,656, above the $56,861 of households that moved out.

At 9.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
115
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.0
Top 14% nationally
Year over year
−40%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
13.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k12k
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 rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
27%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$66,656
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,861
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. St. Louis County, MO 873 people · 20% of arrivals
  2. Jefferson County, MO 523 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Crawford County, MO 336 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  4. St. Charles County, MO 261 people · 6.0% of arrivals
  5. Gasconade County, MO 190 people · 4.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. St. Louis County, MO 546 people · 15% of departures
  2. Crawford County, MO 365 people · 10% of departures
  3. Jefferson County, MO 353 people · 9.8% of departures
  4. St. Charles County, MO 224 people · 6.2% of departures
  5. Gasconade County, MO 174 people · 4.8% 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. This is the figure for Franklin County, MO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202516376
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+89%).

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 22°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 39.8 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ST LOUIS SPRT OF S L AP, 23.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals39.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals22°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

49 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 53% of it.

EarthquakeElevated
HailElevated
LandslideModerate
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingElevated
Ice stormModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
410
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,275
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Union's police department reported 410 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,275.

Franklin County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 14.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 19.7 per 100,000 residents in Franklin County.

Homicide
4.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
14.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
19.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.7
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Union’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 the county around Union (Franklin County) rather than Union itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest St Louis Lambert Intl at 40 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year94.5%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle40 miBottom 19%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.1%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
St Louis Lambert IntlSTL40 mi11,020 ft
St Louis RgnlALN60 mi8,099 ft
Scott AFB/Midamerica St LouisBLV63 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
66
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—

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Other cities in St. Louis, MO-IL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
St. LouisSt. Louis city288,51254St. Louis vs Union
O'FallonSt. Charles County93,80174O'Fallon vs Union
St. CharlesSt. Charles County71,50869St. Charles vs Union
St. PetersSt. Charles County59,09271
FlorissantSt. Louis County51,77357
ChesterfieldSt. Louis County49,57475
WentzvilleSt. Charles County47,06170
BellevilleSt. Clair County41,37053
OakvilleSt. Louis County35,33367
WildwoodSt. Louis County35,13372
University CitySt. Louis County34,68566
O'FallonSt. Clair County32,26268

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Union side by side with a similar place.

Union vs JacksonUnion vs Washington

Moving to Union from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
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
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.

ZIP codes in Union

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Union with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
6308420,708$75,992$226,90066