Best Places63042, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 63042, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
63042 ranks 31,361st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Crime pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on transit.
The best neighborhoods in 63042
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
63042's strengths and weaknesses
Where 63042 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 79% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 63042 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 63042
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 63042 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $57,143, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 63042's effective rate of 1.44%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 63042
63042's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 63042.
Who works in 63042, and how
Work in 63042 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 63042
63042 has more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 63042 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 63042, month by month
63042 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 72° | 58° | 46° |
| July | 93° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 74° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 63042
St Louis Lambert International sits about 2 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.5 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 63042
Schools across 63042 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Russell Elem.C− · 28% proficient
- Garrett Elem.C− · 27% proficient
- Mcnair Elem.D− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Steam Academy Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- West MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Hoech MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Hazelwood West HighC− · 27% proficient
- Ritenour Sr. HighD · 22% proficient
- Mccluer North HighD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 63042 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
63042 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 63042 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 63042
Is 63042 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 63042 ranks 31,361st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, biking, and fast internet, and lowest on crime and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 63042 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,043. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $57,143 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 63042 safe?
63042 is safer than 0% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $2,971 per resident a year.
Compare 63042 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 63042. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 63042 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
63042 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 63042: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 63042: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 63042: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 63042: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
63042 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.