Best PlacesSt. Charles County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Charles County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
St. Charles County ranks 212th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $111,313, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, the weather, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in St. Charles County
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.
The best areas in St. Charles County
The parts of St. Charles County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Dardenne Prairie, Defiance & New Melle
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and more households have young kids.
Cottleville & Weldon Spring
More adults hold degrees.
Lake St. Louis
More residents vote and crime runs lower.
Wentzville & Foristell
Biking is worse and advertised internet is slower.
St. Peters
Homes cost less.
O'fallon
Prices have run up more and health outcomes score lower.
St. Charles
Streets are more walkable, though more homes sit empty.
St. Charles County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 9% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
St. Charles County's strengths and weaknesses
St. Charles County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. What local pay buys and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. The weather and car insurance costs also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where St. Charles County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$111,313 median, better than 96% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of counties
Where St. Charles County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 27% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 30% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in St. Charles County
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Charles County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $111,313, 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 St. Charles County's effective rate of 1.06%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in St. Charles County
St. Charles County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for St. Charles County.
Who works in St. Charles County, and how
Work in St. Charles County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in St. Charles County
St. Charles County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of counties and more parkland per resident than 68% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of St. Charles County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is St. Charles County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Charles County has grown about 12% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the St Louis, MO metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving St. Charles County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in St. Charles County, month by month
St. Charles County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of St. Charles County
St Louis Lambert International sits about 16 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 St. Charles County
Schools across St. Charles County average a B+, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elem.A · 68% proficient
- Independence Elem.A · 66% proficient
- Warren Elem.A · 64% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rockwood Valley MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Francis Howell MiddleA · 63% proficient
- Ft. Zuwmalt West MiddleA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Ft. Zumwalt West HighA− · 63% proficient
- Ft. Zumwalt South HighA− · 61% proficient
- Francis Howell HighB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Charles County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Charles County 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 St. Charles County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Charles County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in St. Charles County
Is St. Charles County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Charles County ranks 212th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. Charles County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $327,503. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $111,313 median income, cost of living beats 99% of counties.
Is St. Charles County safe?
Yes, St. Charles County is safer than 74% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Charles County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 24. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in St. Charles County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Dardenne Prairie, Defiance & New Melle, Cottleville & Weldon Spring, and Lake St. Louis. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is St. Charles County good for families?
Schools beat 83% of counties, crime safety beats 74%, and childcare runs $887 a month.
Is St. Charles County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 99% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 89% of counties. About 18% of workers already work from home.
Compare St. Charles County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Charles County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Charles County 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.
St. Charles County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Charles County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Charles County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Charles County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Charles County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Charles County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.