Best PlacesSt. Francois County, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in St. Francois County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
St. Francois County ranks 2,333rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in St. Francois 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. Francois County
The parts of St. Francois 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.
Farmington
Fewer homes sit empty and commutes are shorter.
Desloge
Tree cover is thinner and prices have run up more.
Bonne Terre & Terre du Lac
More households have young kids and local pay stretches further.
Park Hills
Homes cost less, though incomes run lower.
Scores across St. Francois County run from about the 4th to the 72nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
St. Francois County's strengths and weaknesses
Where St. Francois County ranks high
- Cheap childcare$329 a month, better than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 66% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 65% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than 65% of counties
Where St. Francois County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 17% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 21% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 23% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 27% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in St. Francois County
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median St. Francois County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,449, 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. Francois County's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 8 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. Francois County
St. Francois 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. Francois County.
Who works in St. Francois County, and how
Work in St. Francois County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in St. Francois County
St. Francois County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of St. Francois County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is St. Francois County growing, and who is moving in?
St. Francois County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from St Louis, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving St. Francois 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. Francois County, month by month
St. Francois County sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of St. Francois County
The nearest airport, Scott AFB/Midamerica St Louis, is about 61 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around St. Francois County
Schools across St. Francois County average a B−, better than 63% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Potosi Elem.B+ · 53% proficient
- Jefferson Elem.B · 48% proficient
- Sunrise Elem.B · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Trojan IntermediateB+ · 51% proficient
- Lincoln IntermediateB · 45% proficient
- Farmington MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Farmington Sr. HighB+ · 57% proficient
- Central HighB · 48% proficient
- West County HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every St. Francois County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
St. Francois 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. Francois County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who St. Francois County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in St. Francois County
Is St. Francois County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, St. Francois County ranks 2,333rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on affordable childcare, fast internet, and cell coverage, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is St. Francois County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,229. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $61,449 median income, cost of living beats 35% of counties.
Is St. Francois County safe?
St. Francois County is safer than 40% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in St. Francois County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 55 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in St. Francois County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Farmington, Desloge, and Bonne Terre & Terre du Lac. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare St. Francois County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to St. Francois County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in St. Francois 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. Francois County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for St. Francois County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in St. Francois County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of St. Francois County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in St. Francois County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
St. Francois 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.