Best PlacesWest Alton, MO Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Alton, 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.
West Alton ranks 36,726th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Alton
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.
West Alton's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Alton ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 93% of towns
- Household income$111,500 median, better than 90% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 85% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 77% of towns
Where West Alton ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 3% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Alton
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Alton home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $111,500, 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 West Alton's effective rate of 1.05%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Alton
West Alton runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Alton.
Who works in West Alton, and how
Work in West Alton centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in West Alton
West Alton has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of West Alton and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Alton, month by month
West Alton sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of West Alton
St Louis Lambert International sits about 11 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 West Alton
Schools across West Alton average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Orchard Farm ElementaryA− · 59% proficient
- Jamestown Elem.C− · 26% proficient
- Arrowpoint Elem.F · 6% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orchard Farm Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Central MiddleD− · 14% proficient
- Southeast MiddleF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Orchard Farm High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Hazelwood Central HighD · 20% proficient
- Hazelwood East HighD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Alton school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Alton 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 West Alton against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Alton
Is West Alton a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Alton ranks 36,726th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and a stable housing market, 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 West Alton expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $153,100. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $111,500 median income, cost of living beats 93% of towns.
Is West Alton safe?
West Alton is safer than 2% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,040 per resident a year.
Compare West Alton with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Alton. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Alton 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.
West Alton detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Alton: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Alton: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Alton: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Alton: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Alton 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.