Living in St. Louis, MO

"Dangerous" is too broad a label for any city, but St. Louis does sit above national averages on crime. The violent crime index is 130 and property crime hits 113 — both past the 100-point U.S. baseline. Plenty of residents live comfortably and safely, but they've usually chosen their neighborhoods carefully. If you're considering a move, visit first, drive around at night, and look up crime stats block by block. Data: FBI Uniform Crime Report.

By most measures, yes. The median rent of $997/month against a median household income of $56,160/year works out to a 21.3% rent-to-income ratio. Financial planners generally want that number under 30%, so St. Louis clears the bar with room to spare. You'll have breathing space for savings, car payments, and the occasional splurge. Numbers from Census ACS 2023.

Most people in St. Louis are at work within 18 minutes — a pretty reasonable commute by American standards. The breakdown: 64.1% drive alone, 5.7% take public transit, and 17.0% work from home. Rush hour adds time, obviously, but the baseline is manageable.

The numbers suggest some caution. St. Louis's graduation rate is 72.0% with a 16:1 student-teacher ratio — both below where most parents would feel comfortable. That said, there are standout public schools, active magnet programs, and charter options that families swear by. If education is a priority, you'll want to target specific schools and be willing to live in their attendance zones. Don't write off the whole city based on averages.

About what you'd expect anywhere. The average monthly utility bill in St. Louis runs around $238 for electricity, gas, water, and sewer combined. The national average is $230, so you're right in line. Your actual bill depends on home size, insulation quality, and how much you run the AC or heater — but no surprises here.

Higher than average, yes. The total effective tax rate lands around 16.0% when you add up income, property, and sales taxes. Sales tax is 9.7%. High-tax areas often come with better public schools, infrastructure, and services — but that's not guaranteed, and it's cold comfort on payday. If you're moving from a low-tax state like Texas or Florida, brace for a noticeable dip in take-home pay.

Everything on this page is built from public government sources: rent and income figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023); commute and transportation data from Census ACS tables B08303 and B08006; crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report; school data from the National Center for Education Statistics; utility cost estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. We refresh each dataset monthly through an automated pipeline and cross-check for anomalies. No surveys, no user-submitted guesses — just official federal data presented in a way that's actually useful for people researching a move.