A CB Premier Group guide
Answer a few quick questions and discover communities that fit the way you want to live.
From city neighborhoods and historic inner-ring suburbs to newer development in St. Charles County and river towns in Franklin County, the St. Louis area offers very different ways to live. This guide compares the preferences you choose with neutral characteristics of 21 communities, such as typical housing age, housing density, relative home values and location.
Matches are intended as a starting point for your own research, not a recommendation. A local CB Premier Group agent can help you compare communities in more depth.
Each name opens our community guide. Communities marked “Listings” don’t have a guide yet and open a home search for that community instead (property search requires free registration).
Relocation guide
The St. Louis area includes an independent city, a large county made up of dozens of separate municipalities, and growing counties to the west across the Missouri River. Where you look can affect the age and style of homes you’ll find, how much space is typical and how far you’ll be from the places you go every day. Here’s an overview of the five areas covered in this guide.
An independent city, separate from St. Louis County since 1876 and not part of any county. It’s known for brick architecture, with single-family homes, two-family flats, condominiums and apartments in older and rehabbed buildings. The Central West End has the highest housing density of any community in this guide, and it and The Hill both sit within about five miles of downtown.
In this guide: 46–67% of homes built before 1950 · roughly 2,400–7,600 housing units per square mile
Established inner suburbs, several of which grew up along early rail and streetcar lines, with homes ranging from the early 1900s to mid-century. Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Maplewood and University City each have a National Register–listed historic business district.
Clayton is the county seat and one of the region’s major office districts. Also in this area: Richmond Heights, Ladue and Des Peres.
In this guide: median year built 1947–1976 · from about 400 to 3,000 housing units per square mile
Lower density and mostly single-family, along I-64 (US-40), I-270 and I-44. Most homes in Ballwin, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur and Town and Country date from 1950–1989; Eureka and Wildwood have more built since 1990. Wildwood has the lowest housing density and the most public parkland within three miles of any community in this guide, and Chesterfield is a major employment and retail center for the western part of the county.
In this guide: median year built 1976–1999 · from about 200 to 1,400 housing units per square mile
Across the Missouri River, with the highest shares of newer homes in this guide. In Wentzville, O’Fallon and Lake St. Louis, about half or more were built in 2000 or later, much of it in planned subdivisions along I-70 and I-64. St. Charles pairs a historic riverfront Main Street with newer neighborhoods.
In this guide: 28–81% of homes built in 2000 or later · median year built 1986–2008
Washington is a small Missouri River city about 45 miles west of downtown, with a National Register–listed downtown and a mix of older and newer homes. It offers a self-contained small-city setting, with a longer drive to the region’s central employment areas.
In this guide: 23% of homes built before 1950 · 26% built in 2000 or later
Start with the basics you can measure: your budget, the setting you prefer, the age and style of home you want, and where you’ll commute. The Neighborhood Finder above compares those preferences with neutral characteristics of 21 communities. From there, visit your top matches at different times of day, compare current listings and drive your commute.
They are separate governments. The City of St. Louis has been independent of St. Louis County since 1876. St. Louis County surrounds the City on the north, west and south and includes dozens of incorporated municipalities plus unincorporated areas, each with its own local services and property tax rates. A “St. Louis” address can be in either one, so check the jurisdiction of any specific property.
In this guide, the highest shares of homes built before 1950 are in the City (The Hill and the Central West End) and in Central County communities such as Richmond Heights, University City, Maplewood, Webster Groves and Clayton. St. Charles and Washington also have National Register–listed historic downtowns.
St. Charles County has the highest shares of homes built since 2000. In Wentzville, about four in five homes were built in 2000 or later, and in O’Fallon and Lake St. Louis about half. In Southwest County, Eureka also has a large share of newer homes.
Yes. Each match includes a “View Homes In & Near” button that opens a search of current MARIS listings in that community, filtered to the price range you selected. Searches include about a quarter mile around each community’s boundary, so nearby listings may appear. Property search requires free registration; seeing your matches does not.
Start with the six-question quiz above. No email is required to see your matches. Then read our Moving to St. Louis guide and the community guides for your matches. If you’d like help comparing areas from out of town, a local CB Premier Group agent can walk you through communities and current inventory.
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