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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of St. Louis are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around St. Louis for 2022:
What's the best suburb of St. Louis? Glendale ranks as the best suburb of St. Louis for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Glendale, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 St. Louis 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.
Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Missouri:
The 10 Best St. Louis Suburbs To Live For 2022
Glendale is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the St. Louis area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Glendale."
Everyone here is rich; families average $141,622 a year, which is the 7th highest in the St. Louis region. And only 0.85% are out of work. Homes average more than $415,900 each.
/10
Population: 5,881
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $141,622
Unemployment Rate: 0.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Glendale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Warson Woods is the second best 'burb we looked at near St. Louis for 2022.
It ranks 6th for incomes in the area and only 0.63% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.
/10
Population: 2,387
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $166,042
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 2.5%
More on Warson Woods: Real Estate | Data
Here in Ladue, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the St. Louis metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Ladue.
/10
Population: 8,631
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $242,792
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%
Poverty Rate: 1.9%
More on Ladue: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Des Peres ranks as the 4th best suburb of St. Louis for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Des Peres and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 8,654
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $173,672
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 1.9%
More on Des Peres: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Clayton.
Clayton gets kudos for having the 5th most expensive homes in the St. Louis area, where houses sell for an average of $605,700. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 16,763
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Income: $108,387
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Clayton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Brentwood is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 1.34% which is 5th best in the area.
According to online reports, Brentwood is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the St. Louis area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 7,986
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $80,486
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.5%
More on Brentwood: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Frontenac.
Frontenac schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it's only 9.4 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 3,538
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Income: $174,676
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 2.5%
More on Frontenac: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Dardenne Prairie is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 3.0% of people lack insurance, good for 30th in the area.
/10
Population: 13,385
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 2)
Median Income: $134,267
Unemployment Rate: 2.1%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Dardenne Prairie: Real Estate | Data
Is 'Everything Better In Clarkson Valley?'
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 2,619
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $208,000
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 0.5%
More on Clarkson Valley: Real Estate | Data
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Webster Groves.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
/10
Population: 22,906
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $94,479
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Webster Groves: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around St. Louis for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around St. Louis was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of St. Louis.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 97 suburbs to evaluate around St. Louis.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 97 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near St. Louis." We're lookin' at you, Glendale. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best St. Louis 'Burbs of 2022
We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like St. Louis, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more Missouri reading, check out: