Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Missouri ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

D−St. LouisSafer than 1% of U.S. towns –LemayNot graded

Schools

D−St. LouisBetter than 4% of districts in the state BLemayBetter than 59% of districts in the state

Health

CSt. LouisHealthier than 33% of U.S. towns CLemayHealthier than 29% of U.S. towns

10St. Louis

9Lemay

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Lowest depressionHealth · 261 towns #51#152 Fastest growingGrowth · 260 towns #209#112 Most educatedPeople · 261 towns #46#143 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 261 towns #12#92 Most conserved landOutdoors · 235 towns #23#83 Most affordableCost of living · 260 towns #154#92 Most activeHealth · 261 towns #73#129 Lowest obesityHealth · 261 towns #94#40

Left end = #1 in Missouri. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of St. Louis’s rankings →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

St. Louis$1,140/mo

Typical home $187K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.03% · or rent about $997/mo · Housing →

Lemay$1,080/mo

Typical home $171K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.27% · or rent about $881/mo · Housing →

The difference: $60 a month, about $700 a year, between St. Louis and Lemay.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

St. Louis and Lemay share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

St. LouisLemay

St. Louis ↔ Lemay7.4 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

1,701 Lemay residents work in St. Louis (22.9% of its workers)

Work & commute in Lemay →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

St. LouisLemay

Snow a year14″14″

January low22°F 22°F

July high89°F 89°F

Growing season (days)203d 203d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)78th 77th

Outdoors & history

St. LouisLemay

Trails39 mi 0 mi

Conserved land7.1%2.8%

Settled1764 —

National Register places459 2

Archive photos22 5

Famous people born here23 1

Community

St. LouisLemay

Library hours a week64 hrs —

Colleges in town8 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Missouri average

St. LouisLemay

People

Population 288,512Highest 16,228Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -5.5%Lowest MO: +2.8% +2.8%Highest MO: +2.8%

Median age 36.8±0.2Highest 6% below MO 36.7±3.6Lowest 6% below MO

St. Louis and Lemay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 18.3%±0.4Lowest MO: 22.3% 21.8%±4.1Highest MO: 22.3%

Lemay and St. Louis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 15.5%±0.5Highest MO: 17.9% 15%±1.4Lowest MO: 17.9%

St. Louis and Lemay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 41.1%Highest MO: 32.4% 20.4%Lowest MO: 32.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7.8%±0.4Highest MO: 5.7% 3.1%±1Lowest MO: 5.7%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $56,160±$1kLowest 21% below MO $60,399±$5kHighest 15% below MO

Lemay and St. Louis are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $197,500±$6kHighest 14% below MO $152,200±$10kLowest 34% below MO

Rentmedian gross, monthly $997±$15Highest 3% below MO $881±$36Lowest 15% below MO

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,033Highest 4% above MO $1,932Lowest about the MO average

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 45.7%±1.9Highest MO: 45.6% 43.8%±7.4Lowest MO: 45.6%

St. Louis and Lemay are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 20.6%Highest MO: 12.6% 14.7%Lowest MO: 12.6%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 45.3%Lowest MO: 68.1% 77.1%Highest MO: 68.1%

Typical home builtmedian year 1938Lowest 40 yrs older than MO 1955Highest 23 yrs older than MO

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 22 minLowest 6% below MO 24 minHighest about the MO average

Work from home 17%±0.8Highest MO: 13% 11.7%±3.1Lowest MO: 13%

Work in townworking residents 39.4%Highest 3.6%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 6.3 miLowest 8.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.67Highest 0.51Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Clayton (4%)St. Louis (23%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Lemay23% work in St. Louis

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 7.1%Highest 2.8%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 38.5 miHighest 0.4 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 131Highest 4Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 117Lowest 119Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #215 of 226 in MO #186 of 226 in MO

School district DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICE · MO SCHOOL FOR THE BLINDHANCOCK PLACE · MEHLVILLE R-IX

High school in town Gateway HighHancock SR. High

Students per teacherat that high school 9.2Lowest 12.7Highest

Missouri average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

St. Louis neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to St. Louis’s Town Square.

Lemay neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Lemay’s Town Square.

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Bordering St. Louis

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Venice Township, IL4,582 people · $69K homes

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Glasgow Village5,504 people · $69K homes

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Clayton17,380 people · $830K homes

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Centreville Township, IL19,674 people · $59K homes

Towns like St. Louis

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Springfield169,954 people · $178K homes

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Kansas City510,612 people · $243K homes

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Columbia128,548 people · $285K homes

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Independence121,740 people · $173K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Missouri towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

St. Louis vs Lemay

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

St. Louis places higher on 10 of 19 MO lists

A typical home costs about the same each month

St. Louis and Lemay share a border

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside St. Louis and Lemay

Bordering St. Louis

Towns like St. Louis

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