St. James makes Missouri’s top 10 on 2 lists
St. James is ranked on 39 lists against the 256 Missouri towns with 2,500+ residents. It makes the top 10 on 2 and the top quarter on 6.
Older than 98% of Missouri
Not better or worse, just St. James’s character, from the lists where neither end is the “good” one. The most distinctive come first.
The lists St. James does best on
Each list ranks every MO town with 2,500+ residents. Tap one to see the whole list with St. James marked.
St. James lands in the top half on 13 of 25 lists
Each dot is St. James’s spot on one list: the left end is #1 in MO, the right end is last. Areas where St. James does best come first.
1 spot from the top 3 for trails
Lists where St. James sits just outside a milestone, and what it would take to get in.
Every MO list, and where St. James lands
41 lists from Census, school, health, library, crime, climate and land data. Tap any list to see every town on it.
Cost of living
Most affordable#1 Pine Lawn · 0.9 yrs
#74
Cheapest rent#1 Mountain View · $424/mo
#30
Lowest property tax#1 Mountain Grove · $438/yr
#56
Rent easiest to afford#1 De Soto · 20.3%
Outdoors
Most conserved land#1 Park Hills · 63%
#77
Most trails#1 Park Hills · 3.3 mi / sq mi
#4
Most walkable#1 Pine Lawn · 213 / sq mi
#129 Health
Healthiest#1 Ladue · 99 / 100
#121
Lowest obesity#1 Town and Country · 23%
#52
Fewest smokers#1 Town and Country · 7%
#101
Most active#1 Glendale · 16%
#129
Fewest uninsured#1 Ladue · 3%
#86
Lowest depression#1 Black Jack · 19%
#150
Closest to a top hospital#1 Branson · 0.0 mi
#195 Getting around
F Shortest commute#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 9 min #95
Housing
Vacation-home towns#1 Osage Beach · 57.2%
#213
N
Most new homes#1 North Kansas City · 27.0 per 1,000
#107
Fastest-rising home prices#1 Versailles · +110.5%
#153
Housing hasn't kept up#1 Forsyth · 13.6 per home
People
Most educated#1 Glendale · 90.1%
#146
F
Youngest#1 Fort Leonard Wood · 20.5
#250
Oldest#1 Osage Beach · 59.4
#7
Most residents 65+#1 Forsyth · 36.4%
#35
Most kids#1 Glasgow Village · 40%
#132 Safety
Safest#1 Odessa · 4.4
#99 
The number on the right is St. James’s spot. All of Missouri’s rankings, with the map → · National lists and other states: all rankings.
Do the numbers ring true?
The lists count what can be counted. Neighbors know the rest.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
- 2,500+ residents. Census estimates for smaller towns carry margins of error too wide to rank fairly, so they sit out every MO list.
- One town, one row. A city that is both a city and a town in Census data, or a village inside a town, is counted once.
- Ties share a rank. Towns on one weather station, one school district or one CDC estimate share a figure, so they share a spot (T).
- No “worst” lists. Lists rank toward the good end, and share cards are made only for the top half. Age, snow and the like are character, not grades.
U.S. Census Bureau (American Community Survey 5-year, 2010 and 2020 censuses, Building Permits Survey), U.S. Department of Education, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, CDC PLACES, Medicare Care Compare, IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FHFA House Price Index, NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. Each list explains its own method.