10 Best Neighborhoods in St. Louis

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The 10 Best Neighborhoods in St. Louis By Movoto Real Estate
Here at Movoto Real Estate, we’re looking all over the country in an effort to bring you the best places to live. We’ve looked at the best cities for nerds, we’ve looked at the best small cities in America, and now we’re taking it a step further and looking at which neighborhoods within such cities are the best.
Being proud nerds ourselves, our goal was not merely to come up with a list of neighborhoods that are popular or that we think sound cool; rather, we are taking an in-depth look at each neighborhood within a city, crunching the numbers, and proving once and for all which neighborhoods are the best.
Today we’re looking at you, St. Louis.
What did we find? After running the numbers, it turns out the best neighborhood in St. Louis is Peabody-Darst-Webbe. It faced some stiff competition to get to the top, however.
Here are the 10 best neighborhoods in St. Louis:
1. Peabody-Darst-Webbe
2. Soulard
3. The Hill
4. Central West End
5. North Hampton
6. Ellendale
7. Lindenwood Park
7. Skinker-Debaliviere
9. Lafayette Square
9. Saint Louis Hills
Why are these neighborhoods the best in St. Louis—and what’s with the numbering? Keep reading to find out the method behind our ranking and for an in-depth breakdown of each neighborhood.

The DL on the STL

Just like our best cities posts, in order to find out which neighborhoods were the best in St. Louis, we needed certain quantifiable criteria. We settled on the following seven:

• Restaurants, coffee shops, and bars per capita
• Total number of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars
• Cost of living
• Crime rate
• High school diploma attainment rate
• Median household income
• Median home value

We started with a list of 75 St. Louis neighborhoods and ranked them from one to 75 in each criteria, based on the data, with one being the best possible score. We chose to use both the total number of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars, and the number of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars per capita, because while it is important to have a large number of options per individual, we also didn’t want to punish neighborhoods with larger populations.
The rest of the criteria we chose are standard staples of good living; the mark of a happy neighborhood.
Once we rated each neighborhood, we averaged the criteria-level scores together and gave each an overall score. The lower this number was, the higher the area ranked. To check out the rankings of all 75 neighborhoods, jump down to the bottom of the post.

1. Peabody-Darst-Webbe

Also known as the Near Southside Neighborhood, this area of St. Louis came in at No. 1 for scoring well in almost all of our criteria. Where it shined, though, was in education, with a high school diploma attainment rate of 90 percent.
Peabody-Darst-Webbe also scored major points with its number of bars, restaurants, and coffee shops per capita. With a population of just over 1,200, this neighborhood boasts more than 100 of such amenities—places like the newly opened Element, which is something of a mix of the three. The thing that most sets this neighborhood apart from the rest? The cost of living—23 points below average. Peabody-Darst-Webbe is easily the best deal on our list.

2. Soulard

Soulard it has a crime rate 52 percent below the city’s average, a total of almost 200 restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, and the median home price is $187,978—one of the highest values in St. Louis.
Additionally, Soulard is one of the most unique areas in the city. It is one of the oldest neighborhood in St. Louis; the streets are lined with historic red brick townhomes that contain bars like the famous International Tap House, coffee shops like Soulard Coffee Garden, and some of the best barbecue around, including Bogart’s Smokehouse; and the whole neighborhood seems to move at a more leisurely pace.

3. The Hill

Residents of The Hill neighborhood won’t be surprised to find it near the top of our list at No. 3. In fact, to see what makes The Hill unique, just visit the center of this neighborhood, where St. Ambrose Catholic Church is on one corner, Amighetti’s Cafe and Bakery is on another, an import shop sits across the street, and the bocce garden, Milo’s, is on the other corner.
It’s no wonder that The Hill scored well in both restaurants, coffee shops, and bars per capita and total in the area. Residents here also make about $44,434 per household, 32 percent higher than the city’s average.

4. Central West End

Coming in at No. 4 on our list is Central West End, which scored major points for low crime, high priced houses, and its total number of coffee shops, restaurants, and bars.
Central West End has a crime rate 59 percent lower than the St. Louis average, making it No. 1 when it comes to safety. As far as home prices go, the average home here is valued at $265,892—117 percent higher than the St. Louis average. With an abundance of coffee shops, restaurants, and bars, it is clear that Central West End deserves this spot on our list.
Need further proof? Just grab lunch at the St. Louis Coffee Oasis & Mediterranean Café next time you’re in this neck of the woods. The gyro will be evidence enough.

5. North Hampton

Our No. 5 neighborhood is North Hampton, which gets a good grade for its high school diploma attainment rate of 84 percent—that’s 20 percent higher than the city’s average. North Hampton also scored well when it came to its median household income of $49,438—a good 46 percent higher than the St. Louis average.
This neighborhood is a nice area dotted with well-manicured lawns and parks, like Tilles Park, with a sports field, playgrounds, picnic areas, and walking paths. A perfect neighborhood for a picnic—and safe too, with a crime rate 25 percent lower than the city’s average.

6. Ellendale

This neighborhood scored points for a higher than average median household income of $54,978—63 percent higher than the city’s average, and its impressive number of coffee shops, bars, and restaurants. Considering Ellendale has a population of just 1,635, this is not too shabby.
Ellendale itself is a small neighborhood and is made up mostly of residences and small businesses. Even with its size, though, it does have some important institutions, like the Principle Union Pacific Railroad and the Burlington Northern Railroad-—and of course restaurants like the Piccadilly Cafeteria, which some residents might argue is reason enough to live there.

7. Lindenwood Park

At No. 7—or rather our first No. 7—is Lindenwood Park. This neighborhood scored major points for its high median income of $55,560, its median home price of $148,580, and its crime rate, which is 33 percent below the city’s average.
This neighborhood is located conveniently to downtown, Forest Park, and—perhaps most importantly—Ted Drewes Frozen Custard Store.

7. Skinker-Debaliviere

Tying with Lindenwood Park for our No. 7 spot is the Skinker-Debaliviere neighborhood. This area scored highly when it came to its total number of restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. Quantity doesn’t always mean quality; but this neighborhood seems to have both. Case in point: Pi Pizzeria, with its delicious pies like the “Central West End”, or the Chinese Noodle Café, with its crunchy and creamy crab Rangoon.
Before we make you too hungry, let’s look at where else Skinker-Debaliviere did well. With an average home value of $196,554, and a high school diploma attainment rate 18 percent higher than the city average, it is no wonder Skinker-Debaliviere made our top 10.

9. Lafayette Square

The final spot on our list is another tie between Lafayette Square and Saint Louis Hills.
Lafayette Square came in first in safety, with a crime rate 59 percent lower than the city’s average. This neighborhood also has some of the most valuable real estate in the area, with home prices averaging around $209,228.
This historic neighborhood is centered around a set of stately Victorian homes called the painted ladies, which surround the rolling greenery of Lafayette Park. Further back from the park are charming lofts, condos, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops, like Park Avenue Coffee with delicious, gooey butter cake.

9. Saint Louis Hills

Tying with Lafayette for our No. 9 spot is the Saint Louis Hills neighborhood. This neighborhood also came in first when it comes to safety—its crime rate matches Lafayette Square’s at 59 percent lower than the city’s average.
Saint Louis Hills earned points with a slightly higher median home value than Lafayette, at $239,530, and also for some of the highest median household incomes (an average of $63,646) and high school diploma attainment rates (87 percent) in the city.

So Long, St. Louis!

There you have it, St. Louis residents and hopeful future members of St. Louis—the 10 best neighborhoods in your city. Of course, selecting a winner was no stroll through Lafayette Square, but when the numbers were crunched and the scores tallied up, the winner was clear: Peabody-Darste-Webbe is the best neighborhood in the STL. Still don’t think so? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
(click to enlarge)