The 5 Best Neighborhoods in St. Louis

Home to the Gateway Arch, the St Louis Rams, and roughly 318,000 people, St Louis is a major city in Missouri that was founded way back in 1764 by a couple of French fur traders who named the city for King Louis IX of France. Today it’s a vibrant place with plenty of restaurants, bars, parks and activities for both locals and residents. Walk Score gives St Louis a score of 61 meaning the city is “somewhat walkable”, unless you’re in Downtown where you can do everything on foot.

Downtown

Downtown St Louis is a “walker’s paradise”! It has a Walk Score of 92 so you can do everything on foot, making this a great neighborhood to live in if you don’t drive. It’s not just the economic heart of the city; Downtown St Louis is the entertainment center too so there’s always something going on. It’s a great place for sports fans too – home to not only the Busch Stadium where MLB’s St Louis Cardinals play, but also home of the Edward Jones Dome where NFL’s St Louis Rams play. The major downside of living in such a vibrant place is crime – the crime index in downtown is 50 percent higher than the St Louis average and you have a 1 in 7 chance of being a victim of crime here.

Downtown West

As the name suggests, the Downtown West neighborhood is to the west of downtown and with its Walk Score of 88 it’s a very walkable neighborhood. There’s not quite as many restaurants, stores and attractions in this neighborhood, but when you’re right on the doorstep of downtown it doesn’t matter. Even so, there are lots of little parks to enjoy some open space in and compared to Downtown, Downtown West is a far safer place to live. The crime index here is actually 6 percent lower than the St Louis average. The neighborhood is young and trendy with the converted residential lofts and restaurants of the former garment district being very desirable places to live.

Central West End

Central West End is the third most walkable neighborhood in St Louis with a Walk Score of 82. Overall it’s a really nice neighborhood to live in – close to downtown yet it has all of its own amenities so you can walk to grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and schools. Central West End is one of the more affluent neighborhoods in St Louis and it’s right next to the beautiful Forest Park so you can take walks, visit the St Louis Zoo, and some of the city’s top museums here. It’s not surprising that living in Central West End is fairly safe – the crime index here is 59 percent lower than the St Louis average.

Columbus Square

Columbus Square is the neighborhood just north of downtown St Louis so it’s a great place to live if you want to be close to the action. Centered around the compact Columbus Square Park, this neighborhood has a school, and transit links, while grocery stores, restaurants, bars and coffee shops are within walking distance, hence the Walk Score of 80. Unfortunately crime is rife in Columbus Square where you have a 1 in 7 chance of being a victim of crime and the crime index is 59 percent higher than the St Louis average.

Benton Park West

Benton Park West is the fifth most walkable neighborhood in St Louis with its Walk Score of 77. You can do most things on foot here, and that includes trips to the grocery stores, shops and coffee shops of Cherokee Street where there’s a definite Latino presence. Benton Park West actually has the highest percentage of Latino residents among all the St Louis neighborhoods. Crime is above average in this neighborhood where the crime index is 45 percent higher than the St Louis average.