Best Places To Live In St. Charles MO
St. Charles County continues to be the fastest-growing county in Missouri and is staking its claim as a great place to live and work, not just as a bedroom community for St. Louis.
The median home price – a strong indicator of the health of the housing market – went up by $15,000 in 2017 from a year prior, said Mark Stallman, CEO of St. Charles County Association of Realtors. The median price was $215,000 and homes on the market sold in an average of 11 days, he said.
“It’s a good area for growth because we have top-rated schools, great neighborhoods, lots of variety in housing and fabulous recreational opportunities,” Stallman said.
The county’s housing stock includes modest starter homes, luxury estates, apartment complexes and retirement-focused developments.
Larger municipalities include St. Charles, St. Peters, O’Fallon, Dardenne Prairie, Lake Saint Louis, Wentzville, Cottleville and Weldon Spring, with several of them cited in a 2017 list of the top 50 safest cities in Missouri by the National Council for Home Safety and Security. Also, home security firm SafeWise ranked the safest 20 cities in Missouri based on FBI statistics and announced that two were in St. Charles County – Cottleville (second) and O’Fallon (10th), the only city with more than 50,000 population on the list).
One of the most promising developments in the county in the last several years has been the job growth. While many residents still commute into the city, a growing number take a shorter commute to positions nearby at hospitals, General Motors and MasterCard, to name a few.
This surge in job activity has helped drive growth in the western part of the county, especially near Wentzville, where there is more open land.
St. Charles, recently ranked in Money magazine’s “Best Places to Live” and Where To Retire magazine’s “America’s Best Places to Retire”, offers the largest selection of traditional housing.The city’s historic Main Street area serves as a focal point for the area and tourist draw, with brick-lined streets and many buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the most popular developments in the city is the Streets of St. Charles, a mixed-use venue that offers entertainment, shopping, dining and residences. New luxury apartments here offer a plush urban atmosphere and nine floor plans. Options include balconies, terraces, a heated infinity pool, outdoor kitchen and grilling areas, hot tub, fire pit, business center, clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center complete with tanning bed and even a dog grooming parlor.
In St. Peters, there are about 200 neighborhoods to explore, including traditional and upscale developments. The town, which was ranked 15th on a recent Money magazine “Best Places to Live” list, provides plenty of activities for its residents, including the popular Rec-Plex, which includes an ice rink, pools and much more.
Wentzville, which is home to a General Motors auto assembly plant, has been one of the fastest growing cities in the state since 2000. It also is home to the county fairgrounds and the Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire.
O’Fallon, which has been ranked several times in the Money magazine “Best Places to Live” list, is the seventh-largest municipality in the state. One of the 2018 highlights for the city is the opening of the new Alligator’s Creek Aquatic Center on Memorial Day weekend.
For retired residents, there are many options throughout the county for independent living, assisted living and nursing homes, including:
- Fairwinds – Rivers Edge in St. Charles.
- Villages of St. Peters & Villages of St. Peters Memory Care.
- Spencer Place in St. Peters.
- The Boulevard Senior Living in St. Charles.
- Cedarhurst in St. Charles.
- The Landing of O’Fallon (opening in summer 2018).