St. Louis is the worst city in Missouri to raise a family, but Kansas City isn’t a whole lot better, according to a new report.
WalletHub released its ranking Monday of the best places in the state to have a family. It looked at the 85 biggest cities in the state using 21 indicators to determine family-friendliness.
Those indicators included opportunities for family fun; education, health and safety; affordability; and socioeconomic status.
While St. Louis hit the bottom of the list, many surrounding towns ranked at the top. Dardenne Prairie was first, followed by Eureka, Wentzville, Webster Groves and Wildwood rounding out the top five.
Kansas City was ranked 71st on the list. Though it scored high on options for family life and fun, the grades for other categories fared poorly.
However, nearby towns ranked much better. Raymore, Lee’s Summit and Liberty all landed in the top 20.
Here’s the complete WalletHub ranking:
Overall Rank City Total Score ‘Family Life & Fun’ Rank ‘Education, Health & Safety’ Rank ‘Affordability’ Rank ‘Socio-economics’ Rank 1 Dardenne Prairie, MO 70.34 54 42 1 1 2 Eureka, MO 69.83 24 8 5 9 3 Wentzville, MO 68.21 22 13 14 5 4 Webster Groves, MO 67.66 27 7 8 14 5 Wildwood, MO 67.34 37 48 4 2 6 Fort Leonard Wood, MO 67.27 1 3 69 13 7 O'Fallon, MO 67.11 35 23 6 7 8 Chesterfield, MO 66.26 64 5 12 12 9 St. Peters, MO 65.78 67 30 3 4 10 Ballwin, MO 65.21 60 9 11 3 11 Creve Coeur, MO 65.13 57 24 2 21 12 Raymore, MO 64.18 45 16 20 19 13 Lee's Summit, MO 63.96 40 26 27 8 14 Clayton, MO 63.53 36 11 18 23 15 Town and Country, MO 63.19 82 4 7 17 16 Kirkwood, MO 62.86 62 20 13 16 17 St. Charles, MO 62.56 31 29 21 25 18 Crestwood, MO 62.35 71 12 9 11 19 Grain Valley, MO 62.20 18 17 44 18 20 Liberty, MO 61.07 39 36 26 26 21 Lake St. Louis, MO 60.18 76 22 16 15 22 Nixa, MO 58.96 33 6 49 32 23 Warrensburg, MO 58.53 10 21 43 42 24 Republic, MO 58.44 21 14 53 38 25 Columbia, MO 58.34 14 35 39 35 26 Manchester, MO 58.16 66 33 25 22 27 Maryland Heights, MO 57.98 48 46 31 20 28 Jackson, MO 57.93 52 2 51 44 29 Ozark, MO 57.78 50 10 52 29 30 Blue Springs, MO 57.35 46 47 33 24 31 Webb City, MO 57.26 32 18 37 43 32 Jefferson City, MO 56.93 19 44 34 39 33 Kirksville, MO 56.87 26 19 23 74 34 Concord, MO 56.24 70 65 28 10 35 Farmington, MO 55.81 58 15 50 37 36 Marshall, MO 54.31 11 27 58 57 37 Maryville, MO 54.12 34 1 76 65 38 Troy, MO 53.25 51 28 64 40 39 Harrisonville, MO 53.10 17 43 66 45 40 Florissant, MO 52.55 59 53 22 47 41 St. Joseph, MO 52.23 8 61 47 53 42 Washington, MO 51.84 63 45 48 31 43 Excelsior Springs, MO 51.70 47 41 38 56 44 Oakville, MO 51.67 84 70 24 6 45 Rolla, MO 51.66 5 34 72 63 46 Belton, MO 51.62 42 62 35 34 47 Joplin, MO 51.51 6 69 68 36 48 Cape Girardeau, MO 50.88 43 38 57 58 49 St. Ann, MO 50.86 44 50 19 75 50 Affton, MO 50.78 80 76 17 28 51 Mexico, MO 50.31 55 25 40 70 52 Moberly, MO 50.27 41 51 29 71 53 Gladstone, MO 49.90 73 52 36 33 54 Hazelwood, MO 49.77 77 64 15 51 55 Neosho, MO 49.26 13 49 75 60 56 Lemay, MO 49.18 29 60 46 59 57 Old Jamestown, MO 49.08 85 80 10 27 58 Lebanon, MO 48.77 4 56 74 66 59 Carthage, MO 48.64 2 67 67 67 60 Fulton, MO 48.57 16 39 60 78 61 Bolivar, MO 48.55 49 31 79 61 62 Arnold, MO 48.33 74 37 54 49 63 Hannibal, MO 48.15 23 58 59 64 64 Festus, MO 47.93 79 32 65 54 65 Bridgeton, MO 46.61 68 71 32 50 66 Raytown, MO 46.27 56 78 41 41 67 Independence, MO 45.90 53 68 55 52 68 West Plains, MO 45.80 28 40 78 76 69 Grandview, MO 45.80 25 77 71 48 70 University City, MO 44.88 75 59 62 46 71 Kansas City, MO 44.48 9 79 61 69 72 Mehlville, MO 44.29 83 83 42 30 73 Poplar Bluff, MO 43.36 12 54 82 77 74 Sedalia, MO 43.14 20 72 73 73 75 Springfield, MO 43.04 7 82 81 62 76 Branson, MO 43.00 3 74 84 55 77 Overland, MO 42.69 72 63 45 72 78 Union, MO 42.45 61 55 77 68 79 Sikeston, MO 40.74 15 57 80 80 80 Spanish Lake, MO 39.46 30 73 63 82 81 Bellefontaine Neighbors, MO 36.33 81 81 30 83 82 Kennett, MO 35.15 69 66 83 79 83 Ferguson, MO 34.26 78 75 56 85 84 Jennings, MO 31.13 65 85 70 84 85 St. Louis, MO 28.25 38 84 85 81
Read Next Kansas October 28, 2019 8:26 AM
Chacour Koop
mcclatchy-newsroom
Chacour Koop is a Real-Time reporter based in Kansas City. Previously, he reported for the Associated Press, Galveston County Daily News and Daily Herald in Chicago.
