The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns for Families in Missouri

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 141 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Missouri. #1 is Glendale, MO.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns for Families in Missouri1. Glendale100th pct2. Clarkson Valley100th pct3. Ladue99th pct4. Greenwood98th pct5. Weldon Spring98th pct6. St. Paul98th pct7. Battlefield97th pct8. Cottleville97th pct9. Frontenac97th pct10. Clever95th pct11. Oronogo94th pct12. Des Peres93rd pct13. Willard92nd pct14. Fenton92nd pct15. Ellisville90th pct16. Barnhart84th pct17. Lawson84th pct18. Ashland83rd pct19. Carl Junction81st pct20. Wright City80th pct21. Holts Summit77th pct22. Hillsboro77th pct23. Crystal City76th pct24. Villa Ridge76th pct25. Pleasant Hill73rd pct
  1. 25Pleasant Hill, Missouri

    Better for families than 73% of Missouri towns

    8,777 people · Cass County · median home $278,400 · income $95,602 · Jan low 21°F · 17 in snow

  2. 24Villa Ridge, Missouri

    Better for families than 76% of Missouri towns

    2,601 people · Franklin County · median home $166,600 · income $73,826 · Jan low 23°F · 11 in snow

  3. 23Crystal City, Missouri

    Better for families than 76% of Missouri towns

    4,740 people · Jefferson County · median home $185,800 · income $72,598 · Jan low 22°F · 9 in snow

  4. 22Hillsboro, Missouri

    Better for families than 77% of Missouri towns

    3,473 people · Jefferson County · median home $221,200 · income $77,500 · Jan low 22°F · 9 in snow

  5. 21Holts Summit, Missouri

    Better for families than 77% of Missouri towns

    4,458 people · Callaway County · median home $191,900 · income $85,064 · Jan low 23°F · 9 in snow

  6. 20Wright City, Missouri

    Better for families than 80% of Missouri towns

    4,881 people · Warren County · median home $238,800 · income $80,152 · Jan low 20°F · 12 in snow

  7. 19Carl Junction, Missouri

    Better for families than 81% of Missouri towns

    8,143 people · Jasper County · median home $218,300 · income $82,879 · Jan low 25°F · 8 in snow

  8. 18Ashland, Missouri

    Better for families than 83% of Missouri towns

    4,747 people · Boone County · median home $258,500 · income $93,143 · Jan low 23°F · 17 in snow

  9. 17Lawson, Missouri

    Better for families than 84% of Missouri towns

    2,541 people · Ray County · median home $186,000 · income $65,941 · Jan low 17°F · 19 in snow

  10. 16Barnhart, Missouri

    Better for families than 84% of Missouri towns

    5,832 people · Jefferson County · median home $229,200 · income $95,811 · Jan low 22°F · 9 in snow

  11. 15Ellisville, Missouri

    Better for families than 90% of Missouri towns

    9,985 people · St. Louis County · median home $366,600 · income $113,309 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  12. 14Fenton, Missouri

    Better for families than 92% of Missouri towns

    3,989 people · St. Louis County · median home $374,500 · income $101,000 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  13. 13Willard, Missouri

    Better for families than 92% of Missouri towns

    6,344 people · Greene County · median home $212,900 · income $84,600 · Jan low 24°F · 14 in snow

  14. 12Des Peres, Missouri

    Better for families than 93% of Missouri towns

    9,193 people · St. Louis County · median home $609,200 · income $224,327 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  15. 11Oronogo, Missouri

    Better for families than 94% of Missouri towns

    2,558 people · Jasper County · median home $188,500 · income $91,563 · Jan low 25°F · 8 in snow

  16. 10Clever, Missouri

    Better for families than 95% of Missouri towns

    2,918 people · Christian County · median home $200,000 · income $78,366 · Jan low 22°F · 12 in snow

  17. 9Frontenac, Missouri

    Better for families than 97% of Missouri towns

    3,612 people · St. Louis County · median home $979,800 · income $233,425 · Jan low 22°F · 10 in snow

  18. 8Cottleville, Missouri

    Better for families than 97% of Missouri towns

    5,611 people · St. Charles County · median home $435,400 · income $131,310 · Jan low 21°F · 15 in snow

  19. 7Battlefield, Missouri

    Better for families than 97% of Missouri towns

    5,990 people · Greene County · median home $255,600 · income $94,542 · Jan low 23°F · 14 in snow

  20. 6St. Paul, Missouri

    Better for families than 98% of Missouri towns

    3,005 people · St. Charles County · median home $443,600 · income $159,022 · Jan low 21°F · 12 in snow

  21. 5Weldon Spring, Missouri

    Better for families than 98% of Missouri towns

    5,326 people · St. Charles County · median home $544,300 · income $158,548 · Jan low 21°F · 14 in snow

  22. 4Greenwood, Missouri

    Better for families than 98% of Missouri towns

    6,021 people · Jackson County · median home $286,100 · income $107,250 · Jan low 21°F · 17 in snow

  23. 3Ladue, Missouri

    Better for families than 99% of Missouri towns

    8,989 people · St. Louis County · median home $1,056,300 · income $250,001 · Jan low 25°F · 10 in snow

  24. 2Clarkson Valley, Missouri

    Better for families than 100% of Missouri towns

    2,609 people · St. Louis County · median home $867,000 · income $247,000 · Jan low 22°F · 8 in snow

  25. 1Glendale, Missouri

    Better for families than 100% of Missouri towns

    6,176 people · St. Louis County · median home $494,000 · income $170,700 · Jan low 25°F · 10 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Missouri towns0255075100$63K$254K$446K$638K$830KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Missouri.

More Missouri rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 141 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Missouri (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: