St. Charles Named One Of The Best Places To Live In America

ST. CHARLES, MO — Money's 2018 list of the 50 best places to live in America is out, and St. Charles didn't do so bad. Making the list at all would be a feat, but St. Charles came in at a solid No. 32, just ahead of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and nipping at the heels of Hunter Mill, Virginia.

To come up with its list, Money looked at cities with more than 50,000 people, taking into account crime rates, diversity, cost of living, public education, housing and other factors. But it wasn't just the numbers that put St. Charles on the list. Reporters also interviewed locals for a more qualitative assessment.

"The people of St. Charles appreciate their city as a nice place to raise kids, with great schools, little crime, and reasonably priced homes," Money wrote. The magazine highlighted the city's Christmas festival and storied history as a home to Daniel Boone and one of Lewis and Clark's encampments.

Here are some of St. Charles numbers that impressed the folks from Money:

• Population: 68,531
• Clear days per year: 202
• Median family income: $76,695
• High school graduation rate: 88 percent
• Median home price: $197,100
• Average commute: 22 minutes
• Projected job growth 2017-2022: 8.19 percent
• Home price/income: 2.6x

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The top 10 cities were:

1. Frisco, Texas
2. Ashburn, Virginia
3. Carmel, Indiana
4. Ellicott City, Maryland
5. Cary, North Carolina
6. Franklin, Tennesee
7. Dublin, California
8. Highlands Ranch, Colorado
9. Sammamish, Washington
10. Woodbury, Minnesota

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