County: St. Charles
Nearest big city: St. Louis
If you’re looking for a place with great job opportunities but a homey, small-town feel, you’ll find few spots better fitting than St. Peters. This Northwest St. Louis suburb has added nearly 10,000 jobs in recent years thanks to new Amazon and FedEx facilities, plus a growing number of manufacturing and logistics companies that have set up shop in the area.
St. Peters also boasts a quickly filling business park that spans over 4 million square feet of office, retail and warehouse space, and the city is actively developing its new Town Centre area — a “downtown” of sorts that will feature everything from hotels and apartments to retail, dining and an outdoor entertainment area.
Don’t let its booming business fool you, though. St. Peters is still a family town, and all it takes is a stop by Hobos restaurant to see that. Nestled in an American Legion building in Historic Old Town St. Peters, Hobos serves up classic home-cooking that feeds the soul. Just make sure you order the baked beans: They’re a secret Hobo family recipe. (In fact, 80-year-old Granny Hobo makes them herself!)
If you’re thinking of moving to the area, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised by local home prices. The city’s median house price sits at a mere $223,426 — a far cry from both the national median (just over $266,250) and the rest of our list (about $360,000, on average). — Aly J. Yale
St Peters, Missouri
Population 59,083
Median Household Income $83,910
Median Home Price $223,426
Unemployment Rate 4.1%