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Towns / Missouri

Crystal City, Missouri

Crystal City is a suburb of about 4,700 people in Jefferson County, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.6 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, St. Louis, is about 30 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of St. Louis

Population
4,694
down 0.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$185,800
Jefferson County prices up 21% since 2022
Household income
$72,598
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, St. Louis area
95.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mercy Hospital Jefferson
To St. Louis
30 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.9% below the U.S. average in the St. Louis metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood6 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town7 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle, 2 high schools and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMercy Hospital Jefferson is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 30 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Crystal City meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Crystal City runs into the built-up area around St. Louis (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$185,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 21%Jefferson County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,062 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$72,598U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
76%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,323 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
9%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
95.1U.S. average = 100 (the St. Louis metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Louis metro area, not Crystal City alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
4,6942020: 4,736
Median age
43.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (20%); manufacturing (16%); construction (13%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Hospital Jefferson, Crystal City, MO, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

7 public schools in Crystal City, run by Festus R-VI and Crystal City 47.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Missouri's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
72%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
22°F
July average high
88°F
Days 90°F or hotter
38 a year
Nights at or below freezing
105 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.6 inches a year
Snow
9 inches a year
Elevation
442 feet

Weather station: Festus (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Louis.

Jefferson County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site23 miles
  • Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park25 miles
  • Gateway Arch National Park29 miles

Read about Crystal City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Crystal City?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Horine, MO (unincorporated)781 people, 4 miles
  • Olympian Village, MO710 people, 7 miles
  • Maeystown, IL151 people, 8 miles
  • Kimmswick, MO133 people, 10 miles
  • Briarwood Estates, MO (unincorporated)307 people, 12 miles
  • Raintree Plantation, MO (unincorporated)2,047 people, 12 miles
  • Summer Set, MO (unincorporated)1,236 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.