St. Louis, officially known as the City of St. Louis, is an independent city located in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is situated near the point where the Mississippi and Missouri rivers meet. In 2020, the city itself had a population of 301,578. Its larger area, which includes parts of Illinois, had an estimated population of over 2.8 million. St. Louis is the largest metropolitan area in Missouri and the second-largest in Illinois. The city’s combined statistical area ranks as the 20th-largest in the United States.
The area that became St. Louis was home to Native American cultures for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. The city was founded on February 14, 1764, by French fur traders Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent, Pierre Laclède, and Auguste Chouteau. They named it after King Louis IX of France. It quickly became a central hub for French activity in the region known as the Illinois Country. In 1804, the United States acquired St. Louis as part of the Louisiana Purchase. During the 19th century, St. Louis grew into a major port on the Mississippi River. From 1870 until the 1920 census, it was the fourth-largest city in the United States. In 1877, St. Louis became an independent city, separating from St. Louis County and setting clear political boundaries. In 1904, the city hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also called the St. Louis World’s Fair, and the Summer Olympics.
St. Louis is listed as one of 173 global cities by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In 2023, the total value of goods and services produced in the Greater St. Louis area was $226.6 billion. The city has a diverse economy with strong industries in services, manufacturing, trade, transportation, and aviation. It is home to sixteen companies that rank among the top 1,000 largest companies in the United States, six of which are also among the top 500. Federal agencies with major operations in the city include the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Popular attractions in St. Louis include the 630-foot (192-meter) Gateway Arch in Downtown St. Louis, the St. Louis Zoo, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and Bellefontaine Cemetery. Major research universities in the Greater St. Louis area include Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The Washington University Medical Center is a grouping of medical and pharmaceutical institutions, including Barnes-Jewish Hospital. St. Louis has four professional sports teams: the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer, and the St. Louis BattleHawks of the United Football League.
History
The area that became St. Louis was once home to the Native American Mississippian culture, which built many temple and home mounds on both sides of the Mississippi River. Their main center was at Cahokia Mounds, which was active from 900 to 1500. Because of the many mounds in the area, the city was called "Mound City." Most of these mounds were destroyed as the city grew. Native American tribes in the area when Europeans arrived included the Osage people, who spoke a Siouan language, and the Illiniwek. Sugarloaf Mound in South St. Louis was returned to the Osage Nation in 2025.
European explorers first visited the area in 1673 when French explorers Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette traveled through the Mississippi River valley. Five years later, La Salle claimed the region for France as part of Louisiana. The first European settlements in the Illinois Country, also called Upper Louisiana, were built by the French in the 1690s and early 1700s at Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Fort de Chartres. French people from villages on the east side of the Mississippi River, like Kaskaskia, also founded Ste. Genevieve in the 1730s.
In 1764, after France lost the Seven Years' War, Pierre Laclède and his stepson Auguste Chouteau started what would become St. Louis. French lands east of the Mississippi were given to Great Britain, and lands west of the Mississippi were given to Spain. France and Spain were allies in the 18th century. Louis XV of France and Charles III of Spain were cousins from the same royal family, the House of Bourbon. French families in St. Louis built their economy on trading furs with the Osage and other tribes along the Missouri River. The Chouteau brothers got a monopoly from Spain to trade furs with Santa Fe. French colonists used enslaved African workers as servants and laborers in the city.
During the 1763 Treaty of Paris, French leaders agreed to give land west of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers to Spain to make up for Spanish losses during the war. These areas stayed under Spanish control until 1803, when they were transferred to the French First Republic. During the American Revolutionary War, St. Louis was attacked by British-allied Native Americans in the 1780 Battle of St. Louis, but the attack failed.
St. Louis was founded after a trading business between Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent and Pierre Laclède in late 1763. St. Maxent supported Laclède’s Mississippi River expedition to find a place for fur trading. Though Ste. Genevieve was already a trading center, Laclède wanted a location less likely to flood. He found an elevated area near the Mississippi River’s floodplain, close to where the Missouri and Illinois rivers meet. The area had good drainage and nearby forests and grasslands for building and farming. Laclède said this place "might become one of the finest cities in America." He sent his 14-year-old stepson, Auguste Chouteau, to the site with 30 settlers in February 1764.
Laclède arrived two months later and created a plan for St. Louis based on the street layout of New Orleans. Blocks were 240 by 300 feet, with three long streets running parallel to the Mississippi River. He set aside a 300-foot public area along the river, but later allowed private development there.
For the city’s first few years, no government recognized it. Though the Spanish claimed control, no one enforced authority, so St. Louis had no local government. This led Laclède to take charge, solving problems in public meetings. He gave new settlers land in the city and nearby areas. Many settlers later called these early years "the golden age of St. Louis." In 1763, Native Americans near St. Louis became upset with the British, who refused to give them gifts as the French had done. Odawa leader Pontiac tried to form a group of tribes to resist British control, but few people in St. Louis supported him. By 1765, representatives from British, French, and Spanish governments began visiting the city.
St. Louis was transferred to the French First Republic in 1800 (though Spanish officials still managed the area), then sold to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. St. Louis became the capital and gateway to the new territory. Soon after, President Thomas Jefferson sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition from St. Louis in May 1804 to explore the region. The group hoped to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean but had to travel overland. They reached the Pacific via the Columbia River in 1805 and returned to St. Louis in September 1806. Both Lewis and Clark lived in St. Louis after the expedition. Many explorers, settlers, and trappers later followed a similar route to the West.
St. Louis elected its first city leaders, called trustees, in 1808. Steamboats arrived in 1817, improving trade with New Orleans and eastern markets. Missouri became a state in 1821. St. Louis was officially incorporated as a city in 1822 and grew because of its busy port and trade connections.
Many immigrants from Ireland and Germany arrived in St. Louis starting in the 1840s. The city’s population grew from less than 20,000 in 1840 to 77,860 in 1850 and over 160,000 by 1860. By the mid-1800s, St. Louis had more people than New Orleans.
St. Louis was settled by many Southerners in a slave state, and the city had divided political views during the American Civil War. In 1861, 28 civilians were killed in a clash with Union troops. The war hurt St. Louis economically because of the Union blockade on the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Arsenal built ironclad ships for the Union Navy.
Slaves worked on the waterfront and on riverboats. Because St. Louis was near the free state of Illinois, some slaves escaped to freedom. Others, especially women with children, filed lawsuits to gain freedom, and local lawyers helped them. About half of the slaves won freedom in court cases before the Civil War began in 1861. The printing press of abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy was destroyed for the third time by townspeople. He was killed the next year in nearby Alton, Illinois.
After the war, St. Louis grew because of trade with the West. The 1874 completion of the Eads Bridge, named after its engineer, helped connect industrial areas on both sides of the Mississippi River. The bridge was the second in the Midwest to cross the Mississippi River after the Hennepin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis. It linked St. Louis, Missouri, to East St. Louis, Illinois.
Geography
St. Louis has a total area of 66 square miles (170 km²), with 62 square miles (160 km²) being land and 4.1 square miles (11 km²) (6.2%) being water. The city is built on high ground that rises 100–200 feet above the western side of the Mississippi River, just south of where the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers meet and directly across from Illinois. The eastern edge of the city follows the Mississippi River, which also marks the state border. Much of the area is a fertile, gently rolling prairie with low hills and wide, shallow valleys. Both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers have created large valleys with wide floodplains.
Near the southern edge of St. Louis (which separates it from St. Louis County) is the River des Peres, the only river or stream within the city that is not completely underground. Most of the River des Peres was moved into a channel or buried underground in the 1920s and 1930s. The lower part of the river was heavily flooded during the Great Flood of 1993.
St. Louis experienced a major flood in 1973, when the Mississippi River reached its highest level in over 150 years. Heavy rain and melting snow contributed to the flood, but it was made worse by already wet soil and high water levels in the Missouri River. The flood caused levee failures, flooded homes, businesses, and parks, and led to evacuations and sandbagging efforts.
Limestone and dolomite from the Mississippian period lie beneath the area, and parts of the city have karst features, such as sinkholes and caves. This is especially true in the area south of downtown. Many caves in the city have been sealed, but springs are visible along the riverfront. Coal, brick clay, and millerite ore were once mined in the city. The main surface rock, called St. Louis limestone, is used for building materials.
St. Louis has a variety of architectural styles, including commercial, residential, and monumental buildings. The Gateway Arch, the tallest monument in the United States at 630 feet (190 meters), is a well-known landmark. It honors Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis’s role as the gateway to the West. Architectural influences include French Colonial, German, early American, and modern styles.
Several religious buildings from before the Civil War still exist, reflecting common residential styles of the time. The Basilica of St. Louis, King of France (Old Cathedral) was built between 1831 and 1834 in the Federal style. Other examples include SS. Cyril and Methodius Church (1857) in the Romanesque Revival style and Christ Church Cathedral (completed in 1867, designed in 1859) in the Gothic Revival style.
Some civic buildings were built in the early 19th century. The original St. Louis courthouse, built in 1826, had a Federal-style stone facade with a rounded portico. It was replaced in the 1850s. The Old St. Louis County Courthouse (Old Courthouse), completed in 1864, had a cast iron dome and was the tallest building in Missouri until 1894. A customs house built in the Greek Revival style in 1852 was later replaced by the U.S. Customhouse and Post Office in 1873.
Because much of the city’s early development was along the riverfront, many pre-Civil War buildings were demolished during the construction of the Gateway Arch. The city’s remaining heritage from that era includes a multi-block district called Laclede’s Landing, which has cobblestone streets and brick and cast-iron warehouses. Now popular for restaurants and nightclubs, it is located north of the Gateway Arch along the riverfront. Other industrial buildings from the era include parts of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery dating to the 1860s.
St. Louis saw many new religious buildings built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The largest and most ornate is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, built between 1907 and 1914 in the Neo-Byzantine style. It has one of the world’s largest mosaic collections. Another notable religious building is St. Stanislaus Kostka, an example of the Polish Cathedral style. Other major buildings from the period include St. Alphonsus Liguori (The Rock Church) (1867) in the Gothic Revival style and the Second Presbyterian Church of St. Louis (1900) in the Richardsonian Romanesque style.
By the 1900 census, St. Louis was the fourth-largest city in the United States. In 1904, the city hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a world’s fair at Forest Park. The fair left behind cultural institutions like the St. Louis Art Museum, designed by Cass Gilbert, and the Flight Cage at the St. Louis Zoo. The Missouri History Museum was built later with money from the fair. Other legacies include the St. Louis Union Station and an improved Forest Park.
One US Bank Plaza, the local headquarters for US Bancorp, was built in 1976 in the structural expressionist style. Several postmodern commercial skyscrapers were built downtown in the 1970s and 1980s, including the former AT&T building at 909 Chestnut Street (1986) and One Metropolitan Square (1989), the tallest building in St. Louis.
In the 1990s, St. Louis built the largest U.S. courthouse by area, the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse (2000). It houses the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Recent high-rise buildings include residential towers like One Hundred in the Central West End neighborhood and One Cardinal Way in the Downtown neighborhood.
St. Louis is divided into 79 officially recognized neighborhoods.
St. Louis has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa), with hot, humid summers and cold winters. Its metropolitan area may have a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa), showing the effect of the city’s heat from buildings and roads. The average yearly temperature near Lambert–St. Louis International Airport is 57.4°F (14.1°C). Temperatures of 100°F (38°C) and 0°F (−18°C) occur about 3 and 1 days per year, respectively. Annual precipitation averages 41.70 inches (1,100 mm), with extremes from 20.
Demographics
St. Louis grew slowly until the American Civil War. During this time, industrial jobs and people moving to the city caused rapid growth. Many immigrants came to St. Louis in the mid-1800s, including people from Ireland and Germany. Later, immigrants arrived from southern and eastern Europe. In the early 1900s, African American and white people moved to St. Louis from the South. Many African Americans came as part of the Great Migration from rural areas of the Deep South, such as Mississippi and Arkansas. By the late 1800s, people from Italy, Serbia, Lebanon, Syria, and Greece had also settled in St. Louis.
After many years of people moving into the city, St. Louis reached its highest population in 1950. At that time, the Census Bureau reported that 82% of the population was White and 17.9% was African American. After World War II, St. Louis began losing people to the suburbs. This happened because of a need for more homes, dissatisfaction with city services, easier travel by highways, and later, white residents moving to the suburbs. The loss of population led to many empty homes and vacant lots in the city. These empty areas attracted animals like deer and coyotes. As of the 2020 Census, St. Louis has lost 64.8% of its population since 1950. However, the population of the Greater St. Louis area, which includes more than one county, has grown every year.
According to the 2010 Census, St. Louis had 319,294 people living in 142,057 households. Of these, 67,488 households were families. The population density was 5,158.2 people per square mile. About 24% of the population was 19 or younger, 9% were 20 to 24, 31% were 25 to 44, 25% were 45 to 64, and 11% were 65 or older. The average age of residents was about 34 years.
The African-American population is mostly found in the northern part of the city. The area north of Delmar Boulevard is 94.0% African American, compared to 35.0% in the central area and 26.0% in the southern part. Among Asian-American residents, the largest group is Vietnamese (0.9%), followed by Chinese (0.6%) and Indians (0.5%). Vietnamese people live mostly in the Dutchtown neighborhood of south St. Louis, while Chinese people are concentrated in the Central West End. People of Mexican descent are the largest Latino group, making up 2.2% of the population. They live mostly in Dutchtown, Benton Park West (Cherokee Street), and Gravois Park. People of Italian descent are concentrated in The Hill.
In 2010, St. Louis had some of the highest rates of online charitable donations and volunteerism among major U.S. cities.
As of 2010, 91.05% of St. Louis residents age 5 and older spoke English at home. About 2.86% spoke Spanish, 0.91% spoke Serbo-Croatian, 0.74% spoke Vietnamese, 0.50% spoke African languages, 0.50% spoke Chinese, and 0.45% spoke French. In total, 8.95% of residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home.
Between 1960 and 1970, about 15 families from Bosnia moved to St. Louis. After the Bosnian War began in 1992, many Bosnian refugees arrived. By 2000, tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees had settled in St. Louis with help from Catholic aid groups. Many of these refugees were skilled workers who took any available jobs to support their families. Most Bosnian refugees are Muslim, ethnically Bosniaks (87%), and live mainly in south St. Louis and South County. Bosnian-Americans have started many businesses and cultural organizations in the city.
An estimated 70,000 Bosnians live in the St. Louis metro area, which is tied with Chicago for the largest Bosnian population in the U.S. and the largest outside Bosnia. The highest concentration of Bosnians is in the Bevo Mill neighborhood and in Affton, Mehlville, and Oakville in south St. Louis County. Bosnian Muslim Romani people also live in St. Louis.
Since 2014, St. Louis has had one of the highest murder rates per person in the U.S. In 2015, there were 188 homicides, or 59.3 murders per 100,000 residents. St. Louis ranked No. 13 among the most dangerous cities in the world by homicide rate. Cities like Detroit, Flint, Memphis, Birmingham, and Baltimore have higher overall violent crime rates when considering crimes like rape, robbery, and assault. Although crime rates in St. Louis are high compared to other U.S. cities, index crime rates (violent and property crimes) have decreased almost every year since 1993. In 2014, the index crime rate was 7,931 per 100,000 people, but it rose slightly to 8,204 in 2015. Violent crime has decreased by 20% since 2005, but it remains six times higher than the national average. Property crime is 2.5 times higher than the national average. St. Louis has a higher homicide rate than the rest of the U.S. for both white and Black residents, and a higher proportion of homicides are committed by males. In 2016, 7 of the 102 homicide suspects were white, 95 were Black, and 1 was female. St. Louis was the most dangerous city in the U.S. with populations of 100,000 or more in 2016, ranking first in violent crime and second in property crime. East St. Louis, a suburb, was ranked first among all U.S. cities. In 2016, the St. Louis Police Department reported 188 murders, the same number as in 2015. By 2017, the city recorded 205 murders, but only 159 occurred within city limits. The new police chief said that two-thirds of all murders and half of all assaults in St. Louis happen in a triangular area in the northern part of the city.
Another factor
Economy
In 2022, the total value of goods and services produced in the Greater St. Louis area was $209.9 billion, an increase from $192.9 billion in 2021. In 2021, the average income per person in the region was $68,574, which was 10% higher than the previous year. As of November 2024, the education and health services industries employed the most people in the region, followed by trade, transportation, and utilities industries, and professional and business services industries.
As of 2024, six Fortune 500 companies are based in Greater St. Louis: Centene Corporation, Reinsurance Group of America, Emerson Electric, Edward Jones, Graybar Electric, and Ameren. Ten additional companies in the area are listed on the Fortune 1000: Post Holdings, Olin Corporation, Core & Main, Stifel Financial, Peabody Energy, Arch Resources, Energizer Holdings, Caleres, Spire, and Belden.
Other major companies headquartered in the region include Anheuser-Busch, Bunge Global, Wells Fargo Advisors, Enterprise Holdings, World Wide Technology, Arco Construction, McCarthy Holdings, Clayco Construction, Apex Oil, Alberici, and Schnuck Market. Companies with operations in St. Louis but headquarters elsewhere include Boeing, Bayer, Mastercard, U.S. Bank, and BMO Bank.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is one of two federal reserve banks in Missouri.
St. Louis is a major center for medicine and biotechnology. Washington University School of Medicine is connected to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, the fifth-largest hospital in the world. Both institutions operate the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center. The School of Medicine is also linked to St. Louis Children's Hospital, one of the nation's top pediatric hospitals. Both hospitals are owned by BJC HealthCare. The McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University played a key role in the Human Genome Project. Saint Louis University Medical School is affiliated with SSM Health's Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital and Saint Louis University Hospital. It also has a cancer center, vaccine research center, geriatric center, and a bioethics institute. Hospitals in the area are operated by BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health Care, and Tenet. Other health care and biotechnology organizations in the region include Pfizer, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Bayer, Sigma-Aldrich, Mallinckrodt, and Multidata Systems International.
Several once-independent businesses in the region have been acquired by other companies. These include Anheuser-Busch, purchased by InBev; Missouri Pacific Railroad, merged with Union Pacific Railroad in 1982; McDonnell Douglas, now part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security; Trans World Airlines, which was based in St. Louis before being acquired by American Airlines; and Ralston Purina, now owned by Nestlé. The May Department Stores Company was bought by Federated Department Stores, now Macy's, though it still maintains its regional headquarters in the area. Most of Furniture Brands International's assets were sold to Heritage Home Group in 2013, which relocated to North Carolina.
Cortex Innovation Community in Midtown is the region's largest area focused on new ideas and technology. Cortex is home to offices of Square, Microsoft, Aon, Boeing, and Centene. In 14 years, Cortex has created 3,800 tech jobs, and once fully developed, it is expected to generate $2 billion in economic development and create 13,000 jobs for the region. The nonprofit Arch Grants is helping attract new startups, while the nonprofit LaunchCode is training future workers in technology fields.
According to the St. Louis Business Journal, the top employers in Greater St. Louis as of March 29, 2023 are:
According to St. Louis's 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the top employers in the city as of 2021 are:
Arts and culture
In 1904, the same year as the World's Fair, the Strassberger Music Conservatory Building was built at 2300 Grand Street. Otto Wilhelmi designed the building. By 1911, the conservatory had more than 1,100 students. Today, the building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A famous graduate of the conservatory was Alfonso D'Artega.
St. Louis has a rich history shaped by its French roots and waves of Catholic immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and Italy in the 1800s and 1900s. Because of this, St. Louis is an important center for Roman Catholicism in the United States. The city also has the largest Ethical Culture Society in the United States and was ranked ninth in generosity in 2013. Notable places of worship in St. Louis include the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, which has the world’s largest mosaic. Other important churches are the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, the oldest Roman Catholic cathedral west of the Mississippi River and the oldest church in St. Louis; the St. Louis Abbey, which received awards for its unique design when it was completed in 1962; and the St. Francis de Sales Oratory, a neo-Gothic church built in 1908 in South St. Louis and the second largest church in the city.
St. Louis is known for its connection to music and the performing arts, especially blues, jazz, and ragtime. The St. Louis Symphony is the second oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. Until 2010, it was also the home of KFUO-FM, one of the oldest classical music radio stations west of the Mississippi River. The Opera Theatre of St. Louis has been praised as "one of America's best summer festivals" by the Washington Post. Timothy O'Leary, a former leader of the opera company, encouraged the community to discuss challenging operas. John Adams’s opera "The Death of Klinghoffer," which caused controversy when performed in 2014, was presented in St. Louis three years earlier without problems because the company organized citywide discussions about difficult topics like terrorism, religion, and evil. The St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council honored O'Leary for his work. Under O'Leary, the company also gave new chances to other operas, such as John Corigliano’s "The Ghosts of Versailles," which was performed in a smaller version in 2009.
The Gateway Arch is a landmark in downtown St. Louis and is part of a historic area that includes the Federal courthouse where the Dred Scott case was first argued, an expanded public library, major churches, businesses, and retail stores. More people are now living downtown, often in repurposed office buildings and historic structures. Nearby in University City is the Delmar Loop, which the American Planning Association named a "great American street" for its mix of shops and restaurants, and the Tivoli Theater, all within walking distance.
St. Louis has unique foods that reflect the influence of immigrant groups. These include toasted ravioli, gooey butter cake, provel cheese, the slinger, the Gerber sandwich, and the St. Paul sandwich. Some local chefs now focus on using fresh, local produce, meats, and fish, and neighborhood farmers' markets have become more popular. Artisan bakeries, salumeria, and chocolatiers also operate in the city.
St. Louis-style pizza has a thin crust, provel cheese, and is cut into small squares. A frozen-custard shop called Ted Drewes makes a treat called "Concrete," which is frozen custard mixed with many ingredients to create a thick mixture. If a spoon is placed in the custard and the cup is turned upside down, the spoon will not fall out.
Sports
St. Louis is home to the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball and the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League. In 2019, it became the eighth North American city to win titles in all four major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL) when the Blues won the Stanley Cup. The city has college soccer teams and is one of three American cities to host the Summer Olympic Games. A third major team, the St. Louis City SC of Major League Soccer, began playing in 2023.
Professional teams in the St. Louis area include:
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most successful teams in Major League Baseball. They have won 19 National League (NL) titles (the most for a single city in the league) and 11 World Series titles (second only to the New York Yankees and the most by any NL team). They recently won a World Series in 2011. They play at Busch Stadium. Before the Cardinals, the St. Louis Browns played in the American League (AL) from 1902 to 1953, then moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where they became the current version of the Orioles. In 1944, the World Series featured the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park, with the Cardinals winning in six games. This was the third and final time the teams shared a home field. St. Louis also had the St. Louis Stars (also called the St. Louis Giants from 1906 to 1921), who played in the Negro League from 1920 to 1931 and won championships in 1928, 1930, and 1931. The St. Louis Maroons played in the Union Association in 1884 and in the National League from 1885 to 1889. In 1884, the Maroons won the Union Association championship and started the season with 20 straight wins, a record not broken by any major professional sports team in the United States until the 2015–16 Golden State Warriors season.
The St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) play at the Enterprise Center. They were one of six teams added to the NHL in the 1967 expansion. The Blues reached the Stanley Cup finals in their first three seasons but lost each time. They finally won their first Stanley Cup in 2019 after beating the Boston Bruins. This victory made St. Louis the eighth city to win a championship in each of the four major U.S. sports leagues. Before the Blues, the city was home to the St. Louis Eagles, who played in the 1934–35 season.
St. Louis has been home to four National Football League (NFL) teams: the St. Louis All-Stars (1923), the St. Louis Gunners (1934), the St. Louis Cardinals (1960–1987), and the St. Louis Rams (1995–2015). The Cardinals reached the NFL playoffs four times (1964, 1974, 1975, and 1982) but never hosted a playoff game. They won the 1964 Playoff Bowl for third place against the Green Bay Packers with a score of 24–17. The Cardinals moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1988. The Rams played at the Edward Jones Dome from 1995 to 2015, winning Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 and reaching Super Bowl XXXVI, where they lost to the New England Patriots. The Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2016.
The St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) played at Kiel Auditorium from 1955 to 1968. They won the NBA championship in 1958 and reached the NBA Finals in 1957, 1960, and 1961. The Hawks moved to Atlanta in 1968. St. Louis was also home to the St. Louis Bombers of the Basketball Association of America from 1946 to 1949 and the National Basketball Association from 1949 to 1950. The Spirits of St. Louis played in the American Basketball Association from 1974 to 1976, when the ABA and NBA merged.
Major League Soccer’s St. Louis City SC began playing in 2023 at Energizer Park. Their MLS Next Pro affiliate, St. Louis City 2, started playing in 2022 at the same location. Before that, USL Championship’s Saint Louis FC played in the area from 2015 to 2020 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park.
The St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL began playing in 2020 at The Dome at America’s Center. After a two-year break, the team returned in 2023 when the XFL resumed play.
St. Louis hosts several minor league sports teams. The Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League play in Sauget, Illinois. The St. Louis Trotters of the Independent Basketball Association play at Matthews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club. The St. Louis Ambush indoor soccer team plays in St. Charles, Missouri, at the Family Arena as part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The St. Louis Slam plays in the Women’s Football Alliance at Harlen C. Hunter Stadium.
The region hosts events from INDY
Parks and recreation
The city manages more than 100 parks, which include sports fields, playgrounds, concert spaces, picnic areas, and lakes. Forest Park, located on the western side of the city, is the largest park, covering 1,400 acres. This makes it almost twice as large as Central Park in New York City. The park includes five major places: the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Zoo, the St. Louis Science Center, the Missouri History Museum, and the Muny amphitheater. Another important park is Gateway Arch National Park, which was previously called Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until 2018. It is located along the riverfront in downtown St. Louis. The main feature of the park is the 630-foot (192 m) Gateway Arch, a National Memorial designed by architect Eero Saarinen. It was completed on October 28, 1965. The Old Courthouse, part of the park, was the site of the first two trials in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case in 1847 and 1850.
Other notable parks include the Missouri Botanical Garden, Tower Grove Park, Carondelet Park, and Citygarden. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a private garden and research center, recognized as a National Historic Landmark and one of the oldest botanical gardens in the United States. It covers 79 acres and includes displays from around the world, such as a Japanese strolling garden, Henry Shaw’s original 1850 estate home, and a geodesic dome called the Climatron. Tower Grove Park, located just south of the Missouri Botanical Garden, was a gift to the city from Henry Shaw. Citygarden is an urban sculpture park in downtown St. Louis, featuring artwork by artists such as Fernand Léger, Aristide Maillol, Julian Opie, Tom Otterness, Niki de Saint Phalle, and Mark di Suvero. The park is divided into three sections, each with a different theme: river bluffs, flood plains, and urban gardens. Another downtown sculpture park is the Serra Sculpture Park, which includes the 1982 Richard Serra sculpture called Twain.
Government
St. Louis is one of 41 independent cities in the United States that does not belong to any county. The city has a strong mayor–council government. The Board of Aldermen has legislative and oversight responsibilities, while the mayor and six other elected officials have executive authority. The mayor is the chief executive officer and appoints city department heads. The Board of Aldermen has 14 members, one from each of the city’s wards, plus a president elected citywide. In 2014, the city’s budget reached over $1 billion, a 1.9% increase from the $985.2 million budget in 2013. In 2012, there were 238,253 registered voters in the city, a decrease from 239,247 in 2010 and 257,442 in 2008.
Municipal elections in St. Louis happen in odd-numbered years. Primary elections are in March, and general elections are in April. The mayor is elected in odd-numbered years after U.S. presidential elections using a top-two approval voting primary. Aldermen from odd-numbered wards are elected at the same time as the mayor. The president of the Board of Aldermen and aldermen from even-numbered wards are elected in off-years. The Democratic Party has controlled city politics for many years. Since 1949, no Republican has been mayor. The last Republican elected to a citywide office was in the 1970s. As of 2015, all 28 aldermen were Democrats.
Forty-eight people have been mayor of St. Louis. Four—William Carr Lane, John Fletcher Darby, John Wimer, and John How—served non-consecutive terms. William Carr Lane held the most terms, serving 8 full terms plus the unexpired term of Darby. The current mayor is Cara Spencer, who began her term on April 15, 2025. She is the city’s third consecutive female mayor. Her predecessor, Tishaura Jones, who started her term on April 20, 2021, was the first African-American woman to be mayor. Jones replaced Lyda Krewson, the first female mayor, who retired in 2021 after four years. The longest-serving mayor was Francis Slay, who held office from 2001 to 2017, totaling 16 years and six days over four terms. The shortest-serving mayor was Arthur Barret, who died 11 days after taking office.
Although St. Louis separated from St. Louis County in 1876, some systems allow joint funding management. The St. Louis Zoo-Museum district collects property taxes from residents of both the city and county to support cultural institutions like the St. Louis Zoo, St. Louis Art Museum, and the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The Metropolitan Sewer District provides sewer services to the city and much of St. Louis County. The Bi-State Development Agency (now Metro) operates the MetroLink light rail system and bus system.
The City of St. Louis Sheriff’s Office (STLSO or STLCSO) provides security for courtrooms, serves court documents, and issues gun carry permits. In 2022, it gained the ability to make arrests and traffic stops. Formed in 1876, the office has over 200 employees, 165 of whom are deputies. Its budget was $11.97 million in 2025.
St. Louis is divided into 8 districts in the Missouri House of Representatives: the 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, and 84th districts. The 5th Missouri Senate district is entirely within the city, while the 4th is shared with St. Louis County.
At the federal level, St. Louis is the center of Missouri’s 1st congressional district, which also includes part of northern St. Louis County. Since 1953, no Republican has represented a significant portion of St. Louis in the U.S. House. The city shifted from Republican to Democratic voting at the presidential level since 1928. George H. W. Bush in 1988 was the most recent Republican to win even a quarter of the city’s votes in a presidential election.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri are located in the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. The city is also home to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which maintains major facilities in the area.
Education
The city has three national research universities: Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis University, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis. These universities are listed as such by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been ranked among the top 10 medical schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report since the ranking list began. It reached the second position in 2003 and 2004. U.S. News & World Report also ranks the undergraduate programs and other graduate programs, such as the Washington University School of Law, among the top 20 in the nation.
The St. Louis Metropolitan Region includes St. Louis Community College. It also has several other four-year colleges and universities, such as Harris–Stowe State University, a historically black public university; Webster University; Missouri Baptist University; University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (formerly Saint Louis College of Pharmacy); Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE); and Lindenwood University.
In addition to Catholic theological institutions like Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and Aquinas Institute of Theology, which are supported by the Order of Preachers, St. Louis is home to three Protestant seminaries: Eden Theological Seminary of the United Church of Christ, Covenant Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America, and Concordia Seminary of the St. Louis-based Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
The St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS), which serves the entire city, operates more than 75 schools for over 25,000 students, including several magnet schools. Since 2017, SLPS has been fully accredited by the state of Missouri, after losing its accreditation in 2007. The Board of Education of the city of St. Louis oversees the district. Since 2000, charter schools have operated in St. Louis under Missouri state law. These schools are supported by local institutions or corporations and serve students from kindergarten through high school. The city also has many private schools, including those operated by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, which runs dozens of parochial schools, including parochial high schools. Other private high schools in the city include secular, Montessori, Catholic, and Lutheran schools. St. Louis University High School, a Jesuit preparatory high school started in 1818, is the oldest secondary educational institution in the United States west of the Mississippi River. The state-operated K-12 boarding school, Missouri School for the Blind, is also located in St. Louis.
Media
St. Louis is one of the 25 largest media markets in the United States. Major U.S. television networks have local stations in St. Louis, including KTVI 2 (Fox), KMOV 4 (CBS, with MyNetworkTV on channel 32.1), KSDK 5 (NBC), KETC 9 (PBS), KPLR-TV 11 (The CW), KNLC 24 (MeTV), KDNL 30 (ABC), WRBU 46 (Ion), and WPXS 51 (Daystar Television Network). Popular radio stations in the area include KMOX (AM sports and talk, known for broadcasting St. Louis Cardinals games), KLOU (FM oldies), WIL-FM (FM country), WARH (FM adult hits), and KSLZ (FM Top 40 mainstream). St. Louis also has public radio station KWMU, which is part of the National Public Radio (NPR) network. All-sports radio stations, such as KFNS 590 AM "The Fan" and WXOS "101.1 ESPN," are also widely listened to. KSHE 95 FM "Real Rock Radio" has played rock music since November 1967, longer than any other radio station in the United States.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the main newspaper in the region. Other newspapers include Ladue News, West Newsmagazine, the Webster-Kirkwood Times, and the Call Newspapers, which serve parts of St. Louis County. Three weekly newspapers focus on the African-American community: the St. Louis Argus, the St. Louis American, and the St. Louis Sentinel. St. Louis Magazine is a monthly publication that covers local history, food, and lifestyle topics. The weekly St. Louis Business Journal focuses on business news in the region. St. Louis once had an online newspaper called the St. Louis Beacon, but it joined KWMU in 2013. The Riverfront Times was the main alternative newspaper before it closed in 2024.
Many books and movies have been created about St. Louis. Some well-known films include Meet Me in St. Louis and American Flyers. Books about the city include The Killing Dance, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Runaway Soul, The Rose of Old St. Louis, and Circus of the Damned.
Because St. Louis was a popular place for immigrants to move to, many early works about immigrant life were based on the city. One example is the book The Immigrant in St. Louis.
Transportation
St. Louis connects to nearby areas, national transportation systems, and international locations through road, rail, ship, and air travel. The city also has a public transportation system that includes buses and light rail.
Four interstate highways link St. Louis to a larger regional highway network. Interstate 70, an east-west highway, runs from the northwest corner of the city to downtown. Interstate 55, a north-south highway, enters the city near the Carondelet neighborhood and travels toward the city center. Interstates 64 and 44 enter the city from the west, running parallel to each other. Interstates 55 and 64 merge south of Gateway Arch National Park and exit the city on the Poplar Street Bridge into Illinois. Interstate 44 ends at a new interchange near N Broadway and Cass Ave. A small part of Interstate 270, an outer belt freeway, runs through the northern part of the city.
The 563-mile Avenue of the Saints connects St. Louis to Saint Paul, Minnesota. Major roads include Memorial Drive, a north-south street on the western edge of Gateway Arch National Park and parallel to Interstate 70. Grand Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue are north-south streets that run the length of the city. Gravois Road connects the southeastern part of the city to downtown and was once labeled as U.S. Route 66. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive is an east-west road that links the western edge of the city to downtown.
Local bus service in St. Louis is provided by the Bi-State Development Agency through MetroBus, with over 75 routes connecting to MetroLink light rail and stops throughout the city and region. Madison County Transit connects downtown St. Louis to Madison County, Illinois. National bus services include Greyhound Lines, Burlington Trailways, Amtrak Thruway, and Megabus, with stops at the Gateway Transportation Center and St. Louis Union Station.
Taxicab service is offered by private companies regulated by the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission. Fares depend on vehicle type, size, passengers, and distance, and must be calculated using a taximeter. Payments can be made with cash or a credit card. Drivers cannot solicit passengers, but taxis can be hailed on the street or at a stand.
The St. Louis metropolitan area is served by MetroLink, the 11th-largest light rail system in the United States, with 46 miles of double track. The Red Line and Blue Line serve all inner-city stations and branch to different suburban areas. Both lines enter the city north of Forest Park or via the Eads Bridge in downtown St. Louis. All tracks are in an independent right of way, with surface-level and underground subway tracks in the city. Stations are independent entry points, and platforms are level with trains. MetroLink is operated by the Bi-State Development Agency, funded by sales taxes in the city and surrounding counties. The Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center is the main hub, connecting light rail, local buses, passenger rail, and national bus services. It is located near St. Louis Union Station.
Amtrak provides inter-city rail service at the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center. Trains that end in St. Louis include the Lincoln Service to Chicago and the Missouri River Runner to Kansas City, Missouri. St. Louis is also a stop on the Texas Eagle route, which travels between Chicago, San Antonio, and Los Angeles three times a week.
St. Louis is the third-largest freight rail hub in the United States, moving goods like fertilizer, gravel, food, oils, grain, and automobiles. Freight rail service is provided on tracks owned by Union Pacific Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway, Foster Townsend Rail Logistics, Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, Affton Trucking, and BNSF Railway.
The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis (TRRA) is a switching and terminal railroad owned by major rail carriers in the city. It operates 30 diesel-electric locomotives to move railcars, deliver them to local industries, and prepare trains for departure. The TRRA manages a large portion of railroad traffic through the city and owns rail bridges and tunnels, including the MacArthur Bridge and Merchants Bridge. These facilities are also used by inter-city and long-distance passenger trains.
River transportation is handled by the Port of St. Louis, which has 19.3 miles of riverfront on the Mississippi River. The port processes over 32 million tons of freight annually and has 100 docks for barges and 16 public terminals. The Port Authority added two new small fire and rescue boats in 2012 and 2013.
St. Louis has two passenger airports. St. Louis Lambert International Airport, owned by the city, is 11 miles northwest of downtown and serves over 15 million passengers annually. It is the busiest airport in Missouri and a focus hub for Southwest Airlines. The airport has two terminals with five concourses. Terminal 2 handles international flights and includes Immigration and Customs gates. Passengers can move between terminals via free buses or MetroLink for a fee.
MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is the secondary passenger airport in the region, located 17 miles east of downtown. Air cargo services are available at Lambert International Airport and other nearby airports, including MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Spirit of St. Louis Airport, and St. Louis Downtown Airport.