The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in St. Charles, MO
St. Charles is a city of 120,300 in St. Charles County, about 20 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis · Updated November 2026
Is St. Charles, MO safe?
Yes, crime in St. Charles is low, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of A. Because most US neighborhoods are safe as well, St. Charles sits near the middle: safer than the neighborhoods where 57% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within St. Charles run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 868 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
57% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than St. Charles as a whole, and 43% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. St. Charles scores 868.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in St. Charles, MO at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in St. Charles, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in St. Charles
Car thefts and thefts both run low. In St. Charles, each runs at less than half the US rate: 1.0 car thefts and 5.4 thefts a year per 1,000 residents, against 2.7 and 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of St. Charles
Every part of St. Charles where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across St. Charles run from A+ to B; 77% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within St. Charles, the southwest side has the least crime and the east side the most.
Crime rates and types in St. Charles
CrimeGrade™ estimates St. Charles has about 18 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 52% less than the US as a whole and 58% less than Missouri.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in St. Charles, about 43% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in St. Charles
St. Charles has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
In St. Charles, 54% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 32% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (54%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Parking lots and garages (29%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (32%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (28%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (50%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How St. Charles compares with nearby cities
St. Charles has more crime than 4 of its 6 nearest cities. Cottleville and Weldon Spring have the least crime nearby.
One thing sets St. Charles apart: it has 4.2% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally. Places like that tend to report less burglary, vandalism and arson, and burglary and vandalism run low here.
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for St. Charles: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.8.0 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 72% of US city residents
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 86% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (14 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 63% of US city residents
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary, vandalism and arson.4.2% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 71% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.99% where people liveUS: 78%Higher than for 62% of US city residents
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.35 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 62% of US city residents
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs St. Charles
Crime costs St. Charles about $517 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 57% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $25 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $79 million a year, or $660 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.7 million
$39
Rape
$1.2 million
$10
Robbery
$460,000
$4
Assault
$10 million
$83
Burglary
$1.1 million
$9
Theft
$3.3 million
$28
Vehicle theft
$1.9 million
$16
Arson
$130,000
$1
Vandalism
$2.1 million
$17
Total
$25 million
$206
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in St. Charles means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them. St. Charles is the other kind of example: few people work in, shop in or visit it, so its crime per resident looks lower than its CrimeGrade™ suggests.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in St. Charles, MO average a SchoolGrade of A: 55% of students test proficient, against 46% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in St. Charles on SchoolGrade
