Living in Hazelwood, MO

St. Louis County

Hazelwood is a genuinely affordable north St. Louis County suburb whose economy carries a real, honest industrial-transition story. Ford's St. Louis Assembly Plant, open from 1948 to 2006 (demolished 2009), was a real, substantial manufacturing loss this record does not omit. But Hazelwood's aerospace history -- McDonnell Aircraft/McDonnell Douglas since 1941, merged into Boeing in 1997 -- continues today: Boeing retains a real, substantial regional presence (16,000 regional employees, $700 million invested in St. Louis infrastructure over the past decade, and a proposed $1.8 billion 'Project Voyager' expansion). The real, current 164-acre Hazelwood Logistics Center now hosts Amazon's first Missouri distribution facility alongside Bunzl Distribution, and Northwest Plaza -- once Missouri's largest enclosed mall -- was redeveloped into The Crossings at Northwest after its 2012 sale. Zillow's average home value ran $165,568 this pass (up 1.4% year-over-year), genuinely, substantially below Missouri's own $268,423 statewide average, though St. Louis County's own effective property tax rate (1.20%-1.36%) ranks highest of Missouri's 115 counties. Hazelwood's median household income ran approximately $55,908, with a real, disclosed 15.87% poverty rate above the national average. Schools run through the Hazelwood School District, which carries real, disclosed academic-performance challenges (a SchoolGrade of D-, with math and reading proficiency both well below Missouri's own statewide averages). Crime runs real, genuinely elevated -- more than 90% of Missouri communities carry a lower crime rate. St. Louis Lambert International Airport borders the city directly, a real convenience alongside a real, disclosed noise trade-off. Hazelwood's median age (38.4) and senior share (14.7%-17%) run at or below the national average, which is why this record uses TIER_B_TOPICS_NO_RETIREMENT (best-areas rather than retiring).

Explore Hazelwood in depth

• Moving to Hazelwood: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Hazelwood
• Housing in Hazelwood
• Taxes & Insurance in Hazelwood
• Climate in Hazelwood
• Schools & Families in Hazelwood
• Healthcare & Safety in Hazelwood
• Pros and Cons of Living in Hazelwood
• Best Areas to Live in Hazelwood

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits affordability-focused first-time buyers and remote workers valuing direct airport proximity, along with buyers with a specific career tie to Hazelwood's real aerospace (Boeing), logistics (Amazon, Bunzl), or broader north St. Louis County industrial base, who are comfortable with the city's real, disclosed elevated crime rate and school-district performance challenges.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers prioritizing top-tier public schools or a below-average crime rate as a hard requirement, given the Hazelwood School District's real, disclosed challenges and the city's genuinely elevated crime statistics; or for anyone sensitive to aircraft noise, given Hazelwood's real, direct boundary with St. Louis Lambert International Airport.