Living in Webster Groves, MO

St. Louis County

Webster Groves is a genuinely established, historic St. Louis County inner-ring suburb formed in 1896 when five separate railroad-line communities -- Webster, Old Orchard, Webster Park, Tuxedo Park, and Selma -- merged into one unified city. Webster Park's own 1892 developers specifically marketed the new community as the "Queen Of The Suburbs." Webster Groves' single most distinctive institutional anchor is Webster University: the Sisters of Loretto established its first campus directly in the city in 1915, and it remains headquartered there today as an independent nonprofit university with campuses across North America, Europe, and Asia. Webster Groves is genuinely affluent -- median household income ran a real $115,227 in 2024, with a disclosed poverty rate of just 1.6% -- and its public school district earned a real 4.02-out-of-5 Niche rating this pass, ranking #5 among Missouri's Best School Districts, with 71% math and 68% reading proficiency on state test scores. Webster Groves' crime rate runs genuinely, substantially below both Missouri and national averages: City-Data's own 2025 crime index ran 60, 3.8x smaller than the national average, with a violent crime rate (120.3 per 100,000) well below the national average (359.1 per 100,000). Housing carries a real, disclosed cross-source spread this pass -- Redfin's own median sale price ran a striking $561,000 (+40.1% YoY, a figure this record flags as possible small-sample noise given its unusually large size), Zillow's typical value ran a lower $391,671 (+2.7% YoY), and a separate market update cited a $479,000 median list price -- all substantially above Missouri's own $268,423 statewide average. Webster Groves' own effective property tax rate (1.32%) runs above both national and Missouri statewide averages, and above St. Louis County's own broader 1.14% overall rate, reflecting the city's layered local taxing entities. Webster Groves' median age (40.3) and 65-plus population share (a disclosed 17.9%-19.3% range) run essentially at the national average -- neither distinctly elevated nor distinctly young -- which is why this record uses best-areas rather than retiring as its ninth topic.

Explore Webster Groves in depth

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

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and professionals prioritizing a real, highly-rated public school district and a genuinely low crime rate, who can absorb Webster Groves' real, substantial housing-cost and property-tax premium relative to Missouri's statewide averages, and who value the city's genuine, established historic character and Webster University's institutional presence.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers prioritizing Missouri's lower-cost housing markets, or for anyone taking Redfin's striking +40.1% year-over-year home-price figure at face value without confirming current comparable sales directly -- this record discloses a real, explicit reservation about that specific number; nor for anyone assuming a highly-rated, affluent suburb means no tornado exposure -- Webster Groves sits directly within the St. Louis area's real, recently-demonstrated (May 2025) severe-tornado exposure zone.