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Dardenne Prairie.

All Dardenne Prairie data Compare Dardenne Prairie

13,503people live here $152,500median household income▲ 89% above US $1,444median rent per monthNear US average $432,000median home value▲ 30% above US

What it's like to live in Dardenne Prairie

Dardenne Prairie is a small city in Missouri with county unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, and a population that has grown fast since 2020. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Dardenne Prairie deals with home prices well above the national average and cold winters.

The good

Low unemployment in the county
Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce
Fast-growing population
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

High home prices
Cold winters

How Dardenne Prairie compares

Median household income

Dardenne Prairie$152,500

Missouri avg$70,702

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Dardenne Prairie$1,444

Missouri avg$1,033

US$1,413

Median home value

Dardenne Prairie$432,000

Missouri avg$230,300

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Dardenne Prairie

Based on Dardenne Prairie's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,888

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $57,760 a year
49% of Dardenne Prairie renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$86,400

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $43,200
Homes cost 2.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of livingNear US average

$1,444/mo median rent

Rent is pretty middle of the road, at $1,444 a month median. Not a bargain, not a budget-buster. About typical for a city this size. Home prices run above average, with a median around $432,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $432,000 · 49% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.4% county unemployment

Unemployment in St. Charles County is 3.4%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

St. Charles County (county-wide)

Safety

96 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Dardenne Prairie doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the St. Charles County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 208/100k · Policed by St. Charles County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

24 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 24 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 19% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

73%

Work from home

19%

Carpool

5.7%

Other

2.1%

Walk

0.3%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 24°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 53% above US

55% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a highly educated city, with over half the adult population holding a college degree. That tends to shape the job market and the broader culture, and it's a solid indicator of a strong professional scene.

Schools

4 public schools inside the boundary

There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 13:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site (25 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Dardenne Prairie's strongest points are county unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are home prices well above the national average and cold winters. A year of median rent ($1,444/mo) equals 11% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals.

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