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Moving to
Lemay.
Lemay is an unincorporated community in St. Louis County, MO. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Lemay
Lemay is an unincorporated community in Missouri with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, and schools with smaller class sizes than the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Lemay deals with household incomes below the national average, college degree attainment below the national average, cold winters, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Below-average household incomes
- Low college degree attainment
- Cold winters
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Lemay compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Lemay
Based on Lemay's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,762
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $35,240 a year
- 40% of Lemay renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$30,440
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $15,220
- Homes cost 2.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 38% below US
$881/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $881 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $152,200. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $152,200 · 40% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.1% county unemployment
Unemployment in St. Louis County is 4.1%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
St. Louis County (county-wide)
Safety
440 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Lemay doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the St. Louis County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs above the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 1429/100k · Policed by St. Louis County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
24 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.7 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 12% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 87°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 43% below US
20% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 20%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
4 public schools inside the boundary
There are 4 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 14:1, 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 (4 miles away). There are 6 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Lemay's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and college degree attainment below the national average. A year of median rent ($881/mo) equals 18% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive.
Other places near Lemay
All Missouri guides →Not sure Lemay is the one?
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