What it's like to live in Wildwood
Wildwood is a small city in Missouri with unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, 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. Wildwood deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, and cold winters.
The good
- Low unemployment
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Highly educated workforce
- Low student-teacher ratio
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Cold winters
How Wildwood compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Wildwood
Based on Wildwood's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$3,322
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $66,440 a year
- 43% of Wildwood renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$99,160
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $49,580
- Homes cost 3.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 18% above US
$1,661/mo median rent
Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,661 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices are steep, with a median around $495,800. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.
Median home value $495,800 · 43% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 21% below US
3.4% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.4%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety
120 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Wildwood doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Chesterfield 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 908/100k · Policed by Chesterfield Police Department (township-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
27 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 27.3 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 25% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 88°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 25°F and snow a regular occurrence.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▲ 91% above US
69% 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
9 public schools inside the boundary
There are 9 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, 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 (17 miles away). There are 5 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Wildwood's strongest points are unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,661/mo) equals 12% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers, remote workers (25% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals.
Other places near Wildwood
All Missouri guides →Not sure Wildwood is the one?
Put it side by side with another city.