St. Louis County, Missouri

St. Louis County located in the  of. According to the 2000 census, the population was 1,016,315, making the county the most populous in the state of Missouri. This county is notable for its 400+. Its is. St. Louis County is part of the and borders the, which is independent from St. Louis County.

Origin of name
The county was organized in and was originally a Spanish colonial district, named for. In, separated itself from the county, creating an.

Law and government
St. Louis County was the first Missouri County to adopt a home-rule under the Missouri, in 1950. The current St. Louis County Charter was adopted by the voters on November 6, 1979.

of the county is vested in the, which is a full-time salaried position. The current county executive is, who was re-elected November 7, 2006. The county executive's term is 4 years; he is elected by the general population of the county.

Ordinances are passed by a county council. The council is made up of 7 members, each from a separate district within the county. Council member terms are 4 years, beginning on January 1 following the election. Elections are held in even-numbered years, with terms for even- and odd-numbered districts staggered.

Crime and Safety
When compared to other large urban counties, St. Louis County’s crime rate per 100,000 residents is among the lowest in the nation. For example, there were just 30 homicides reported in 2003 out of a population of over 1 million people. There has been a 25% decrease in crime since 1991, and St. Louis County is now at its lowest level of crime since 1973.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,356 (524 ). 1,315 km² (508 sq mi) of it is land and 41 km² (16 sq mi) of it (3.03%) is water.

St. Louis Metro Area
The St. Louis Metro Area is the biggest in Missouri 7 Counties in Missouri And one Independent City St. Louis County, Jefferson County, Warren County, St. Charles County, Washington County, Franklin County, Linclon County and St. Louis City. and 7 Counties in Illinois Clinton, Bond, Macoupin, Calhoun, Madison, St. Clair, Jersey.

Natural boundaries
The forms the northern border with, exclusive of a few areas where the river has changed its course. The forms most of its southern border with. To the east is the City of and the. The western boundary with is the north-south line where the distance between the Meramec and Missouri Rivers is the shortest, bisecting the City of Pacific roughly 2 blocks east of Hwy OO/F (First street).

Topography
The Mountains begin in western Saint Louis County, with most of the rest of the county being a fairly level plateau. This western part of the county is the least developed, due to rugged topography. Bluffs along the Mississippi in the south of the county rise about 200-300 feet above the river. A major floodplain area is the, in the western part of the county, along the Missouri River, formerly called "Gumbo Flats" after its rich, dark soil; it was submerged by at least ten feet of water during the , but recent development there is protected by a higher levee. The Columbia Bottom is a floodplain in the northeast of the county at the of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers; this is a conservation area open to the public. The Missouri Bottom area between the two other floodplains is largely agricultural, but is being increasingly developed. The drains the interior of county before flowing underground into the City of St. Louis. Other streams include Coldwater Creek, Bonhomme Creek, and Creve Coeur Creek, flowing into the ; Keifer Creek and Grand Glaize Creek, flowing into the ; Gravois Creek, flowing into the River des Peres; and Maline Creek, flowing into the.

Geology
The bedrock is mainly and, and much of the county near the rivers is  terrain, with numerous caves, sinkholes, and springs. No or  rock is exposed on the surface. A major outcropping of the formation, a fine white sandstone used for making clear glass, is mined in the southwest corner of the county in. Brick clay mining was once a major industry in the county. The Charbonier Bluff along the Missouri River is an outcropping of coal, and was used a fueling station for. The "St. Louis Anticline", an underground formation, has small petroleum deposits in north part of the county.

Flora and fauna
Before European settlement, the area was prairie and open parklike forest, maintained by via burning. Trees are mainly, , and , similar to the forests of the ; common understory trees include , , and. areas are heavily forested with mainly. By the most of the timber in the county was harvested; since that time, large parks and undeveloped areas in the western and southern parts of the county have grown dense forest cover. Old pastures are usually colonized with. Most of the residential area of the county is planted with large native shade trees. In, the changing color of the trees is notable. Saint Louis County has the most recorded native species of plants in the state, but this is probably due to the intensive botanical research done in the area. Most species here are typical of the Eastern Woodland; but some southern species are found in swampland, and typical northern species survive in sheltered. Invasive species, most notably, are common in some homesteads converted to parks; these are actively removed.

Large s include growing populations of and s, which are becoming increasingly urbanized. ,, and other rodents are abundant, as well as , , , , and. Large bird species include, , , various like the  and , as well as s, including the  and. Winter populations of s are found by the around the. The county is on the, used by migrating birds, and has a large variety of small bird species, common to the eastern U.S. The , an introduced species, is limited in North American to the counties surrounding Saint Louis.

Frogs are commonly found in the springtime, especially after extensive wet periods. Common species include and species of chorus frogs, commonly called "" that are found in nearly every pond. Some years have outbreaks of or. and are common  nuisances; because of this, windows are nearly universally fitted with, and "screened-in" es are common in homes of the area. Populations of have sharply declined in recent years, and numerous species of  insects have filled their ecological niche.

Climate
Saint Louis County has a continental climate, and has neither large mountains nor large bodies of water to moderate its temperature. The area is affected by both cold Canadian arctic air, and also hot, humid air from the. The county has four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature for the years 1971-2000, recorded at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport, is 56.3 °F (13.5 °C), and average precipitation is 36 inches (914 mm). The average high temperature in July is 88.4 °F (32 °C), and the average low temperature in January is 22.6 °F (−6 °C), although these values are often exceeded. Temperatures of 0 °F or below occur 3 days per year on average. The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint Louis was 115 °F (46 °C), in, while the lowest temperature on record is −23 °F (−31 °C), in

Winter is the driest season, averaging about 6 inches of total precipitation. Springtime (March through May), is typically the wettest season, with just under 10.5 inches. Dry spells of one or two weeks duration are common during the growing seasons.

s can be expected on 40 to 50 days per year. A few of them will be severe with locally destructive winds and large, and occasionally accompanied by . A period of unseasonably warm weather late in known as  is common – s will still be in bloom as late as November or early December in some years.

Other geography
The largest natural lake in the state is Creve Coeur Lake, and is a county park.

Manchester Road follows an ancient path westward out of Saint Louis, following the boundary between the  and  watersheds, and is the only way to leave the area without crossing rivers.

The Sinks is a area near, with numerous s.

Adjacent counties

 * (north, northwest)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * & (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 1,016,315 people, 404,312 households, and 270,889 families residing in the county. The was 773/km² (2,001/sq mi). There were 423,749 housing units at an average density of 322/km² (834/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 70.83%, 24.02% , 0.17% , 2.22% , 0.02% , 0.47% from , and 1.26% from two or more races. or of any race were 1.01% of the population.

There were 404,312 households out of which 31.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were living together, 12.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 28.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.20% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,532, and the median income for a family was $61,680. Males had a median income of $45,714 versus $30,278 for females. The for the county was $27,595. About 5.00% of families and 6.90% of the population were below the, including 9.30% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those age 65 or over. St. Louis County is the most affluent county in the state of Missouri.

Employment
St. Louis County's rapid job growth in the past two decades has brought the County's share of the State of Missouri's jobs to 23 percent: nearly one-quarter of all of the jobs in the State are located in St. Louis County.

Population and residents
St. Louis County is often divided by its residents into north, west and south sections.

West County
Much of West County is inhabited by professionals and old wealth, creating the largest area of high-income residents in the Midwest with the exception of Chicago's and,. These communities include, , , , , ,  , and. , with about 47,000 residents, is the largest city in St. Louis County. West County is home to three major shopping centers:, , and , which is occupied mainly by luxury retailers. Local school districts include the, , and , along with numerous private schools. Leisure spots in West County include, , and , which is home to the Sachs Butterfly House.

North County
North County is home to 's unit,  and. Its population is the most diverse of the three areas with about half of its residents claiming African American heritage. North County has become a haven for middle income blacks leaving north St. Louis City. Public transportation has been beneficial to North County and was the first area of Metro St. Louis served by the metropolitan rail system,. North County boasts three major malls including, formerly , , and , in Hazelwood. Cities of North County include, ,. North Saint Louis County is not only diverse in racial makeup but also by socioeconomic means. While mostly middle income residents reside here, there are some upper income communities such as, , and , second to as the most affluent majority black community north of the. Yet, some of the inner ring suburbs increasingly show signs of instability and white flight, notably, and, where four times as many people live in poverty than in St. Louis city.

South County
While largely populated, much of South County is. Major communities include, , , , and.

Cities and towns

 * For a listing by population, see: .

St. Louis County has 91 municipalities and 9 unincorporated s:


 * † unincorporated
 * ‡ Times Beach was disincorporated in, Peerless Park was disincorporated in , Carsonville disincorporated

Maps of the municipalities and CDPs are available here.

High schools
In addition to its public high schools, St. Louis has an abundance of private and schools, including the largest number of Catholic affiliated secondary institutions in the continental U.S. This is partly due to St. Louis's status as an  and historically Catholic city. Most of the prestigious private schools reside in West St. Louis County, one of the wealthiest areas in the region.

County Parks
-- --  --  --  --  --  --  --  (North and South of Interstate 44) --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --  --

Undeveloped County Parks
Bright-Fowler -- Castlewood -- Fairmont -- Forrest Staley -- Grasso -- Linear Parks South -- Long Log Cabin -- Lower Meramec River -- MSD Union Road -- Packwood -- St. Stanislaus -- Winding Trails

Municipal Fire Departments
Berkeley -- Brentwood -- Clayton -- Crestwood -- Des Peres -- Ferguson -- Frontenac -- Glendale -- Hazelwood -- Jennings -- Kirkwood -- Ladue -- Maplewood -- Olivette -- Pacific -- Richmond Heights -- Rock Hill -- Shrewsbury -- University City -- Webster Groves

Fire Protection Districts
Affton -- Black Jack -- Community -- Creve Coeur -- Eureka -- Fenton -- Florissant Valley -- Kinloch -- Lemay -- Maryland Heights -- Mehlville -- Metro West -- Mid-County -- Moline -- Monarch -- Normandy -- Pattonville -- Riverview -- Robertson -- Spanish Lake -- Valley Park -- West County EMS -- West Overland