St. Louisans love their communities. According to the 2002 edition of Where We Stand: The Strategic Assessment of the St. Louis Region, the St. Louis metropolitan area ranks 3rd highest among 35 peer regions in “sense of community.”  “Sense of community” is an index of four variables: homeownership rates, voter participation rates, the length of time people stay in their homes, and access to local government. 

Access to local government is expressed in terms of the number of units of local governments per capita.   With 795 individual units of government, St. Louis ranks second only to Pittsburgh among the peer regions in ratio of local governments to citizens.

Local governments in the St. Louis region can be divided into five categories: counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and other special purpose districts.
 

Of the total number of local governments in the St. Louis bi-state region, 1% are counties, 30% are cities, 9% are townships, 15% are independent school districts and 45% are special districts. Each of these units of government has its own taxing structure and governance system.

Available Data:

To access available data and community profiles, select from the menu below.

To access additional information about school districts in theregion, click on the following links:

Missouri: http://www.dese.state.mo.us/schooldata/

Illinois: http://www.isbe.state.il.us/finance/default.htm

Click here to go directly to the local government finance page.

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