ST. LOUIS — Only four of the St. Louis metro area's largest municipalities increased their populations from 2020 to 2022 and they are all within St. Charles County, according to estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
The biggest gain was in Wentzville, where population increased by 6%, from 44,571 to 47,197. Ranking second was O’Fallon, Missouri, with a 2.5% increase from 91,347 to 93,663, followed by St. Peters with a 1.37% increase from 57,731 to 58,523; and St. Charles with a 0.91% increase from 70,539 to 71,184.
Overall, population in the metro area — consisting of the city of St. Louis and 14 counties — declined 0.4% from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022.
Ness Sandoval, associate professor of sociology at Saint Louis University, said the increases in St. Charles County reflect the lower prices of housing, quality of public schools and public safety in that part of the metro.
