Missouri’s 20 Most Expensive School Districts Ranked

It's the desire of nearly every parent to make sure they're kids have the best educational opportunities possible. In Missouri, living in the best school districts in the state sometimes costs you a small fortune as a new ranking reveals.

There is some complicated math involved in determining the most expensive school districts in Missouri. I queried databases that included public information about Missouri school districts and combined that with real estate prices from Zillow that are current as of the end of June this year. Here's the methodology:

School-district geography: Census/ACS school-district boundaries.
Base housing measure: ACS 2020–2024 5-year median owner-occupied home value.
2026 update: current Zillow ZHVI or Redfin median-sale data for the communities/ZIPs comprising the district.
No city substitution: Ladue's citywide ZHVI isn't treated as the value of every home in the entire Ladue School District.
Ranking: estimated 2026 district housing value, with the underlying ACS figure retained for transparency.

With all those factors baked in, here are the 20 most expensive school districts in Missouri.

Rank	School district	Major communities served	Estimated 2026 typical home value
1	Ladue School District	Ladue, Frontenac, Huntleigh, Westwood, parts of Creve Coeur	~$1.05M
2	School District of Clayton	Clayton, parts of University City, Richmond Heights	~$830K
3	Parkway C-2	Town & Country, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Ballwin, Manchester	~$550K–$650K
4	Kirkwood R-VII	Kirkwood, Glendale, Oakland, Des Peres portions	~$500K–$550K
5	Rockwood R-VI	Chesterfield, Wildwood, Ballwin, Eureka, Ellisville	~$475K–$525K
6	Webster Groves	Webster Groves, Shrewsbury, parts of Rock Hill	~$400K–$450K
7	Francis Howell R-III	St. Charles, Cottleville, Weldon Spring, Wentzville portions	~$390K–$425K
8	Lee's Summit R-VII	Lee's Summit	~$400K
9	Park Hill R-V	Parkville, Riverside, Kansas City Northland	~$390K–$410K
10	Liberty 53	Liberty, Kansas City Northland	~$385K–$400K
11	Lindbergh Schools	Sunset Hills, Crestwood, Green Park, Sappington	~$375K–$400K
12	Wentzville R-IV	Wentzville, Lake St. Louis, parts of Foristell	~$375K–$400K
13	Fort Zumwalt R-II	O'Fallon, St. Peters	~$350K–$375K
14	Blue Springs R-IV	Blue Springs	~$350K
15	Mehlville R-IX	Oakville, Mehlville, parts of Lemay	~$340K–$365K
16	Francis Howell / Wentzville high-value overlap markets	St. Charles County	~$340K–$360K
17	Brentwood R-V	Brentwood, portions of Maplewood	~$330K–$350K
18	North Kansas City 74	North Kansas City, Gladstone, Northland	~$300K–$325K
19	Rockwood-area / Parkway-adjacent markets	West St. Louis County	~$300K–$325K
20	Fort Osage R-I	Eastern Independence, Buckner, Sibley	~$275K–$300K

It's important to keep in mind that real estate prices change all the time, but these approximate numbers based on the most recent home prices are about as close as you can get. I have friends I went to school with who were from Ladue and can attest to the cost of making that part of Missouri home. If you can afford it, the suburbs of St. Louis are worth it as some of the highest ranked schools in the state are there based on a new ranking from US News and World Report.