St. Louis

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1810= 1600
|1830= 4977
|1840= 16469
|1850= 77860
|1860= 160773
|1870= 310864
|1880= 350518
|1890= 451770
|1900= 575238
|1910= 687029
|1920= 772897
|1930= 821960
|1940= 816048
|1950= 856796
|1960= 750026
|1970= 622236
|1980= 453805
|1990= 396685
|2000= 348189
|2010= 319294
|2020= 301578
|estyear=2023
|estimate=281754
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html|date=September 20, 2022|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 7, 2022|archive-date=July 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220711040810/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2016|archive-date=May 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507121432/http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|url-status=live}}</ref><br>2020 Census<ref name="2020 Census (City)" />
}}
[[File:Race and ethnicity 2010 St. Louis.png|thumb|left|Map of racial distribution in St. Louis, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#ff0000|White}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#0000ff|Black}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#00ffaa|Asian}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#ffa600|Hispanic}} {{legend inline|outline=white|white|text=⬤|textcolor=#ffff07|Other}}]]
[[File:Pruitt-Igoe-overview.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|[[Pruitt–Igoe]] was a large housing project constructed in 1954, which became infamous for poverty, crime and segregation. It was demolished in 1972.]]
St. Louis grew slowly until the American Civil War, when industrialization and immigration sparked a boom. Mid-19th century immigrants included many Irish and Germans; later there were immigrants from southern and eastern Europe. In the early 20th century, African American and white migrants came from the South; the former as part of the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] out of rural areas of the Deep South. Many came from Mississippi and Arkansas. Italians, Serbians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Greeks settled in St. Louis by the late 19th-Century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/visit-play/stlouis-history.cfm|title=A Brief History of St. Louis|access-date=July 26, 2023|archive-date=July 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726081313/https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/visit-play/stlouis-history.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref>

After years of immigration, migration, and expansion, the city reached its peak population in 1950. That year, the Census Bureau reported St. Louis's population as 82% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|White]] and 17.9% [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|African American]].<ref name="census1">{{cite web|title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |access-date=April 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012}}</ref> After World War II, St. Louis began losing population to the suburbs, first because of increased demand for new housing, unhappiness with city services, ease of commuting by highways, and later, [[white flight]].<ref name="historical populations">{{cite web|last=Gibson |first=Campbell |title=Population of the 100 largest cities and other urban places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |date=June 1998 |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html |access-date=December 12, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314031958/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027.html |archive-date=March 14, 2007}}</ref> St. Louis's population decline has resulted in a significant increase of abandoned residential housing units and vacant lots throughout the city proper; this blight has attracted much wildlife (such as deer and coyotes) to the many abandoned overgrown lots.
[[File:Ethnic Origins in St. Louis, MO.png|thumb|Ethnic origins in St. Louis]]
St. Louis has lost 64.0% of its population <!-- 308,626 est. 2017 --> since the [[1950 United States census]]. [[Detroit]], Michigan, and [[Youngstown, Ohio]], are the only other cities that have had population declines of at least 60% in the same time frame. The population of the city of St. Louis has been in decline since the 1950 census; during this period the population of the St. Louis Metropolitan Area, which includes more than one county, has grown every year and continues to do so. A big factor in the decline has been the rapid increase in suburbanization.

According to the [[2010 United States census]], St. Louis had 319,294 people living in 142,057 households, of which 67,488 households were families. The population density was {{convert|5,158.2|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people}}. About 24% of the population was 19 or younger, 9% were 20 to 24, 31% were 25 to 44, 25% were 45 to 64, and 11% were 65 or older. The median age was about 34 years.

The African-American population is concentrated in the north side of the city (the area north of Delmar Boulevard is 94.0% black, compared with 35.0% in the central corridor and 26.0% in the south side of St. Louis<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov/census/corridor.cfm|title=Census|website=Dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724040727/http://dynamic.stlouis-mo.gov/census/corridor.cfm|archive-date=July 24, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>). Among the Asian-American population in the city, the largest ethnic group is [[Vietnamese American|Vietnamese]] (0.9%), followed by [[Chinese American|Chinese]] (0.6%) and [[Indian American|Indian]]s (0.5%). The Vietnamese community has concentrated in the [[Dutchtown, St. Louis|Dutchtown]] neighborhood of south St. Louis; Chinese are concentrated in the [[Central West End, St. Louis|Central West End]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=U.S. Census website|website=United States Census|access-date=October 5, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref> People of [[Mexican American|Mexican]] descent are the largest Latino group, and make up 2.2% of St. Louis's population. They have the highest concentration in the Dutchtown, [[Benton Park West, St. Louis|Benton Park West]] (Cherokee Street), and [[Gravois Park, St. Louis|Gravois Park]] neighborhoods.<ref name="censusus">{{cite web |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP3&prodType=table |title=Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2010 |publisher=United States Census |access-date=October 8, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> People of [[Italian American|Italian]] descent are concentrated in [[The Hill, St. Louis|The Hill]].

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $29,156, and the median income for a family was $32,585. Males had a median income of $31,106; females, $26,987. Per capita income was $18,108.

Some 19% of the city's [[housing unit]]s were vacant, and slightly less than half of these were vacant structures not for sale or rent.

In 2010, St. Louis's per-capita rates of online charitable donations and volunteerism were among the highest among major U.S. cities.<ref>{{cite web |last=Druart |first=T. |title=Convio ranks most generous online cities |publisher=convio |date=February 2010 |url=http://www.convio.com/convio/news/releases/convio-ranks-generous-cities-2009.html |access-date=August 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927015722/http://www.convio.com/convio/news/releases/convio-ranks-generous-cities-2009.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{as of|2010}}, 91.05% (270,934) of St. Louis city residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a [[primary language]], while 2.86% (8,516) spoke Spanish, 0.91% (2,713) Serbo-Croatian, 0.74% (2,200) Vietnamese, 0.50% (1,495) African languages, 0.50% (1,481) Chinese, and French was spoken as a [[main language]] by 0.45% (1,341) of the population over the age of five. In total, 8.95% (26,628) of St. Louis's population age 5 and older spoke a [[mother language]] other than English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results |title=St. Louis (city) County, Missouri |publisher=[[Modern Language Association]] |access-date=August 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815140430/http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results |archive-date=August 15, 2013}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%; margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
! Racial composition  !! 2020<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.indystar.com/census/total-population/total-population-change/st-louis-city-missouri/050-29510/|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=November 23, 2021|title=2020 Census Results|archive-date=November 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123105438/https://data.indystar.com/census/total-population/total-population-change/st-louis-city-missouri/050-29510/|url-status=live}}</ref>!! 2010<ref>{{cite web |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/2965000.html |title=St. Louis (city), Missouri |work=State & County QuickFacts |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203020207/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/29/2965000.html |archive-date=December 3, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>!! 2000<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/data/2000-census-summary.cfm |title=2000 Census Summary |publisher=City of St. Louis |access-date=March 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403140131/https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/data/2000-census-summary.cfm |archive-date=April 3, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>!! 1990<ref name="census1"/> !! 1970<ref name="census1"/> !! 1940<ref name="census1"/> 
|-
| [[White American|White]] || 43.9% || 43.9% || 43.9% || 50.9% || 58.7% || 86.6% 
|-
| —Non-Hispanic || 42.9% || 42.2% || 43.0%<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mcdc.missouri.edu/cgi-bin/broker?_PROGRAM=websas.dp3_2k.sas&_SERVICE=sasapp&state=29&county=510|title=MCDC Demographic Profile|website=Mcdc.missouri.edu|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305005947/http://mcdc.missouri.edu/cgi-bin/broker?_PROGRAM=websas.dp3_2k.sas&_SERVICE=sasapp&state=29&county=510|archive-date=March 5, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>|| 50.2% || 57.9%<ref name="fifteen">From 15% sample</ref>|| 86.4%
|-
| [[African American|Black]] || 43.0% || 49.2% || 51.2% || 47.5% ||  40.9% || 13.3%
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race) || 5.1% || 3.5% || 2.0% || 1.3% || 1.0%<ref name="fifteen"/> || 0.2%
|-
| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 4.1% || 2.9% || 2.0% || 0.9% || 0.2% || (X)
|}

===Bosnian population===
{{see also|History of the Bosnians in St. Louis}}
About fifteen families from Bosnia settled in St. Louis between 1960 and 1970. After the [[Bosnian War]] started in 1992, more Bosnian refugees began arriving and by 2000, tens of thousands of Bosnian refugees settled in St. Louis with the help of Catholic aid societies. Many of them were professionals and skilled workers who had to take any job opportunity to be able to support their families. Most Bosnian refugees are Muslim, ethnically [[Bosniaks]] (87%); they have settled primarily in south St. Louis<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ellis|first=Stefanie|date=2022-01-17|title=St Louis: The US city transformed by heartbreak|work=[[BBC]]|url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220117-st-louis-the-us-city-transformed-by-heartbreak|access-date=2022-02-04|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205150213/https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220117-st-louis-the-us-city-transformed-by-heartbreak|url-status=live}}</ref> and South County. [[Bosnian-Americans]] are well integrated into the city, developing many businesses and ethnic/cultural organizations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stlbosnians.com/event/the-bosnian-community-in-st-louis-by-imam-muhamed-hasic/|title=The Bosnian Community in St. Louis by Imam Muhamed Hasic|website=Stlbosnians.com|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912112923/http://www.stlbosnians.com/event/the-bosnian-community-in-st-louis-by-imam-muhamed-hasic/|archive-date=September 12, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

An estimated 70,000 [[Bosnian American|Bosnians]] live in the metro area, which is tied with [[Bosnians in Chicago|Chicago]] for largest population of Bosnians in the United States and the largest Bosnian population outside their homeland. The highest concentration of Bosnians is in the neighborhood of [[Bevo Mill]] and in [[Affton, Missouri|Affton]], [[Mehlville]], and [[Oakville, Missouri|Oakville]] of south [[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis County]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Gilsinan|first=Kathy|title=Why Are There So Many Bosnians in St. Louis?|url=http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2013/02/why-are-there-so-many-bosnians-st-louis/4668/|work=The Atlantic Cities|publisher=[[Atlantic Media Company]]|access-date=February 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217204738/http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2013/02/why-are-there-so-many-bosnians-st-louis/4668/|archive-date=February 17, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ABOUT US |url=https://bs.bhaccchicago.org/about-us |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=bhacc |language=en |archive-date=July 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701141725/https://bs.bhaccchicago.org/about-us |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Crime===
{{Main|Crime in St. Louis}}
Since 2014 the city of St. Louis has had, {{as of|2017|April|lc=y}}, one of the highest murder rates, per capita, in the United States,<ref>{{cite news|title=Millennials really like St Louis|url=https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21720664-addition-countrys-highest-murder-rate-city-boasts-vibrant-start-up|access-date=April 14, 2017|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=April 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413184035/http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21720664-addition-countrys-highest-murder-rate-city-boasts-vibrant-start-up|archive-date=April 13, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> with 188 homicides in 2015 (59.3 homicides per 100,000)<ref name="crimerate">{{cite web |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-6 |title=Crime in the United States, 2015 |publisher=FBI.gov (Uniform Crime Reports) |access-date=April 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322171022/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/tables/table-6 |archive-date=March 22, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Bosman, Julie and Mitch Smith (December 28, 2016). Article comparing Chicago's annual homicide statistics to those of other American cities, including St. Louis, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/us/chicago-murder-rate-gun-deaths.html ''New York Times''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331214442/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/us/chicago-murder-rate-gun-deaths.html |date=March 31, 2017}}</ref> and ranks No. 13 of the most dangerous cities in the world by homicide rate. [[Detroit]], [[Flint, Michigan|Flint]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Birmingham, Alabama|Birmingham]], and [[Baltimore]] have higher overall violent crime rates than St. Louis, when comparing other crimes such as rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.<ref name=crimerate /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-02|title=NeighborhoodScout's Most Dangerous Cities - 2020|url=https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous|access-date=2020-06-08|website=NeighborhoodScout|language=en-US|archive-date=March 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308110815/https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite these high crime rates relative to other American cities, St. Louis [[index crime]] rates have declined almost every year since the peak in 1993 (16,648), to the 2014 level of 7,931 (which is the sum of violent crimes and property crimes) per 100,000. In 2015, the index crime rate reversed the 2005–2014 decline to a level of 8,204. Between 2005 and 2014, violent crime has declined by 20%, although rates of violent crime remains 6 times higher than the [[Crime in the United States|United States national average]] and property crime in the city remains 2 {{frac|1|2}} times the national average.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.morganquitno.com/methodology01.htm |title=Methodology |publisher=Morganquitno.com |access-date=March 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511075835/http://www.morganquitno.com/methodology01.htm |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> St. Louis has a higher homicide rate than the rest of the U.S. for both whites and blacks and a higher proportion committed by males. {{as of|2016|October}}, 7 of the homicide suspects were white, 95 black, 0 Hispanic, 0 Asian and 1 female out of the 102 suspects. In 2016, St. Louis was the most dangerous city in the United States with populations of 100,000 or more, ranking 1st in violent crime and 2nd in property crime. It was also ranked 6th of the most dangerous of all establishments in the United States, and East St. Louis, a suburb of the city itself, was ranked 1st.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/|title=2015|website=Ucr.fbi.gov|access-date=August 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830025557/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015|archive-date=August 30, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slmpd.org/images/Homicide_Stats_for_Website.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=October 18, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019003806/http://www.slmpd.org/images/Homicide_Stats_for_Website.pdf |archive-date=October 19, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>  The [[Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis|St. Louis Police Department]] at the end of 2016 reported a total of 188 murders for the year, the same number of homicides that had occurred in the city in 2015.<ref>Murphy, Doyle (January 3, 2017). [http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/01/03/st-louis-murder-toll-hit-188-in-2016-tying-2015s-unusually-high-number "St. Louis Murder Toll Hit 188 in 2016--Tying 2015's Unusually High Number."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116171953/http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/01/03/st-louis-murder-toll-hit-188-in-2016-tying-2015s-unusually-high-number |date=January 16, 2017}} ''Riverfront Times'' (''RFT''). Retrieved January 15, 2017.</ref> According to the STLP At the end of 2017, St. Louis had 205 murders but the city recorded only 159 inside St. Louis city limits.<ref name="2017murders">{{cite web |url=https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/focused-police-presence-in-north-st-louis-better-relationships-with/article_7ba12d3a-ed23-5ecb-b92f-db8c8cc8bb39.html |title=Focused police presence in north St. Louis, better relationships with protesters among new chief's goals |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |date=January 3, 2018 |access-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206033621/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/focused-police-presence-in-north-st-louis-better-relationships-with/article_7ba12d3a-ed23-5ecb-b92f-db8c8cc8bb39.html |archive-date=February 6, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>St. Louis Crime tracker-City snapshot, https://graphics.stltoday.com/apps/crime/index.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211201618/https://graphics.stltoday.com/apps/crime/index.html |date=December 11, 2017}} Retrieved January 30, 2018</ref> The new Chief of Police, [[John Hayden Jr.|John Hayden]] said two-thirds (67%) of all the murders and one-half of all the assaults are concentrated in a triangular area in the North part of the city.<ref name=2017murders />

Yet another factor when comparing the murder rates of St. Louis and other cities is the manner of drawing municipal boundaries. While many other municipalities have annexed many suburbs, St. Louis has not annexed as much suburban area as most American cities. According to a 2018 estimate, the St. Louis metro area included about 3 million residents and the city included about 300,000 residents. Therefore, the city contains about ten percent of the metro population, a low ratio indicating that the municipal boundaries include only a small part of the metro population.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/upshot/crime-statistics-south-bend-st-louis-misleading.html |last=Asher |first=Jeff |date=December 17, 2019 |title=South Bend and St. Louis, Where Crime Statistics Can Mislead |access-date=July 14, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=September 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913002557/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/upshot/crime-statistics-south-bend-st-louis-misleading.html |url-status=live}}</ref>