Living in Chesterfield, MO: Your Ultimate Suburb Guide

Chesterfield is located 25 miles west of downtown St. Louis. It is easily accessible to the city while offering a more relaxed, suburban lifestyle.

The average commute to St. Louis is about 30 minutes.

Chesterfield has about 49,300 residents as of the Census Bureau’s July 2025 estimate, which makes it one of the largest suburbs of St. Louis.

Homes in Chesterfield, MO

Chesterfield is a relatively recent addition to St. Louis County, with the western side being newer than the eastern side.

On the eastern side, you’ll find a variety of homes, including brick ranch-style, traditional, and some split-level houses constructed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Meanwhile, the western side features a blend of modern, contemporary, and neo-eclectic styles, with predominantly brick exteriors.

The 2 Zip Codes of Chesterfield

Chesterfield is comprised of 2 zip codes: 63005 and 63017.

You’ll notice a different neighborhood style based on the zip code.

To compare the two sides of town on real listings, see the homes for sale in Chesterfield.

Zip code 63005

• Newer side of town
• Larger homes
• Lots of new construction homes
• Median sale price $980,000 (Redfin, May 2026)

Zip code 63017

• It tends to have older neighborhoods
• Many houses built in the 70s and 80s
• Homes are typically smaller in size
• Median sale price $580,000 (Redfin, May 2026)

Chesterfield is a pricier part of town, but nothing near the expensive suburbs like Ladue and Clayton.

It can be tough to find a starter home in Chesterfield, as most of your options are probably going to start upwards of $350,000 for a house.

You’ll find condos and townhomes at lower prices, sometimes as low as $150,000.

The History of Chesterfield

Although Chesterfield didn’t officially become a city until June 1st, 1988, it has a rich history.

Before 1988, residents called it “West County,” an unincorporated area within St. Louis County.

These days, the term “West County” usually refers to the St. Louis suburbs west of I-270.

Back in the day, Chesterfield was made up of six different towns:

• Bellefontaine
• Lake
• Gumbo
• Monarch
• Bonhomme
• Chesterfield

Chesterfield was at the center of these towns, and over the years, the post offices consolidated and were transferred to Chesterfield until only Chesterfield remained.

Naming “Chesterfield”

The name Chesterfield came from landowner and military retiree Justus Post.

After the War of 1812, he moved to Missouri and bought more than 21,000 acres of land along Wild Horse Creek Road.

He built his mansion on the land in 1822 and lived there for 30 years before selling it and moving to Illinois.

There are several nods throughout the city to the founder of Chesterfield.

Bringing Chesterfield into the Modern Era

Louis S. Sachs is credited with being the “Father of modern Chesterfield.” He planned and developed Chesterfield Village, a live/work/play community with over 200 businesses and 260 homes.

Sachs was considered a visionary by today’s standards, although at the time, people questioned why he would build a mall in the middle of a field. He responded to his critics, “In a few years, it will be in the middle of a town.”

Eventually, he proved to be right!

The Great Flood of 1993

On July 30, 1993, the levee that protected Chesterfield Valley failed for the first time since 1935. The whole area was flooded by feet of water.

People had to evacuate as the waters of the Missouri River swallowed businesses, homes, and farms.

The community rallied together to help those who lost their homes and businesses, but what is truly spectacular is the rebuilding that happened after.

The new Monarch-Chesterfield levee now safeguards the valley.

Former farmland has given way to the development of office buildings and retail businesses, fostering job opportunities and infrastructure growth.

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Living St. Louis

Shopping and Entertainment in Chesterfield

Chesterfield has the longest outdoor strip mall in America, Chesterfield Commons.

This is a huge shopping district along Chesterfield Airport Road in the heart of Chesterfield Valley.

There are so many places to go shopping here, so if you enjoy big brand stores, Chesterfield is the place to be.

You’ll also find great restaurants like Annie Gunns, coffee shops, grocery stores, and entertainment.

I-64 has multiple exits in the Valley and goes right through it, so it’s super convenient for highway access to these shopping centers.

There are plenty of entertainment options, and even more are being developed around the area. A new TopGolf and a new entertainment complex called The District are located across from River’s Edge Park, right off I-64.

The District

The District, formerly the Taubman Prestige Outlets, is a new entertainment complex with something for everyone.

The Hub is the District’s outdoor space, boasting a large LED screen for watching games, a stage for live entertainment, outdoor seating, and a yard-like area for games and outdoor activities.

The Factory is The District’s dedicated live entertainment venue. It features world-renowned bands, comedians, and more. Check out their page for upcoming shows.

There are breweries and several restaurants for food and drink, including 4 Hands, Narwhal’s, Hi-Pointe and Steve’s Hot Dogs, and Paddle Up Pickleball opened in 2025.

In 2026, Oaxaca, a Mexican restaurant, and Napoli’s gelato shop opened on both sides of The Hub.

There’s also a comedy club, a golf simulator, an indoor playground, and more on the horizon.

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Living St. Louis

Other amenities include a salon, a cigar lounge, an art gallery, an event space, and a gym.

New Development in Chesterfield

Chesterfield is one of the busiest construction markets in St. Louis County, and what is open, what is selling, and what is still bare dirt changes every few months.

Here is where each of the big projects stands as of September 2026. The District, covered above, is open and still adding tenants.

The Beal Center and the CarShield Sportsplex

The indoor court complex on North Eatherton Road that this article once called the Chesterfield Sports Complex opened in March 2023 and became The Beal Center in August 2024, renamed for Chesterfield native Bradley Beal. It is the region’s largest indoor volleyball and basketball complex at 97,000 square feet.

It was built to attract youth sports with its nine basketball courts, 18 volleyball courts, Olympic-level flooring, streaming cameras, and LED lighting system. It also has a fitness area, food offerings, and multipurpose rooms for meetings and classes.

The bigger news is a few hundred yards up the same road.

The CarShield Sportsplex at 530 North Eatherton is a $60 million, 325,000-square-foot complex with two NHL-size ice rinks and four indoor turf fields, plus three outdoor fields, a restaurant, and a pro shop.

It is the home base for the CarShield hockey and soccer clubs, and it was slated to open in 2026, so check their site for the current status before you plan a visit.

Wildhorse Village

One of the largest new developments in Chesterfield is Wildhorse Village, a “live, work, play” district built around a lake in the middle of the city, right across the street from Central Park.

The residential side is mostly built now.

The Waterfront homes by McKelvey Homes on the lake are sold out, so the only way into that section is a resale. The Townes by Fischer Homes are still actively selling. The Audere Residences, the lakefront condos with floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor terraces, are nearing completion, and the city approved a second Audere building of 16 more units in April 2025. The Flats and the Terraces apartments are leasing.

What has not happened yet is most of the commercial half.

The 2023 plan called for over a million square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail alongside 150-plus homes and 500-plus apartments. The homes and apartments are here.

As of 2026, the office and retail parcels are still being marketed for lease, so that side of Wildhorse Village is a plan rather than a place for now.

Chesterfield Mall Redevelopment

Downtown Chesterfield is the redevelopment of Chesterfield Mall into a walkable district of homes, shops, offices and a central park on the roughly 96-acre mall site. The plan leans on sustainability and green living, with energy-efficient homes and an emphasis on walkability.

The mall closed on August 31, 2024, and demolition began that October. The enclosed mall is now completely gone, with only the Dillard’s and Macy’s buildings kept to be renovated.

Demolition wrapped up in August 2025 and mass grading ran through the end of that year. 2026 is the utilities year, with roughly seven and a half miles of conduit going into the ground, and streets and sidewalks follow in late 2026 and early 2027.

That sequence is why vertical construction is not expected to begin before 2027, with the 3.3-acre park at the center of the district targeted for spring 2027.

On the city side, the council expanded the Special Business District covering the site in May 2026, on a tie vote broken by the mayor.

Local developers at The Staenberg Group are behind this massive project.

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Living St. Louis

Plans call for community gardens, walking trails, and access to nearby parks and green spaces. The photos below are what the site looked like through the first half of 2026: utility trenches going in during January, the park’s footprint graded out by February, and the whole site graded by May with the two department store shells still standing.

A month later the shape of the district was starting to show. The rectangle in the middle of the next photo is where the 3.3-acre central park goes, with the office towers on Chesterfield Parkway behind it.

By May the whole 96 acres had been graded, and the Dillard’s and Macy’s shells were the only structures left standing on it.

Gateway Studios

Gateway Studios opened in May 2025 as a rehearsal complex for touring acts.

Its three soundstages, Studios 65, 75 and 80, are big enough to build a full arena show indoors, which is why acts like Usher and Bad Bunny have run their tour rehearsals in Chesterfield before heading out on the road.

The complex spans 32 acres in Chesterfield Valley and includes three stories of office space alongside the studios.

Also new in 2026:

• A Rivian service center, approved for Chesterfield Commons in July
• A modernization of the Nova40 office building after it signed its first new tenant
• A SpringHill Suites hotel, which opened on Chesterfield Parkway in February
• A November 2026 ballot question asking voters to approve $34.5 million in bonds for a new aquatic center in Central Park, replacing the 30-year-old one that closes at the end of this season

New-Construction Communities in Chesterfield

If you searched for new homes in Chesterfield and landed here, this is the part you want. As of September 2026, the communities with homes still to be bought or built are:

• Schaeffer’s Grove on Wild Horse Creek Road: 18 homesites from Claymont Development, luxury custom builds with a pickleball court, a walking trail, a lawn and a gazebo. Homes are still going up here.
• The Townes at Wildhorse Village: townhomes by Fischer Homes along the lake, actively selling.
• Westland Acres, north of Strecker Road and east of Church Road: a 50-lot subdivision the city council approved in January 2026. Part of the site sits in Wildwood and still needed that city’s approval, so expect lots before you expect model homes.
• 14001 Olive Boulevard: an 81-home plan of attached and detached houses from BluOnx that the city approved in principle in 2025. Final approval and a groundbreaking had not been announced as of this writing.

And so you do not chase listings that no longer exist: Fienup Farms, Tara Ridge, Wildhorse Bluffs and the Legends at Schoettler Pointe are built out or sold out. Anything for sale in those neighborhoods now is a resale, which can still be a great way into a nearly new house.

Building in any of these is a different process from buying a resale, and the sales rep in the model works for the builder. Our new construction page walks through how we represent buyers on a new build, from picking the homesite to negotiating the upgrades.

Chesterfield Schools

The schools in Chesterfield are highly sought after, where students can get a quality education.

They have an average student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1, and state test scores are higher than the state average.

People who have children in this school system express having positive experiences. They especially like that the teachers have good relationships with the parents and students.

When we advise clients on selling a home in Chesterfield, we always recommend highlighting the school district’s high public rankings.

The two main high schools in Chesterfield are Marquette and Lafayette, both part of the Rockwood School System.

These high schools boast academic excellence and rank among Missouri’s top 20% of public schools.

Chesterfield’s Job Growth

Chesterfield’s proximity to St. Louis City attracts people who prefer a suburban lifestyle. These days, plenty of businesses are also coming to Chesterfield.

It is steadily becoming West County’s business hub.

Chesterfield serves many high-growth industries, from healthcare and education to technology, finance, and accounting.

Parks in Chesterfield

Chesterfield has countless great parks with beautiful wildlife, fishing, trails, and gathering spaces. Here are a couple of the more well-known parks in Chesterfield:

Faust Park

Faust Park’s story starts in the early 1800s with Missouri’s second governor, Frederick Bates.

Bates acquired 900 acres of land on the Missouri River and built a Virginia-style plantation, including a main house, two barns, and other buildings.

The land and buildings remained in the family until Leicester and Mary Faust donated the land in 1968 to be used as a park.

Over the years, more additions and improvements were made, including the Sophia M Sachs Butterfly House and education center.

Today, visitors enjoy a historical village, the Thornhill Mansion, hiking trails, a century-old carousel, and more!

Central Park

Central Park is a 55-acre park with a playground, a pool, trails for hiking, and an amphitheater. There are also beautiful sculptures throughout the park that add to the picturesque scenery.

Chesterfield is also close to Babler State Park, which is in Wildwood. It’s only 10 minutes away and has miles and miles of walking trails.

What Else Should I Know About Living In Chesterfield?

• Residents express that Chesterfield is a great place to live for families.
• Residents are highly satisfied with public services such as the fire and police departments.
• People feel safe and feel the area (overall) is quiet.
• The cost of living is lower than the national average.
• According to the most recent US census, the average hourly wage is between $31 and $34, and the median income was $137,052.

Proximity to St. Louis City

The driving distance between St Louis and Chesterfield is about a half-hour drive.

If you are eager to catch Cardinals games or Blues games, visit the zoo, or enjoy a show at the Muny, it’s a convenient distance away.

Moving to Chesterfield

If you need help moving to Chesterfield or buying a house anywhere else in the St. Louis area, we encourage you to get in touch with us!

Chesterfield is a fantastic area in St. Louis, and it’s becoming increasingly popular.

There is a ton of new development and construction, and there will be a lot more in the years to come.

It can be expensive, but there are still options for those on a budget.