St. Louis

What's new in St. Louis

What has changed since 2024, and what is coming.

The metro area has returned to population growth after years of decline, adding roughly 6,400 residents in 2023–2024 and holding steady around 2.814 million, though international immigration is the dominant positive growth driver and new census data shows immigration dropping and growth slowing. STL Realtors, 2025 · STL Mosaic Project Crime is at a 12-year low: homicides fell to 141 in 2025 (down 7% from 2024, though 2025 figures are preliminary and year-end totals can shift), and overall Part I crime dropped 16% year-over-year. The homicide clearance rate hit 84%, far above the ~50% national average. St. Louis Public Radio, 2026

A $670 million riverfront megaproject is underway: the long-vacant Millennium Hotel site next to the Gateway Arch is being demolished and redeveloped by Cordish Companies into a 1.3-million-square-foot mixed-use district. Cordish, 2025 Downtown office-to-residential conversions are reshaping the core: the historic Jefferson Arms building ($145M) is delivering 235 apartments and a 225-room AC Hotel by Marriott. Greater St. Louis, Inc. · St. Louis Business Journal, 2025 The Gateway South Innovation District ($250M+), a construction-tech hub on the riverfront, suffered a major setback when a November 2025 fire destroyed the historic Crunden-Martin anchor building, forcing a pivot to ground-up construction. St. Louis Business Journal

America's Center convention complex completed a $240+ million expansion in late 2024. Explore St. Louis BJC's Campus Renewal Project opened a 16-story, 280-room heart and vascular tower in October 2025, with further phases running through late 2026. BJC · McCarthy

Caveats: City vs. metro divergence persists — while the metro area has stabilized, the city of St. Louis proper continues to lose population slowly, down to about 280,000. Census Bureau Crime perception lags behind data; despite improvements, St. Louis was ranked the most dangerous U.S. city by per-capita cost of crime as recently as 2022–2023. St. Louis Public Radio, 2026 The Millennium Hotel project is still in demolition; vertical construction hasn't started. KSDK