St. Louis, Missouri
| St. Louis, Missouri | |
 | |
| General information | |
Mayor of St. Louis
Tishaura Jones | |
| Last mayoral election: | 2021 |
| Next mayoral election: | 2025 |
| Last city council election: | 2023 |
| Next city council election: | 2025 |
| City council seats: | 15 |
| City website | |
| Composition data (2019) | |
| Population: | 308,174 |
| Race: | White 46.5% African American 46.4% Asian 3.4% Native American 0.3% Pacific Islander 0.1% Two or more 2.4% |
| Ethnicity: | Hispanic 4.0% |
| Median household income: | $43,896 |
| High school graduation rate: | 87.8% |
| College graduation rate: | 36.3% |
| Related St. Louis offices | |
| Missouri Congressional Delegation Missouri State Legislature Missouri state executive offices | |
St. Louis is an independent city located in Missouri. It was at one time the county seat of St. Louis County, but in 1876 voters chose to separate from the county and form an independent city.[1] The city's population was 301,578 as of 2020, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Click on the links below to learn more about the city's...
- Mayor
- City council
- Other elected officials
- Elections
- Census information
- Budget
- Contact information
- Ballot measures
- County government
City government
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of St. Louis utilizes a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body and the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.[2]
Mayor
The mayor serves as the city's chief executive, and is responsible for proposing a budget, signing legislation into law, appointing departmental directors, and overseeing the city's day-to-day operations. The mayor also represents the city on the state, national, and international levels.[3]
The current Mayor of St. Louis is Tishaura Jones (nonpartisan). Jones assumed office in 2021.
City council
The St. Louis City Council—more commonly known as the Board of Aldermen—is the city's primary legislative body. It is responsible for adopting the city budget, levying taxes, and making or amending city laws, policies, and ordinances.[4]
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has 15 members, or alders. Fourteen alders are elected by the city's 14 wards, while the President of the Board, who is responsible for presiding over council meetings, is elected at large.[4][5]
The widget below automatically displays information about city council meetings. The topic list contains a sampling of keywords that Voterheads, a local government monitoring service, found in each meeting agenda. Click the meeting link to see more info and the full agenda:
St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees
Other elected officials
Mayoral partisanship
St. Louis has a Democratic mayor. As of November 2024, 63 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 25 are affiliated with the Republican Party, one is affiliated with the Libertarian Party, four are independents, five identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors' affiliations are unknown. Click here for a list of the 100 largest cities' mayors and their partisan affiliations.
Mayoral elections are officially nonpartisan in most of the nation's largest cities. However, many officeholders are affiliated with political parties. Ballotpedia uses one or more of the following sources to identify each officeholder's partisan affiliation: (1) direct communication from the officeholder, (2) current or previous candidacy for partisan office, or (3) identification of partisan affiliation by multiple media outlets.
Elections
2024
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held general elections for circuit court judges, circuit attorney, sheriff, and treasurer on November 5, 2024. A primary was scheduled for August 6, 2024. The filing deadline for the primary was March 26, 2024, and the filing deadline for the general election was July 30, 2024. A general election was held on April 2, 2024, for one seat on the community college board.
2023
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held general elections for board of aldermen and community college board on April 4, 2023. A primary for the board of aldermen election was scheduled for March 7, 2023. The filing deadline for the community college board was December 27, 2022, and the filing deadline for the board of aldermen election was January 6, 2023.
2022
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held general elections for collector of revenue, license collector, and recorder of deeds on November 8, 2022. A primary was scheduled for August 2, 2022. The filing deadline for this election was March 29, 2022.
One seat on the community college board of trustees was on the ballot in the general municipal election on April 5, 2022. The filing deadline for that seat was December 28, 2021.
The city also held a special general election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 28 on April 19, 2022. The city also held a special general election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 11 on July 12, 2022.[6] In addition, St. Louis held a special general election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 21 on August 2, 2022.[7]
2021
In the March 2021 election, the city of St. Louis began to use the approval voting system to elect the offices of mayor, comptroller, president of the Board of Aldermen, and the Board of Aldermen. In this system, instead of voting for only one candidate, voters had the option to vote for one or more candidates. The top two vote-getters in a race advanced to the general election. The city's elections were also changed from partisan to nonpartisan. This new voting system was approved by voters in November 2020 with 68% of the vote.
2020
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held general elections for circuit attorney, sheriff, treasurer, and circuit court and associate circuit court judges on November 3, 2020. A primary was scheduled for August 4, 2020, and the filing deadline was March 31, 2020.
St. Louis also held a general election for two seats on the St. Louis Community College board of trustees on June 2, 2020.
St. Louis also held special elections for the Ward 4 and 12 board of aldermen seats on June 23, 2020.[8]
2019
2018
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held general elections for collector of revenue, license collector, and recorder of deeds on November 6, 2018. The primary was on August 7, 2018. The deadline for candidates to file to run in this election was June 8, 2018.
St. Louis also held a general election for one seat on the St. Louis Community College board of trustees on April 4, 2018.
St. Louis also held a special election on February 13, 2018, for the Ward 8 seat on the Board of Aldermen. The deadline for candidates to file to run in that election was January 12, 2018.
2017
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held elections for mayor, comptroller, board of aldermen, and the St. Louis Community College in 2017. Fourteen of the 29 seats on the board were up for general election. Additionally, the Ward 16 seat held by Donna Baringer (D) was up for special election, following her successful election to the state house of representatives in 2016. Partisan primary elections took place on March 7, 2017. The general election between the primary winners took place on April 4, 2017.[9]
2016
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held a special election for one seat on the St. Louis Community College on April 5, 2016.
2015
The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held elections for the board of aldermen on April 7, 2015. Partisan primary elections took place on March 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 2, 2015. Eighteen of the Board's 29 seats—including the position of President of the Board—were up for a vote.[10]
Census information
The table below shows demographic information about the city.
| Demographic Data for St. Louis | |
|---|---|
| St. Louis | |
| Population | 301,578 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 61 |
| Race and ethnicity** | |
| White | 46.3% |
| Black/African American | 43.9% |
| Asian | 3.5% |
| Native American | 0.2% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 4.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 4.3% |
| Education | |
| High school graduation rate | 90% |
| College graduation rate | 38.6% |
| Income | |
| Median household income | $52,941 |
| Persons below poverty level | 14.3% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2017-2022). | |
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | |
Budget
The city's budget process operates by fiscal years running from July 1 to June 30. The St. Louis Budget Division is responsible for drafting a budget proposal based on departmental requests, which is then reviewed by the mayor, comptroller, and president of the board of aldermen. The board of aldermen is responsible for adopting the budget after holding public hearings.[11][12]
Fiscally standardized cities data
The fiscally standardized cities (FiSC) data below was compiled by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy to make municipal budgets comparable across cities in the United States.[13]
| “ |
FiSCs are constructed by adding revenues and expenditures of each central city municipal government to a portion of the revenues and expenditures of overlying governments, including counties, independent school districts, and special districts. The allocations to FiSCs are estimates of the revenues collected from and services provided to central city residents and businesses by these overlying independent governments. Thus FiSCs provides a full picture of revenues raised from city residents and businesses and spending on their behalf, whether done by the city government or a separate overlying government.[14] |
” |
| —Lincoln Institute of Land Policy[15] | ||
The tables below show estimated finances within city limits. As such, the revenue and expenses listed may differ from the actual city budget.
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Historical total revenue and expenditure
To see the historical total revenue or expenditures as a rounded amount in this city, hover over the bars.[13]
St. Louis, Missouri, salaries and pensions over $95,000
Below is a map of the nationwide salaries and pensions in this city over $95,000. To search a different ZIP code, enter it in the search bar within the map.
Contact information
Mayor's office
1200 Market St., City Hall Room 200
St. Louis, Missouri 63103
Phone: 314-622-3201
Click here for board of aldermen contact information.
Ballot measures
- See also: St. Louis City, Missouri ballot measures
The city of St. Louis is an independent city. A list of ballot measures in St. Louis is available here.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ St. Louis County Library, "The 1876 St. Louis City / County split and its effect on research," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ Municode, "St. Louis City Charter Articles IV and VII," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ Municode, "St. Louis City Charter Article IV," accessed September 1, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 St. Louis, Missouri, "Guide to the Board of Aldermen," accessed September 16, 2014
- ↑ The 2023 election was the first to take place under a new ward system that reduced the number of seats on the board from 28 to 14. Voters approved Proposition R, a charter amendment requiring the size reduction, in 2012, and the board enacted a new 14-ward map in 2021.
- ↑ St. Louis Post Dispatch, "Democratic leaders tap attorney Michael Gras to run for 28th Ward alderman," January 29, 2022
- ↑ St. Louis, "CITY ELECTION BOARD SETS DATE FOR A SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL 21st WARD VACANCY," May 13, 2022
- ↑ St. Louis, Missouri, "June 23, 2020 Special Elections To Fill 4TH and 12TH Ward Vacancies," accessed April 20, 2020
- ↑ St. Louis, Missouri, "Primary Municipal Election," accessed November 16, 2016
- ↑ St. Louis, Missouri, "Past Election Results," accessed September 16, 2021
- ↑ St. Louis, Missouri, "Budget Process Timeline," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑ St. Louis, Missouri, "Budget Process," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities database," accessed August 28, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, "Fiscally Standardized Cities," accessed August 28, 2023
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