As of Oct. 1, tax rates have been voted on and submitted to St. Louis County’s Director of Revenue. 2025 is a reassessment year, which means the county’s assessors revalue property to match the current market value, hoping to create fairness in taxes. Reassessment happens every odd year.
Almost entirely across the board, South County municipalities and school districts saw a decrease in tax rates. This sometimes happens during reassessment years when property values increase more than average; by lowering the tax rate, the hope is that taxes for property owners will remain relatively stable.
Tax rates are determined by dividing the amount of revenue required by the current assessed valuation. That result is then multiplied by 100 in order for the tax rate to be expressed in cents per $100.
City of Crestwood
The Crestwood Board of Aldermen unanimously passed its tax rates for 2025 during a board meeting on Sept. 23. Residential and commercial real estate taxes will both decrease, while agricultural and personal property tax rates won’t see a change from 2024.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $0.479 (decreased by $0.037)
- Agricultural real estate — $0 (no change from last year)
- Commercial real estate — $0.681 (decreased by $0.018)
- Personal property — $0.7280 (no change from last year)
City of Sunset Hills
The Sunset Hills Board of Aldermen unanimously voted to set its 2025 tax rates during a board meeting on Sept. 9. Similar to the city of Crestwood, two of the four categories will decrease, while the other two will remain unchanged from the 2024 tax rates after assessment.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $0.044 (no change from last year)
- Agricultural real estate — $0.036 (decreased by $0.028)
- Commercial real estate — $0.042 (decreased by $0.004)
- Personal property — $0.06 (no change from last year)
“(The rates decreasing) is due to the assessed valuations being significantly higher for those particular items, so that’s how they offset,” Jeff Trentmann, Sunset Hills’s Director of Finance, said. “We tell them about how much revenue we want, and two variables go up and down to keep that revenue number the same. That’s why the tax rate may go down, but the assessed valuation goes up.”
Mehlville Fire Protection District
The Mehlville Fire Protection District set its tax rates at its board meeting on Sept. 30. The blended tax rate for 2025 is $0.702, which is a $0.054 decrease from the 2024 blended tax rate of $0.756.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $0.600 (decreased by $0.54)
- Agricultural real estate — $0.894 (decreased by $0.2649)
- Commercial real estate — $0.852 (decreased by $0.06)
- Personal property — $1.068 (no change from last year)
Affton School District
The Affton Board of Education unanimously approved the 2025 tax rate of $4.5418 at its meeting on Sept. 23, maintaining a voluntary tax rollback of 35 cents, which was first introduced in 2017. This rollback reduces the tax burden for the community by approximately $2.44 million for 2025.
Bayless School District
The Bayless Board of Education approved the 2025 tax rates at a hearing on Sept. 24. The blended rate will be $3.7647 per $100 in assessed valuation, a $0.3322 decrease from the 2024 tax rates.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $3.4208 (decreased by $0.3043)
- Commercial real estate — $3.382 (decreased by $0.4752)
- Personal property — $5.9551 (no change from last year)
Hancock Place School District
The Hancock Place Board of Education unanimously approved the 2025 tax rate of $4.8373 at its Sept. 29 meeting, which is a $0.1027 decrease from the 2024 district tax rate. In 2024, the rate was set at $4.94. This does not include agricultural real estate taxes and only makes up the categories of residential and commercial real estate, as well as personal property.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $3.9848 (decreased by $0.1314)
- Commercial real estate — $5.52 (no change from last year)
- Personal property — $5.52 (no change from last year)
Lindbergh Schools
On Sept. 16, the Lindbergh Board of Education approved tax rates for 2025 at a special tax rate hearing before its usual board meeting. The approved tax rate was $3.7636, based on the preliminary calculation by the state auditor’s office.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $2.75 (no change from last year)
- Agricultural real estate — $2.75 (decreased by $0.39)
- Commercial real estate — $3.0896 (decreased by $0.2904)
- Personal property — $3.6944 (increased by $0.0044)
Mehlville School District
The Mehlville Board of Education approved its new tax rates at a tax rate hearing on Sept. 25. The 2025 blended tax rate will be $3.7016, a decrease from the rate of $4.0070 in 2024.
The rates, per $100 of assessed valuation, are as follows:
- Residential real estate — $3.4611 (decreased by $0.3303)
- Agricultural real estate — $4.2531 (decreased by $0.4629)
- Commercial real estate — $3.8736 (decreased by $0.3439)
- Personal property — $4.8161 (no change from last year)
Based on these tax rates, the Mehlville School District is estimated to receive $103.6 million in local tax revenue, which is $2 million more than originally budgeted.
“The Mehlville School District is maintaining its reputation as a fiscally conservative district,” stated the Mehlville School District in a news release. “As of the fall of 2024, the Mehlville School District had the 17th lowest tax rate of 22 St. Louis County school districts. The district ranks last in the county in outstanding debt expense per student.”
