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Demographics of Hazelwood, MO
Affluence Level in Hazelwood, MO
A below-average socioeconomic profile. Incomes, home values, and educational attainment trail the U.S., with higher poverty and unemployment.
People of Hazelwood, MO
The people of Hazelwood, Missouri, today form a predominantly Black and white suburban community of 25,214 residents, characterized by a lower-than-average foreign-born share of 2.6% and a modest college attainment rate of 28.8%. The city’s identity is shaped by its post-war boom as a working-class aerospace and manufacturing hub, followed by a significant racial transition over the past three decades. Distinct neighborhoods like the historic Old Town district and the sprawling subdivisions near the Spirit of St. Louis Airport reveal the layered settlement patterns of different waves of residents.
How the city was settled and grew
Hazelwood’s population history begins not with colonial settlement but with a 20th-century land boom. The area was largely agricultural until the 1940s, when the federal government built the St. Louis Air Force Base (now St. Louis Lambert International Airport) on its eastern edge. The first major wave of residents were white working-class families drawn by defense-industry jobs at McDonnell Aircraft (later McDonnell Douglas) and nearby automotive plants. These early suburbanites built homes in the Old Town Hazelwood district, a compact grid of bungalows and ranch houses near the railroad tracks, and in the Florissant Road corridor, where small subdivisions sprouted in the 1950s. By 1960, the population had surged past 12,000, nearly all white, as Hazelwood became a classic “bedroom community” for St. Louis’s industrial workforce.
Modern era (post-1965)
The post-1965 immigration reforms had little direct effect on Hazelwood—its foreign-born population remains low at 2.6%—but domestic migration reshaped the city dramatically. Starting in the 1980s, Black families from north St. Louis city began moving to Hazelwood, drawn by affordable housing and proximity to jobs at Lambert Airport and the Ford Hazelwood Assembly Plant (which closed in 2006). This wave concentrated in the Howdershell Road and Village Square neighborhoods, where 1970s-era townhomes and split-levels offered entry points for first-time homebuyers. By 2000, Hazelwood’s Black population had risen to 28%, and by 2020 it reached 39.4%, while the white share fell to 46.7%. The Hispanic share (3.9%) and East/Southeast Asian share (1.6%) remain small but stable, with a modest cluster of Hispanic families in the McDonnell Park area near the airport. The Indian-subcontinent population is effectively zero, reflecting the city’s lack of the tech-sector pull that draws that group to other St. Louis suburbs.
The future
Hazelwood’s population is likely to continue its gradual racial transition toward a Black majority, mirroring trends in neighboring north St. Louis County suburbs like Ferguson and Florissant. The city’s low foreign-born share suggests it will not become a major immigrant gateway; instead, future growth will depend on domestic in-migration from the city and from other parts of the county. The Lusher Elementary area and the newer Hazelwood West subdivisions are attracting younger Black families, while older white residents are aging in place in Old Town and the Florissant Road corridor. The city is not tribalizing into stark enclaves—most neighborhoods are moderately integrated—but the St. Louis Air Force Base redevelopment site (now a business park) could draw new residents if housing is built there. The college-educated share (28.8%) is below the county average, limiting the city’s appeal to knowledge-economy workers, but its affordable housing stock (median home value around $140,000) will continue to attract working-class families priced out of Clayton or Kirkwood.
For a conservative-leaning individual or family moving in now, Hazelwood is becoming a solidly middle-class, majority-Black suburb with a stable, family-oriented character. The city’s future lies in retaining its existing residents and attracting younger families from within the region, rather than diversifying through immigration. The low crime rate relative to north St. Louis city and the strong Hazelwood School District make it a practical choice for those seeking affordable homeownership in a community that values stability over rapid change.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-05-01T05:55:07.000Z
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