sandi villarreal

An area of St. Charles County gained national attention last week when it was listed on BusinessWeek.com's 25 Best Affordable Suburbs in the U.S.

While some eyebrows may raise at the notion of putting St. Charles County among the nation's affordable communities, it should be noted that the list's title is "Best Affordable Suburbs" - not "Most Affordable Suburbs."

In fact, one of the listed cities' median home price hits at about $600,000. Median home price for the 63304 zip code - the area that made the ranking - looms at around $212,000, with an average price closer to $235,000. The zip code is comprised of parts of Cottleville, Weldon Spring, St. Peters and unincorporated St. Charles County.

Jennifer Piglowski-Sahrmann, president of the St. Charles County Association of Realtors, said while there are more affordable suburbs further west, she isn't surprised by the listing.

"Eastern location and proximity to the workplace is key," she said.

Piglowski-Sahrmann, who is the assistant branch manager for Coldwell Banker-Gundaker in St. Charles, said her clients often tell her they want to live in St. Charles County for its amenities, but they also want to be as close as possible to St. Louis County and city.

"You do have proximity to the Highway 40," she said. " ... and with the new Page Avenue extension, it just continues to contribute to the accessibility."

The 63304 zip code earned the mention based on median home price, proximity to a major metropolitan area, violent crime index, secondary school test scores, cost of living and crime rates, according to BusinessWeek.com.

"I think the rest of the world is just finding out what St. Charles County has to offer," Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber said.

Yarber said besides the amenities location, there is affordable housing in the area ranging between $165,000 to $175,000.

Affordability aside, Yarber said there are a lot of things that set the area apart from other St. Louis suburbs."I think St. Charles County is very innovating. They think outside the box," Yarber said.

One example is Cottleville's planned City Hall and police station. Construction is set to begin in the spring on what would be among the county's first "green" buildings, utilizing solar energy and environmentally friendly design.

According to the Business Week article, the picks were based on ratings from the Web site Sperling's Best Places. Sperling's lists the 63304 zip code as having an average household income of $72,286 and cost of living at about 99 percent of the national average.

Scott Drachnik, vice president of business development and marketing for the St. Charles County Economic Development Center, said he's glad people are taking notice of the area.

"This is the second time in recent months for very prestigious publications to recognize St. Charles County and our community," Drachnik said. "Of course we're all very proud of that."

A recent article in Money magazine ranked O'Fallon 39th in its 100 best places to live in the U.S.

According to that publication, criteria for the ranking was "small, livable cities that had the best possible blend of good jobs, low crime, good quality schools, plenty of open space, rational home prices and lots to do."

Yarber said Cottleville fits the bill too.

"Cottleville, I consider to be the hub of St. Charles County," he said. "We can be downtown or go to a ball game in no time ... I think it's a little slice of the American dream."