Stargaze Atlas

Missouri dark-sky map — light pollution by town

83 towns rated · darkest: Wildwood · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Missouri has 83 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Wildwood (Bortle 5) — to its brightest city cores, with 1 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. No site in the state holds an International Dark Sky Place certification, so its darkest skies are the rural towns at the top of the table. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Missouri · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
83

0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Wildwood
Genuinely dark towns
0
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to Missouri

No site in Missouri holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Wildwood, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.

Nearest certified International Dark Sky Places to Wildwood, Missouri.
Place Designation State From Wildwood
Middle Fork River Forest Preserve Dark Sky Park Illinois 190 mi
Buffalo National River Dark Sky Park Arkansas 215 mi
Homer Glen Dark Sky Community Illinois 255 mi

All Missouri towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

Missouri towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Wildwood 5 Suburban sky 4.0 Fitchburg, WI — B4, 310 mi
Old Jamestown 6 Bright suburban sky 8.0 Wildwood — B5, 27 mi
Lake Saint Louis 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Wildwood — B5, 16 mi
Bridgeton 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Wildwood — B5, 19 mi
Creve Coeur 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Wildwood — B5, 14 mi
Ozark 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 70 mi
Spanish Lake 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Wildwood — B5, 28 mi
Troy 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Wildwood — B5, 32 mi
Bellefontaine Neighbors 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Wildwood — B5, 26 mi
Dardenne Prairie 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Wildwood — B5, 13 mi
Republic 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 62 mi
Excelsior Springs 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 200 mi
Raymore 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 160 mi
Neosho 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 27 mi
Florissant 7 Suburban / urban transition 20 Old Jamestown — B6, 4 mi
Grandview 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Leawood, KS — B6, 7 mi
Maryville 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Leavenworth, KS — B6, 72 mi
Hannibal 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Troy — B6, 54 mi
Gladstone 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Shawnee, KS — B6, 14 mi
West Plains 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Ozark — B6, 78 mi
Sedalia 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Raymore — B6, 66 mi
Town and Country 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Creve Coeur — B6, 4 mi
Moberly 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Troy — B6, 84 mi
Webster Groves 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Creve Coeur — B6, 6 mi
Affton 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Creve Coeur — B6, 9 mi
Lee's Summit 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Raymore — B6, 8 mi
Union 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Wildwood — B5, 21 mi
Fulton 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Troy — B6, 53 mi
Marshall 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Excelsior Springs — B6, 57 mi
Arnold 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Creve Coeur — B6, 16 mi
Eureka 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Wildwood — B5, 6 mi
Overland 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Creve Coeur — B6, 4 mi
Farmington 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Wildwood — B5, 57 mi
Washington 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Wildwood — B5, 19 mi
Mexico 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Troy — B6, 50 mi
Lemay 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Creve Coeur — B6, 12 mi
Liberty 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Excelsior Springs — B6, 12 mi
Blue Springs 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Raymore — B6, 18 mi
Nixa 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Ozark — B6, 5 mi
Grain Valley 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Raymore — B6, 20 mi
Webb City 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Neosho — B6, 20 mi
Saint Ann 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Bridgeton — B6, 3 mi
Ferguson 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Bellefontaine Neighbors — B6, 4 mi
Cape Girardeau 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Shiloh, IL — B6, 89 mi
Clayton 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Creve Coeur — B6, 6 mi
Chesterfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Wildwood — B5, 7 mi
Wentzville 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Lake Saint Louis — B6, 4 mi
Bolivar 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Republic — B6, 34 mi
Raytown 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Leawood, KS — B6, 9 mi
Poplar Bluff 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Arlington, TN — B6, 110 mi
Jennings 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Bellefontaine Neighbors — B6, 2 mi
Warrensburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Raymore — B6, 39 mi
Oakville 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Creve Coeur — B6, 15 mi
Kirksville 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Fort Madison, IA — B6, 73 mi
Festus 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Wildwood — B5, 29 mi
O'Fallon 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Dardenne Prairie — B6, 3 mi
Branson 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Ozark — B6, 26 mi
Kennett 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Arlington, TN — B6, 69 mi
Saint Charles 8 City sky 40 Bridgeton — B6, 4 mi
Jackson 8 City sky 41 Cape Girardeau — B7, 10 mi
Kirkwood 8 City sky 42 Webster Groves — B7, 3 mi
Sikeston 8 City sky 42 Cape Girardeau — B7, 30 mi
Lebanon 8 City sky 43 Bolivar — B7, 41 mi
Crestwood 8 City sky 45 Affton — B7, 3 mi
Carthage 8 City sky 46 Webb City — B7, 9 mi
Ballwin 8 City sky 48 Town and Country — B7, 5 mi
Independence 8 City sky 48 Raytown — B7, 6 mi
Maryland Heights 8 City sky 52 Saint Ann — B7, 3 mi
Concord 8 City sky 55 Affton — B7, 2 mi
Mehlville 8 City sky 55 Oakville — B7, 3 mi
Rolla 8 City sky 56 Union — B7, 54 mi
Joplin 8 City sky 58 Webb City — B7, 5 mi
Saint Joseph 8 City sky 59 Atchison, KS — B7, 20 mi
Manchester 8 City sky 59 Town and Country — B7, 3 mi
University City 8 City sky 62 Clayton — B7, 1 mi
Hazelwood 8 City sky 63 Bridgeton — B6, 2 mi
Springfield 8 City sky 67 Nixa — B7, 12 mi
Saint Peters 8 City sky 68 O'Fallon — B7, 4 mi
Jefferson City 8 City sky 75 Fulton — B7, 22 mi
Columbia 8 City sky 88 Fulton — B7, 22 mi
Kansas City 9 Inner-city sky 220 Kansas City, KS — B8, 3 mi
St. Louis 9 Inner-city sky 247 East Saint Louis, IL — B8, 3 mi
Fort Leonard Wood 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.4 already the darkest nearby

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Missouri?
The darkest town tracked here is Wildwood. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does Missouri have?
Of 83 towns rated here, 1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

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