Missouri dark-sky map — light pollution by town
Missouri has 83 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Wildwood (Bortle 5) — to its brightest city cores. 1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.
Statewide Missouri · VIIRS 2024
- Towns rated
- 83
- Darkest town
- Wildwood
- Genuinely dark towns
- 0
0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
All Missouri towns by darkness
Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.
| Sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood | 5 | Suburban sky | 4.0 |
| Old Jamestown | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 8.0 |
| Lake Saint Louis | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 10 |
| Bridgeton | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 |
| Creve Coeur | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 |
| Ozark | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 13 |
| Spanish Lake | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 14 |
| Troy | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 15 |
| Bellefontaine Neighbors | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 15 |
| Dardenne Prairie | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Republic | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 17 |
| Excelsior Springs | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 18 |
| Raymore | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 18 |
| Neosho | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 19 |
| Florissant | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 20 |
| Grandview | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Maryville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Hannibal | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Gladstone | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 22 |
| West Plains | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 22 |
| Sedalia | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 22 |
| Town and Country | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 22 |
| Moberly | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 23 |
| Webster Groves | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Affton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Lee's Summit | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Union | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Fulton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Marshall | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Arnold | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 27 |
| Eureka | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 27 |
| Overland | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 27 |
| Farmington | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 27 |
| Washington | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| Mexico | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Lemay | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Liberty | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Blue Springs | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Nixa | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Grain Valley | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Webb City | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Saint Ann | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Ferguson | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Cape Girardeau | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 |
| Clayton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 |
| Chesterfield | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 |
| Wentzville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 |
| Bolivar | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Raytown | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Poplar Bluff | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Jennings | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Warrensburg | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Oakville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Kirksville | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Festus | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 37 |
| O'Fallon | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 |
| Branson | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 |
| Kennett | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 39 |
| Saint Charles | 8 | City sky | 40 |
| Jackson | 8 | City sky | 41 |
| Kirkwood | 8 | City sky | 42 |
| Sikeston | 8 | City sky | 42 |
| Lebanon | 8 | City sky | 43 |
| Crestwood | 8 | City sky | 45 |
| Carthage | 8 | City sky | 46 |
| Ballwin | 8 | City sky | 48 |
| Independence | 8 | City sky | 48 |
| Maryland Heights | 8 | City sky | 52 |
| Concord | 8 | City sky | 55 |
| Mehlville | 8 | City sky | 55 |
| Rolla | 8 | City sky | 56 |
| Joplin | 8 | City sky | 58 |
| Saint Joseph | 8 | City sky | 59 |
| Manchester | 8 | City sky | 59 |
| University City | 8 | City sky | 62 |
| Hazelwood | 8 | City sky | 63 |
| Springfield | 8 | City sky | 67 |
| Saint Peters | 8 | City sky | 68 |
| Jefferson City | 8 | City sky | 75 |
| Columbia | 8 | City sky | 88 |
| Kansas City | 9 | Inner-city sky | 220 |
| St. Louis | 9 | Inner-city sky | 247 |
| Fort Leonard Wood | 4 | Rural / suburban transition | 1.4 |
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.
Explore
Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.