I’d say it is, for a few reasons. I’m not an expert, but I grew up in the area and no one has responded to you. I would say it’s because StL was at one of the biggest cities in the country 100 years ago, then shrank rapidly as demographic trends changed. That’s led to a certain degree of decay and abandonment that you don’t get in KC, which was never that big to start with.

Also, in a massive self-own, St. Louis became an independent city in the late 1800s, when it was most booming and the county was just farms and small towns. So in the 50s when white flight was happening everywhere, the city lost its tax base to the county.

St. Louis county is its own mess because instead of having a cohesive plan to improve, it’s made of almost 100 tiny, corrupt independent towns who fight with each other over the scraps.