Cost Of Living in St. James, MO

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18%

Overall NAT. AVG.

6%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

44%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	St. James	Missouri	National
Cost of living	82	88	100
Goods & Services	95	92	100
Groceries	96	95	100
Health care	93	90	100
Housing	56	78	100
Transportation	90	91	100
Utilities	93	99	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in St. James is 7% lower than the Missouri average
The cost of living in St. James is 18% lower than the national average
St. James housing is 44% lower than the national average
Missouri general sales tax is 17% lower than the national average
Missouri state income tax is 23% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$59,583	$4,965	$1,390	$1,788
Renters	$28,590	$2,383	$667	$858

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in St. James, MO, as well as the overall cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for homeowners or renters should be not more than 28 percent of gross income to be spent on housing related costs and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses, including debts. The median income for St. James homeowners, is $59,583. This would allow for a maximum of $1,390 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $28,590 which would result in a maximum of $667 to be spent on rental costs.

Missouri Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Missouri	4.225%	10.85%

Missouri Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Missouri	2%	4.95%

Goods & Services

Item	St. James	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.14	$24.26	0.5%
Beauty Salon	$44.94	$45.56	1.4%
Toothpaste	$3.76	$3.70	1.6%
Shampoo	$1.05	$1.28	17.7%
Movie	$11.64	$12.13	4.0%
Bowling	$16.11	$18.00	10.5%

Groceries

Item	St. James	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$6.28	$5.84	7.5%
Fried Chicken	$1.40	$1.57	11.0%
Milk	$4.66	$4.67	0.3%
Potatoes	$4.70	$4.93	4.7%
Pizza	$10.74	$12.09	11.1%
Beer	$9.14	$10.41	12.2%

Health Care

Item	St. James	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$135.25	$125.68	7.6%
Doctor	$141.87	$135.78	4.5%
Dentist	$99.33	$113.29	12.3%
Ibuprofen	$10.20	$10.65	4.2%
Lipitor	$369.77	$468.60	21.1%

Housing

Item	St. James	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$89,200.00	$184,700.00	51.7%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,216.67	$2,346.69	5.5%
Apartment Rent	$692.00	$949.00	27.1%

Transportation

Item	St. James	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.24	$3.46	6.3%
Tire Balancing	$47.66	$59.92	20.5%

Utilities

Item	St. James	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$168.45	$193.99	13.2%
Phone	$197.21	$192.25	2.6%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Steelville, MO	1,485	81	19.2%
Doolittle, MO	489	82	18.2%
Cuba, MO	3,305	85	15.4%
Rolla, MO	20,273	89	11.1%
St. James, MO	4,053	82	17.6%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
St. Joseph, IL	4,053	97	3.3%
Cannon Falls, MN	4,053	98	2.3%
Northern Lights County, AB	4,053	n/a
Mount Olive, AL	4,052	92	7.5%
Singac, NJ	4,054	122	21.8%
St. James, MO	4,053	82	17.6%