St. Louis, Missouri Cost Of Living

A+

15%

Overall NAT. AVG.

12%

Goods & Services NAT. AVG.

30%

Housing NAT. AVG.

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2023; 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. Louis	Missouri	National
Cost of living	85	89	100
Goods & Services	88	93	100
Groceries	97	97	100
Health care	89	90	100
Housing	70	78	100
Transportation	90	95	100
Utilities	93	95	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in St. Louis is 5% lower than the Missouri average
The cost of living in St. Louis is 15% lower than the national average
St. Louis housing is 30% lower than the national average
Missouri general sales tax is 17% lower than the national average
Missouri state income tax is 34% 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	$69,574	$5,798	$1,623	$2,087
Renters	$32,450	$2,704	$757	$974

The percent of monthly income spent on housing can be a good indicator of the affordability of housing in St. Louis, 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. Louis homeowners, is $69,574. This would allow for a maximum of $1,623 per month to be spent on housing costs. For renters, the median monthly income is $32,450 which would result in a maximum of $757 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	1.5%	5.3%

Goods & Services

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$19.92	$22.08	9.8%
Beauty Salon	$39.83	$42.88	7.1%
Toothpaste	$2.51	$2.57	2.0%
Shampoo	$1.23	$1.15	6.9%
Movie	$10.10	$11.51	12.2%
Bowling	$16.09	$16.62	3.2%

Groceries

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.80	$4.98	3.6%
Fried Chicken	$1.85	$1.58	16.8%
Milk	$1.97	$2.42	18.6%
Potatoes	$2.98	$3.54	15.6%
Pizza	$10.88	$11.49	5.3%
Beer	$9.54	$10.04	5.0%

Health Care

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$85.05	$117.76	27.8%
Doctor	$86.89	$125.34	30.7%
Dentist	$101.96	$107.52	5.2%
Ibuprofen	$11.60	$10.26	13.0%
Lipitor	$479.61	$459.24	4.4%

Housing

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$143,700.00	$184,700.00	22.2%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,330.16	$1,697.41	21.6%
Apartment Rent	$840.00	$949.00	11.5%

Transportation

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.81	$3.85	0.9%
Tire Balancing	$41.91	$57.01	26.5%

Utilities

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$149.37	$177.27	15.7%
Phone	$201.40	$189.62	6.2%

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.
Champ, MO	3	91	9.2%
Brooklyn, IL	428	71	28.9%
Alorton, IL	2,077	73	26.8%
Venice, IL	2,040	74	25.8%
East St. Louis, IL	26,359	74	25.6%
St. Louis, MO	304,709	85	15.5%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
St. Paul, MN	305,877	99	1.0%
Cincinnati, OH	302,687	92	8.3%
Pittsburgh, PA	301,286	92	7.9%
Henderson, NV	309,955	106	6.3%
Stockton, CA	311,103	113	12.8%
St. Louis, MO	304,709	85	15.5%

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