St. Paul cost of living index

A general summary of the cost of living index in St. Paul, MN is shown above. Compared to the state average of Minnesota the cost of living index in St. Paul, MN is 101, which is 1% lower than the average in Minnesota and compared to the national average it is 1% higher than. The cost of living index is made up of several categories. These are transportation at 9%, utilities at 10%, goods and services at 33%, housing at 30%, groceries at 13%, and health care at 5%. The bulk of the cost of living index comes from the categories of goods and services and housing. If you look at everyday goods and services they can be a good indicator in a certain city of the general costs of goods there. In St. Paul, MN goods and services come in at 2% higher than the average in Minnesota and are 7% higher than compared to the nationwide average.

Find Real Estate Listings In St. Paul

New Real Estate Listings In St. Paul

Real Estate Listings In St. Paul

The best places in Minnesota

Salary Calculator

Use the salary calculator to compare your current salary in St. Paul, MN to any other city. The salary calculator will tell you how much you would need to earn in any given city to maintain the same standard of living based on the cost of living in each city. For example, if the cost of living in the city you are looking to relocate to is higher than the cost of living in St. Paul, MN, then you would need to earn more income in order to maintain the same standard of living. To use the St. Paul, MN salary calculator, simply enter in the name of the new city, then adjust the slider to your current income. The salary calculator will do the rest and let you know if you need to earn more or less in the new city. You will also see a complete breakdown of the cost of living.

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

How much of your monthly income goes to housing can tell you whether or not you can afford housing in St. Paul, MN, as well as what the average cost of living is. Generally, a good rule to follow is that the debt-to-income (DTI) level you want to maintain is 28 percent or less of your income on your rent or mortgage payment and not more than 36 percent of income on all expenses and debts. In St. Paul, MN homeowners have a median income of $78,272. Using that number, you will come up with a maximum of $1,826 per month that can be spent on the cost of housing. For those who are renting instead of owning, the median income is $31,016, which means there is a maximum of $724 to be spent on the costs of renting a home or apartment.

Minnesota Sales Tax

Minnesota Income Tax

For those who live in St. Paul, MN and want to know what the true cost of living is, they ought to look at both the Minnesota income tax rate and the Minnesota sales tax rate. By sales tax, we mean the taxes that are included whenever a person is purchasing any goods or services. The amount that is taxed depends upon the particular state, where some states have a sales tax of zero percent while others can have a tax higher than seven percent. In Minnesota, the sales tax is 6.875%, while the most you'll pay in surtax is 7.875%. There is also income tax to consider, which is based upon the amount of money made in a year. Just like sales tax, income tax depends upon the particular state but also depends upon what tax bracket the person is in. Income tax for the state can be higher than nine percent in some states to zero percent in others. For those that live in Minnesota, the income tax rate ranges between 5.35% to 9.85%.

Goods & Services

Groceries

Health Care

Housing

Transportation

Utilities

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

Cities with similar population

Source: The St. Paul, MN cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2017.