Anchorage, AK vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Anchorage to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($422,103 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Anchorage vs St. Louis at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Anchorage, AK, you'd need about $88,950 in St. Louis, MO (−$11,050).
Livability — Anchorage, AK: 49 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,132 sqft in Anchorage vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($235 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Anchorage, AK | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,240 | $17,412 | −$3,828 |
| Groceries | $5,224 | $4,934 | −$289 |
| Transportation | $3,350 | $3,390 | +$40 |
| Utilities | $2,952 | $1,512 | −$1,440 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $2,400 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $4,919 | $10,488 | +$5,569 |
| Total | $38,685 | $40,136 | +$1,452 |
Side by side
| Metric | Anchorage, AK | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.8 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.62% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.0% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 26 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.08 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $422,103 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.7% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $235 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,770 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 4.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 1.82% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.24% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $9,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,300 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $800 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 27.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.90 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 760 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 65 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 5 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |