Austin, TX vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Austin to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($428,524 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Austin 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 Austin, TX, you'd need about $96,639 in St. Louis, MO (−$3,361).
Livability — Austin, TX: 70 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,450 sqft in Austin vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($204 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Austin, TX | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,620 | $17,412 | −$2,208 |
| Groceries | $4,647 | $4,934 | +$288 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,390 | −$285 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,512 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,400 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $9,558 | $10,488 | +$930 |
| Total | $42,936 | $40,136 | −$2,799 |
Side by side
| Metric | Austin, TX | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 98.3 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.30% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 14.8% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.59 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $428,524 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -6.0% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $204 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,635 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |