Baltimore, MD vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Baltimore to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore 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 Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $92,042 in St. Louis, MO (−$7,958).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($214 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $17,412 | −$5,616 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,934 | −$141 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,390 | −$295 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,512 | −$876 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $2,400 | +$1,000 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $10,488 | −$1,096 |
| Total | $47,160 | $40,136 | −$7,024 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |