Boulder, CO vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Boulder to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($727,954 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Boulder 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 Boulder, CO, you'd need about $94,393 in St. Louis, MO (−$5,607).
Livability — Boulder, CO: 54 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,305 sqft in Boulder vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($383 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Boulder, CO | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,084 | $17,412 | −$9,672 |
| Groceries | $4,814 | $4,934 | +$120 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,390 | −$660 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,512 | −$276 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,400 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $10,679 | $10,488 | −$190 |
| Total | $51,214 | $40,136 | −$11,078 |
Side by side
| Metric | Boulder, CO | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.6 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.41% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.8% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $727,954 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.3× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.6% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $383 | $158 |
| Median rent | $2,257 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.53% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |