Charleston, SC vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Charleston to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($435,877 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Charleston 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 Charleston, SC, you'd need about $93,942 in St. Louis, MO (−$6,058).
Livability — Charleston, SC: 60 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,295 sqft in Charleston vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($218 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Charleston, SC | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $24,288 | $17,412 | −$6,876 |
| Groceries | $4,797 | $4,934 | +$137 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,390 | −$75 |
| Utilities | $1,848 | $1,512 | −$336 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,400 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $10,552 | $10,488 | −$64 |
| Total | $46,950 | $40,136 | −$6,814 |
Side by side
| Metric | Charleston, SC | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 101.1 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.07% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.75 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $435,877 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.6× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.9% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $218 | $158 |
| Median rent | $2,024 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.44% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 6.40% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $8,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.33% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 27 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.1 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.05 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |