Columbia, SC vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Columbia to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($256,154 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Columbia 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 Columbia, SC, you'd need about $101,877 in St. Louis, MO (+$1,877).
Livability — Columbia, SC: 69 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,903 sqft in Columbia vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($128 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Columbia, SC | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,444 | $17,412 | −$1,032 |
| 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 | $10,215 | $10,488 | +$273 |
| Total | $40,769 | $40,136 | −$633 |
Side by side
| Metric | Columbia, SC | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.71% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $256,154 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.0× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.3% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $128 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,537 | $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 | 0.63% | 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) | 25 | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $97 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $78 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 530 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 36 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 49.5 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 1.5 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |