Dallas, TX vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Dallas to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($366,823 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Dallas 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 Dallas, TX, you'd need about $92,666 in St. Louis, MO (−$7,334).
Livability — Dallas, TX: 67 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,862 sqft in Dallas vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($175 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Dallas, TX | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,136 | $17,412 | −$2,724 |
| Groceries | $5,182 | $4,934 | −$248 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,390 | −$285 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,512 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,400 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $8,136 | $10,488 | +$2,352 |
| Total | $42,565 | $40,136 | −$2,429 |
Side by side
| Metric | Dallas, TX | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.62% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 59 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $366,823 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.3% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $175 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,678 | $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 | 1.76% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 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 |