Denver, CO vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Denver to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Denver 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $89,794 in St. Louis, MO (−$10,206).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($302 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $17,412 | −$5,508 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,934 | −$144 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,390 | −$660 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,512 | −$276 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,400 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $10,488 | +$661 |
| Total | $46,464 | $40,136 | −$6,328 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $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 | 0.52% | 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) | 28 | 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 |