Durham, NC vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Durham to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($414,340 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Durham 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 Durham, NC, you'd need about $97,561 in St. Louis, MO (−$2,439).
Livability — Durham, NC: 65 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,413 sqft in Durham vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($207 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Durham, NC | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,436 | $17,412 | −$3,024 |
| Groceries | $4,840 | $4,934 | +$95 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,390 | +$260 |
| Utilities | $1,752 | $1,512 | −$240 |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $2,400 | +$400 |
| Taxes | $9,397 | $10,488 | +$1,091 |
| Total | $41,555 | $40,136 | −$1,418 |
Side by side
| Metric | Durham, NC | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 97.3 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.03% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 17.8% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 51 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.54 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $414,340 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.9% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $207 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,703 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.98% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.25% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.87% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.10% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,000 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.3 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 400 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |