Eugene, OR vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Eugene to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($459,366 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Eugene 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 Eugene, OR, you'd need about $91,722 in St. Louis, MO (−$8,278).
Livability — Eugene, OR: 59 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,850 sqft in Eugene vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($270 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Eugene, OR | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,360 | $17,412 | −$3,948 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,934 | −$304 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,390 | −$290 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,512 | −$192 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,400 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $13,148 | $10,488 | −$2,660 |
| Total | $46,031 | $40,136 | −$5,894 |
Side by side
| Metric | Eugene, OR | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.5 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.69% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 44 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.89 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $459,366 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 7.1× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.0% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $270 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,780 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.89% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 20 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |