Hickory, NC vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Hickory to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($271,739 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Hickory 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 Hickory, NC, you'd need about $106,265 in St. Louis, MO (+$6,265).
Livability — Hickory, NC: 73 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,679 sqft in Hickory vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($136 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Hickory, NC | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,952 | $17,412 | −$540 |
| 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 | $7,879 | $10,488 | +$2,609 |
| Total | $37,553 | $40,136 | +$2,584 |
Side by side
| Metric | Hickory, NC | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.4 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.52% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 46 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.09 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $271,739 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.7× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.3% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $136 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,496 | $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 | 0.69% | 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) | 24 | 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 |