Miami, FL vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Miami to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($475,622 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Miami 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 Miami, FL, you'd need about $84,731 in St. Louis, MO (−$15,269).
Livability — Miami, FL: 57 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,945 sqft in Miami vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($257 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Miami, FL | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $32,316 | $17,412 | −$14,904 |
| Groceries | $5,091 | $4,934 | −$157 |
| Transportation | $4,800 | $3,390 | −$1,410 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,512 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $4,200 | $2,400 | −$1,800 |
| Taxes | $5,772 | $10,488 | +$4,716 |
| Total | $53,835 | $40,136 | −$13,699 |
Side by side
| Metric | Miami, FL | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 112.1 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.24% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.38 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $475,622 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $257 | $158 |
| Median rent | $2,693 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.1% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.02% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.90% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,500 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,200 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $1,400 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $38 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $88 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 380 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 52 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 67.4 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 70% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |