Milwaukee, WI vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Milwaukee to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($390,238 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee, WI, you'd need about $99,269 in St. Louis, MO (−$731).
Livability — Milwaukee, WI: 62 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,178 sqft in Milwaukee vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($230 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Milwaukee, WI | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,456 | $17,412 | −$1,044 |
| Groceries | $4,691 | $4,934 | +$243 |
| Transportation | $3,085 | $3,390 | +$305 |
| Utilities | $2,076 | $1,512 | −$564 |
| Insurance | $1,300 | $2,400 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $13,873 | $10,488 | −$3,384 |
| Total | $43,481 | $40,136 | −$3,344 |
Side by side
| Metric | Milwaukee, WI | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.7 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.84% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | -0.4% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 45 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.44 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $390,238 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 5.3% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $230 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,538 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.43% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.65% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.62% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $13,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,300 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $600 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 19.2 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 320 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 8 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |