Mobile, AL vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Mobile to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($197,857 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Mobile 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 Mobile, AL, you'd need about $107,026 in St. Louis, MO (+$7,026).
Livability — Mobile, AL: 73 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 5,181 sqft in Mobile vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($97 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Mobile, AL | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $15,876 | $17,412 | +$1,536 |
| Groceries | $4,729 | $4,934 | +$205 |
| Transportation | $3,465 | $3,390 | −$75 |
| Utilities | $1,884 | $1,512 | −$372 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,400 | +$0 |
| Taxes | $9,039 | $10,488 | +$1,450 |
| Total | $37,393 | $40,136 | +$2,744 |
Side by side
| Metric | Mobile, AL | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 88.7 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.91% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.6% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 45 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.05 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $197,857 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.6× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -0.4% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $97 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,323 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.8% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.25% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.00% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.49% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $7,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.70% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $800 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 91 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 33 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |