Omaha, NE vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Omaha to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($310,337 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Omaha 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 Omaha, NE, you'd need about $102,701 in St. Louis, MO (+$2,701).
Livability — Omaha, NE: 69 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,738 sqft in Omaha vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($183 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Omaha, NE | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,328 | $17,412 | +$84 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,934 | +$107 |
| Transportation | $3,300 | $3,390 | +$90 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,512 | +$72 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,400 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $11,575 | $10,488 | −$1,086 |
| Total | $42,070 | $40,136 | −$1,934 |
Side by side
| Metric | Omaha, NE | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.5 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.42% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 50 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.26 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $310,337 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.2% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $183 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,444 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.5% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.97% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.20% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.71% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.27% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.10 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 330 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 14 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |