Portland, ME vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Portland to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($542,063 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Portland 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 Portland, ME, you'd need about $91,010 in St. Louis, MO (−$8,990).
Livability — Portland, ME: 58 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,568 sqft in Portland vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($319 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, ME | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $27,840 | $17,412 | −$10,428 |
| Groceries | $4,917 | $4,934 | +$18 |
| Transportation | $2,775 | $3,390 | +$615 |
| Utilities | $3,072 | $1,512 | −$1,560 |
| Insurance | $1,000 | $2,400 | +$1,400 |
| Taxes | $12,997 | $10,488 | −$2,509 |
| Total | $52,601 | $40,136 | −$12,464 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, ME | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 104.4 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.37% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.94 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $542,063 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.4× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 1.0% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $319 | $158 |
| Median rent | $2,320 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 12.4% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 5.50% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 7.15% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $8,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.40% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,000 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,000 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 28.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.35 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $78 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $86 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $71 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 110 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 80 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 10 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.6 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 49.2 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |