Portland, OR vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Portland to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($552,022 → $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, OR, you'd need about $88,998 in St. Louis, MO (−$11,002).
Livability — Portland, OR: 55 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,540 sqft in Portland vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($325 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Portland, OR | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $21,564 | $17,412 | −$4,152 |
| Groceries | $5,240 | $4,934 | −$306 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,390 | −$290 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,512 | −$192 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,400 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $14,382 | $10,488 | −$3,894 |
| Total | $47,470 | $40,136 | −$7,334 |
Side by side
| Metric | Portland, OR | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 106.7 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.06% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.2% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 38 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.07 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $552,022 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.1× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -1.1% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $325 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,797 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 10.8% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 0.00% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 9.90% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.92% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 26 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $900 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $600 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.8 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.10 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |