Salem, OR vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Salem to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($454,689 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Salem 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 Salem, OR, you'd need about $92,694 in St. Louis, MO (−$7,306).
Livability — Salem, OR: 59 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,869 sqft in Salem vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($268 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Salem, OR | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,536 | $17,412 | −$2,124 |
| Groceries | $5,239 | $4,934 | −$304 |
| Transportation | $3,680 | $3,390 | −$290 |
| Utilities | $1,704 | $1,512 | −$192 |
| Insurance | $900 | $2,400 | +$1,500 |
| Taxes | $13,135 | $10,488 | −$2,647 |
| Total | $44,194 | $40,136 | −$4,057 |
Side by side
| Metric | Salem, OR | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.41% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $454,689 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 6.3× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.4% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $268 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,628 | $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 | 0.90% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,600 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $15,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $58 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $224 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 340 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 82 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 43.7 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 3.4 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 48% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |