Santa Maria, CA vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Santa Maria to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($1,005,339 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria, CA, you'd need about $83,510 in St. Louis, MO (−$16,490).
Livability — Santa Maria, CA: 39 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 746 sqft in Santa Maria vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($670 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Santa Maria, CA | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $40,056 | $17,412 | −$22,644 |
| Groceries | $5,247 | $4,934 | −$312 |
| Transportation | $5,125 | $3,390 | −$1,735 |
| Utilities | $3,804 | $1,512 | −$2,292 |
| Insurance | $1,500 | $2,400 | +$900 |
| Taxes | $21,056 | $10,488 | −$10,568 |
| Total | $76,788 | $40,136 | −$36,651 |
Side by side
| Metric | Santa Maria, CA | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 113.7 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.04% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.5% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 49 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.47 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $1,005,339 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 10.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.2% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $670 | $158 |
| Median rent | $3,338 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 13.5% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.82% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 13.30% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.65% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $19,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 0.65% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 21 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,500 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $950 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 35.3 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 4.85 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 500 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 45 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 5 | 2 |