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St. Louis, MO vs Baton Rouge, LA

Moving from St. Louis to Baton Rouge? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $248,176 median home) and taxes.

St. Louis vs Baton Rouge at a glance

Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.

St. Louis, MO Baton Rouge, LA Cost-of-living index St. Louis, MO — Cost-of-living index: 95 95 Baton Rouge, LA — Cost-of-living index: 91 91 Median home price St. Louis, MO — Median home price: $277k $277k Baton Rouge, LA — Median home price: $248k $248k Price per sqft St. Louis, MO — Price per sqft: $158 $158 Baton Rouge, LA — Price per sqft: $124 $124 Median rent St. Louis, MO — Median rent: $1,451 $1,451 Baton Rouge, LA — Median rent: $1,393 $1,393 Combined sales tax St. Louis, MO — Combined sales tax: 8.4% 8.4% Baton Rouge, LA — Combined sales tax: 9.6% 9.6% Property tax rate St. Louis, MO — Property tax rate: 1.26% 1.26% Baton Rouge, LA — Property tax rate: 0.56% 0.56% Violent crime /100k St. Louis, MO — Violent crime /100k: 490 490 Baton Rouge, LA — Violent crime /100k: 630 630 Electricity ¢/kWh St. Louis, MO — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.0 14.0 Baton Rouge, LA — Electricity ¢/kWh: 14.4 14.4 Avg commute (min) St. Louis, MO — Avg commute (min): 25 25 Baton Rouge, LA — Avg commute (min): 27 27 Avg summer high °F St. Louis, MO — Avg summer high °F: 89° 89° Baton Rouge, LA — Avg summer high °F: 92° 92° Avg winter low °F St. Louis, MO — Avg winter low °F: 22° 22° Baton Rouge, LA — Avg winter low °F: 43° 43°

To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in St. Louis, MO, you'd need about $96,062 in Baton Rouge, LA (−$3,938).

Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Baton Rouge, LA: 69 (0–100).

What your home budget buys

A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 4,029 sqft in Baton Rouge ($158 vs $124 per sqft).

Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)

CategorySt. Louis, MOBaton Rouge, LADifference
Housing $17,412 $16,716 −$696
Groceries $4,934 $4,650 −$284
Transportation $3,390 $4,475 +$1,085
Utilities $1,512 $1,560 +$48
Insurance $2,400 $3,500 +$1,100
Taxes $10,488 $8,854 −$1,634
Total $40,136 $39,755 −$381

Side by side

MetricSt. Louis, MOBaton Rouge, LA
Cost-of-living index95.091.2
Unemployment rate4.35%6.51%
Population growth (5-yr)0.3%5.0%
Air quality (median AQI)5553
Big Mac price (est.)$5.40$5.19
Median home price$276,878$248,176
Home price ÷ income3.7×3.7×
1-yr home appreciation2.9%1.5%
Price per square foot$158$124
Median rent$1,451$1,393
Total tax burden (% income)9.3%9.1%
Combined sales tax8.38%9.56%
Capital gains tax4.80%4.25%
Property tax rate1.26%0.56%
Healthcare (annual)$6,400$6,600
Childcare (annual, infant)$10,000$8,000
Vehicle property tax2.55%0.10%
Avg commute (min)2527
Home insurance / yr$2,400$3,500
Auto insurance / yr$1,800$2,900
Flood insurance / yr$750$1,000
Earthquake insurance / yr$400$100
Electricity ¢/kWh14.014.4
Gas $/gal3.002.95
Violent crime /100k490630
Avg summer high °F8992
Avg winter low °F2243
Permit difficulty (1–5)22
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