St. Louis, MO vs Charleston, WV
Moving from St. Louis to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Charleston 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 St. Louis, MO, you'd need about $93,772 in Charleston, WV (−$6,228).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($158 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $15,180 | −$2,232 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,767 | −$167 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,410 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,740 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,300 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $8,230 | −$2,258 |
| Total | $40,136 | $34,627 | −$5,510 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 26 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |