St. Louis, MO vs Chattanooga, TN
Moving from St. Louis to Chattanooga? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $326,370 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Chattanooga 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 $97,238 in Chattanooga, TN (−$2,762).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Chattanooga, TN: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga ($158 vs $163 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Chattanooga, TN | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $18,360 | +$948 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,704 | −$231 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,130 | −$260 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,608 | +$96 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,200 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $4,907 | −$5,581 |
| Total | $40,136 | $34,908 | −$5,228 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Chattanooga, TN |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 92.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 4.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.25 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $326,370 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 5.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 0.2% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $163 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,530 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 7.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.71% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 24 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 14.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $62 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $121 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $80 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 600 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 50.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 4.7 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |