St. Louis, MO vs Columbus, GA
Moving from St. Louis to Columbus? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $209,527 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Columbus 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 $93,543 in Columbus, GA (−$6,457).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Columbus, GA: 76 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 4,892 sqft in Columbus ($158 vs $102 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Columbus, GA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $15,336 | −$2,076 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,816 | −$119 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,515 | +$125 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,656 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,100 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $9,327 | −$1,161 |
| Total | $40,136 | $36,750 | −$3,387 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Columbus, GA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 88.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 6.87% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.06 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $209,527 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 3.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 3.0% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $102 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,278 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 7.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 5.39% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,100 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.15 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $74 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $123 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $88 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 370 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 50.4 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 2.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |