St. Louis, MO vs Merced, CA
Moving from St. Louis to Merced? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $419,171 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Merced 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 $104,891 in Merced, CA (+$4,891).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Merced, CA: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 1,790 sqft in Merced ($158 vs $279 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Merced, CA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $23,700 | +$6,288 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $5,247 | +$312 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $5,125 | +$1,735 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $3,804 | +$2,292 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,500 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $18,715 | +$8,227 |
| Total | $40,136 | $58,091 | +$17,954 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Merced, CA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 99.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 10.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 5.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $419,171 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | -1.4% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $279 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,975 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 13.5% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.82% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 13.30% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.68% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $19,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 0.65% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 31 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $950 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 35.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.85 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $138 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 500 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 45 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 13.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 75% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |