St. Louis, MO vs Palm Bay, FL
Moving from St. Louis to Palm Bay? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $344,841 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Palm Bay 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 $106,685 in Palm Bay, FL (+$6,685).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Palm Bay, FL: 66 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 2,682 sqft in Palm Bay ($158 vs $186 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Palm Bay, FL | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $23,040 | +$5,628 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,813 | −$121 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $4,800 | +$1,410 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,656 | +$144 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $4,200 | +$1,800 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $4,459 | −$6,029 |
| Total | $40,136 | $42,968 | +$2,832 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Palm Bay, FL |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 101.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 7.5% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 55 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.77 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $344,841 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | -2.2% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $186 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,920 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 7.02% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 0.72% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $4,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,400 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 15.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.35 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 380 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 52 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |