St. Louis, MO vs Portland, ME
Moving from St. Louis to Portland? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $542,063 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Portland 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 $109,878 in Portland, ME (+$9,878).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Portland, ME: 58 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 1,568 sqft in Portland ($158 vs $319 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Portland, ME | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $27,840 | +$10,428 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,917 | −$18 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $2,775 | −$615 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $3,072 | +$1,560 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,000 | −$1,400 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $12,997 | +$2,509 |
| Total | $40,136 | $52,601 | +$12,464 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Portland, ME |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 104.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 3.37% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 5.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.94 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $542,063 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 6.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 1.0% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $319 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $2,320 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 12.4% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 5.50% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 7.15% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $8,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 2.40% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,000 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 28.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.35 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $78 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $86 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $71 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 110 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 80 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 10 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 43.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 49.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |