St. Louis, MO vs Rochester, NY
Moving from St. Louis to Rochester? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($276,878 → $285,034 median home) and taxes.
St. Louis vs Rochester 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 $103,597 in Rochester, NY (+$3,597).
Livability — St. Louis, MO: 65 · Rochester, NY: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,161 sqft in St. Louis vs 2,807 sqft in Rochester ($158 vs $178 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | St. Louis, MO | Rochester, NY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,412 | $19,164 | +$1,752 |
| Groceries | $4,934 | $4,868 | −$66 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,895 | +$505 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $3,180 | +$1,668 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,600 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $10,488 | $18,722 | +$8,234 |
| Total | $40,136 | $51,429 | +$11,293 |
Side by side
| Metric | St. Louis, MO | Rochester, NY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 95.0 | 98.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.35% | 5.01% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.60 |
| Median home price | $276,878 | $285,034 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.7× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.9% | 4.7% |
| Price per square foot | $158 | $178 |
| Median rent | $1,451 | $1,597 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 15.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.52% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 10.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.26% | 2.76% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $17,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 21 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $800 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 29.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.45 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $98 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $87 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $76 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 350 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 83 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 16 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.7 | 35.1 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 16.6 | 102.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 51% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |