Tucson, AZ vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Tucson to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($343,580 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Tucson vs St. Louis 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 Tucson, AZ, you'd need about $100,043 in St. Louis, MO (+$43).
Livability — Tucson, AZ: 70 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,693 sqft in Tucson vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($186 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tucson, AZ | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $17,676 | $17,412 | −$264 |
| Groceries | $4,841 | $4,934 | +$94 |
| Transportation | $3,960 | $3,390 | −$570 |
| Utilities | $1,668 | $1,512 | −$156 |
| Insurance | $1,800 | $2,400 | +$600 |
| Taxes | $7,594 | $10,488 | +$2,894 |
| Total | $37,539 | $40,136 | +$2,598 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tucson, AZ | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 94.9 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.87% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 3.5% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 56 | 55 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.40 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $343,580 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.3× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $186 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,473 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.5% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.84% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $12,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.68% | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 25 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.5 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.60 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 104 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 41 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |