Tulsa, OK vs St. Louis, MO
Moving from Tulsa to St. Louis? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($253,725 → $276,878 median home) and taxes.
Tulsa 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 Tulsa, OK, you'd need about $105,649 in St. Louis, MO (+$5,649).
Livability — Tulsa, OK: 71 · St. Louis, MO: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,745 sqft in Tulsa vs 3,161 sqft in St. Louis ($134 vs $158 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Tulsa, OK | St. Louis, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $16,224 | $17,412 | +$1,188 |
| Groceries | $4,667 | $4,934 | +$267 |
| Transportation | $3,575 | $3,390 | −$185 |
| Utilities | $1,440 | $1,512 | +$72 |
| Insurance | $4,400 | $2,400 | −$2,000 |
| Taxes | $9,670 | $10,488 | +$819 |
| Total | $39,976 | $40,136 | +$161 |
Side by side
| Metric | Tulsa, OK | St. Louis, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.9 | 95.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.14% | 4.35% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.1% | 0.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.12 | $5.40 |
| Median home price | $253,725 | $276,878 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 3.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 2.8% | 2.9% |
| Price per square foot | $134 | $158 |
| Median rent | $1,352 | $1,451 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.0% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.99% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.75% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.94% | 1.26% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 22 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $4,400 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $300 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 13.3 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $56 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $83 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $76 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 460 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 94 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 41.0 | 41.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 8.7 | 16.6 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 62% | 57% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |