What is St. Louis's cost-of-living index?

St. Louis has a composite cost-of-living index of about 89 against a US national average of 100, meaning the metro is roughly 11% cheaper than the average American city.

Why is St. Louis cheaper than average?

Housing is the biggest driver. St. Louis housing costs sit near 79 on the index, well below the national average, while groceries, transport, and healthcare are only slightly below 100.

How is the equivalent salary calculated?

The tool multiplies your salary by the St. Louis index (89) and divides by your current city's index. That keeps purchasing power constant, so a higher-cost city needs a bigger salary to match St. Louis.

Is the index the same across the whole metro?

No. Suburbs like Clayton or Kirkwood run pricier than the city core or North County. The index here is a metro-wide composite, so treat it as a starting benchmark rather than a neighborhood-exact figure.

Does this run privately?

Yes. All numbers are computed in your browser and nothing you enter is sent to a server or stored anywhere.

St. Louis Cost-of-Living Index

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

St. Louis is consistently one of the more affordable major US metros, and a single composite cost-of-living index of about 89 captures why: the typical St. Louis household spends roughly 11% less than the national average to maintain the same lifestyle. This tool breaks that index into its main categories and lets you convert a salary from any other city into the St. Louis equivalent.

How it works

A cost-of-living index sets the US national average at 100. A value below 100 means cheaper than average; above 100 means pricier. The composite is a weighted average of category sub-indices, with housing carrying the heaviest weight:

Housing 79, Groceries 96, Transportation 94,
Utilities 100, Healthcare 92, Goods & services 95

Applying the standard cost-of-living weights gives a composite near 89. To compare salaries, the tool uses:

equivalent St. Louis salary = your salary × 89 / (your city's index)

If you earn 90000 in a city with index 150, you need about 53400 in St. Louis to live equivalently — because St. Louis costs far less.

Tips and notes

Housing is where St. Louis wins most, so renters and buyers feel the discount more sharply than someone whose budget is dominated by healthcare or groceries. The index is metro-wide, so pricey inner suburbs run above 89 while parts of the city and North County run below it. Use the number as a planning anchor, then refine with neighborhood-level rent data before signing a lease.