Overall
- Albuquerque
- 95.5
- St. Louis
- 95.1
Diff -0.5 RPP
Albuquerque vs St. Louis
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. St. Louis is 0.5% less expensive than Albuquerque.
0.5% less expensive
St. Louis, MO-IL is 0.5% less expensive than Albuquerque, NM on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.1 vs 95.5). A $100,000 salary in Albuquerque buys about the same as $99,521 in St. Louis; the largest component gap is rents.
- Overall RPP 95.5 (Albuquerque) vs 95.1 (St. Louis)
- $100k in Albuquerque ≈ $99,521 purchasing power in St. Louis
- Rents drives the gap (-10.1 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NM:MO 95.5→95.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NM × MO
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Albuquerque
95.5
Cost Index
St. Louis
95.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Albuquerque, NM and St. Louis, MO-IL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.5 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Rents creates the largest separation: St. Louis is 10.1 points lower. But goods move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a housing-sensitive move, validate the rent gap first: HUD Fair Market Rent and the actual unit size can overturn what the blended index implies. On the BEA ratio alone, $100,000 in Albuquerque corresponds to $99,521 in St. Louis.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Albuquerque
- 96.1
- St. Louis
- 100.0
Diff +3.9 RPP
Services
- Albuquerque
- 77.9
- St. Louis
- 69.9
Diff -7.9 RPP
Rents
- Albuquerque
- 89.2
- St. Louis
- 79.0
Diff -10.1 RPP
| Category | Albuquerque | St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 95.5 | 95.1 | -0.5 |
| Goods | 96.1 | 100.0 | +3.9 |
| Services | 77.9 | 69.9 | -7.9 |
| Rents | 89.2 | 79.0 | -10.1 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Albuquerque 95.5
St. Louis 95.1
Goods
Albuquerque 96.1
St. Louis 100.0
Services
Albuquerque 77.9
St. Louis 69.9
Rents
Albuquerque 89.2
St. Louis 79.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Albuquerque would need to be in St. Louis for the same purchasing power:
| In Albuquerque | In St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,760 | $-240 |
| $75,000 | $74,640 | $-360 |
| $100,000 | $99,521 | $-479 |
| $150,000 | $149,281 | $-719 |
$ in Albuquerque = in St. Louis
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (95.5 → 95.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is St. Louis more expensive than Albuquerque?
St. Louis is 0.5% less expensive than Albuquerque. The overall cost index is 95.1 vs 95.5 (national average = 100).
What salary in St. Louis equals $100K in Albuquerque?
A $100,000 salary in Albuquerque has the same purchasing power as $99,521 in St. Louis. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Albuquerque and St. Louis?
Rents in Albuquerque are indexed at 89.2 while St. Louis is at 79.0 (national average = 100). Albuquerque has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.