Overall
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 94.7
- St. Louis
- 95.1
Diff +0.4 RPP
Lewiston-Auburn vs St. Louis
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. St. Louis is 0.4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn.
0.4% more expensive
St. Louis, MO-IL is 0.4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn, ME on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.1 vs 94.7). A $100,000 salary in Lewiston-Auburn buys about the same as $100,372 in St. Louis; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.7 (Lewiston-Auburn) vs 95.1 (St. Louis)
- $100k in Lewiston-Auburn ≈ $100,372 purchasing power in St. Louis
- Services drives the gap (-64.5 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair ME:MO 94.7→95.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE ME × 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.
Lewiston-Auburn
94.7
Cost Index
St. Louis
95.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Lewiston-Auburn, ME and St. Louis, MO-IL are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.4 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: St. Louis is 64.5 points lower. But services 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Lewiston-Auburn to $100,372 in St. Louis, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 97.2
- St. Louis
- 100.0
Diff +2.8 RPP
Services
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 134.4
- St. Louis
- 69.9
Diff -64.5 RPP
Rents
- Lewiston-Auburn
- 69.0
- St. Louis
- 79.0
Diff +10.0 RPP
| Category | Lewiston-Auburn | St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.7 | 95.1 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 97.2 | 100.0 | +2.8 |
| Services | 134.4 | 69.9 | -64.5 |
| Rents | 69.0 | 79.0 | +10.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Lewiston-Auburn 94.7
St. Louis 95.1
Goods
Lewiston-Auburn 97.2
St. Louis 100.0
Services
Lewiston-Auburn 134.4
St. Louis 69.9
Rents
Lewiston-Auburn 69.0
St. Louis 79.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Lewiston-Auburn would need to be in St. Louis for the same purchasing power:
| In Lewiston-Auburn | In St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,186 | +$186 |
| $75,000 | $75,279 | +$279 |
| $100,000 | $100,372 | +$372 |
| $150,000 | $150,557 | +$557 |
$ in Lewiston-Auburn = in St. Louis
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (94.7 → 95.1), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is St. Louis more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn?
St. Louis is 0.4% more expensive than Lewiston-Auburn. The overall cost index is 95.1 vs 94.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in St. Louis equals $100K in Lewiston-Auburn?
A $100,000 salary in Lewiston-Auburn has the same purchasing power as $100,372 in St. Louis. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Lewiston-Auburn and St. Louis?
Rents in Lewiston-Auburn are indexed at 69.0 while St. Louis is at 79.0 (national average = 100). St. Louis 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.