Overall
- Pittsburgh
- 94.7
- St. Louis
- 95.1
Diff +0.4 RPP
Pittsburgh vs St. Louis
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. St. Louis is 0.4% more expensive than Pittsburgh.
0.4% more expensive
St. Louis, MO-IL is 0.4% more expensive than Pittsburgh, PA on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 95.1 vs 94.7). A $100,000 salary in Pittsburgh buys about the same as $100,440 in St. Louis; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 94.7 (Pittsburgh) vs 95.1 (St. Louis)
- $100k in Pittsburgh ≈ $100,440 purchasing power in St. Louis
- Services drives the gap (-37.8 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair PA:MO 94.7→95.1
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE PA × 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.
Pittsburgh
94.7
Cost Index
St. Louis
95.1
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Pittsburgh, PA 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 37.8 points lower. But services and 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 service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Pittsburgh to $100,440 in St. Louis, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Pittsburgh
- 100.7
- St. Louis
- 100.0
Diff -0.7 RPP
Services
- Pittsburgh
- 107.7
- St. Louis
- 69.9
Diff -37.8 RPP
Rents
- Pittsburgh
- 72.0
- St. Louis
- 79.0
Diff +7.0 RPP
| Category | Pittsburgh | St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 94.7 | 95.1 | +0.4 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 100.0 | -0.7 |
| Services | 107.7 | 69.9 | -37.8 |
| Rents | 72.0 | 79.0 | +7.0 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Pittsburgh 94.7
St. Louis 95.1
Goods
Pittsburgh 100.7
St. Louis 100.0
Services
Pittsburgh 107.7
St. Louis 69.9
Rents
Pittsburgh 72.0
St. Louis 79.0
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Pittsburgh would need to be in St. Louis for the same purchasing power:
| In Pittsburgh | In St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $50,220 | +$220 |
| $75,000 | $75,330 | +$330 |
| $100,000 | $100,440 | +$440 |
| $150,000 | $150,661 | +$661 |
$ in Pittsburgh = 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 Pittsburgh?
St. Louis is 0.4% more expensive than Pittsburgh. The overall cost index is 95.1 vs 94.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in St. Louis equals $100K in Pittsburgh?
A $100,000 salary in Pittsburgh has the same purchasing power as $100,440 in St. Louis. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Pittsburgh and St. Louis?
Rents in Pittsburgh are indexed at 72.0 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.