Overall
95.1
Below avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
St. Louis, MO-IL
Cost-of-living indicators for St. Louis, MO-IL, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 95.1
- Overall RPP
- #166
- of 387 metros
- 79.0
- Rents RPP
- $105K
- $100K national buys
St. Louis ranks #166 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 4.1 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Bloomington
The verdict
St. Louis costs less than 43% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 95.1, 4.9% below the national average, with services the biggest swing at 69.9.
- bottom 57%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 100.0
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 69.9
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $105,166 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $95,088.
St. Louis vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
95 Top 43% higher than 57% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
St. Louis cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
79 RPP
- Services
Services
69.9 RPP
- Overall
Overall
95.1 RPP
- Goods
Goods
100 RPP
What this shows St. Louis's strongest departure is services at 69.9; rents follows at 79.0. Labor-priced local activity, rather than housing alone, is the first budget line to investigate.
Goods vs. housing, where St. Louis's cost comes from
Metros near St. Louis's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- St. Louis (St. Louis, this metro): goods RPP 100, rents RPP 79
- Bloomington: goods RPP 94.3, rents RPP 85.6
- Pittsfield: goods RPP 97, rents RPP 73.5
- El Centro: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 66.3
- Lansing: goods RPP 93.7, rents RPP 83.5
- Savannah: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 86
- Ocala: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 86.2
Price Index Summary
Goods
100.0
Below avg
Services
69.9
Cheap
Rents
79.0
Cheap
Service-cost relief profile
How St. Louis's cost structure works
Services provide the strongest cost offset in St. Louis: their index is 69.9, farther below the national baseline than rents or tradable goods. The overall RPP of 95.1 therefore has a different source than a place with cheaper housing instead.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Billings, MT, Knoxville, TN, Memphis, TN-MS-AR. They resemble St. Louis across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, St. Louis's overall index has risen by 4.1 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$95,088
in St. Louis, MO-IL purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$47,544
$75,000 nationally
$71,316
$125,000 nationally
$118,860
$150,000 nationally
$142,632
$200,000 nationally
$190,176
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
C
50/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability D
50th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending upward, increasing by 4.1 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2010, when the index jumped 3.7 points from the year before.
St. Louis overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 91.0 |
| 2009 | 93.3 |
| 2010 | 97.0 |
| 2011 | 96.3 |
| 2012 | 94.5 |
| 2013 | 95.6 |
| 2014 | 96.9 |
| 2015 | 94.6 |
| 2016 | 94.5 |
| 2017 | 95.7 |
| 2018 | 94.5 |
| 2019 | 95.1 |
| 2020 | 95.2 |
| 2021 | 96.3 |
| 2022 | 96.6 |
| 2023 | 95.0 |
| 2024 | 95.1 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
St. Louis's overall RPP rose +0.1 points, from 95.0 in 2023 to 95.1 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 81.6 to 69.9. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to St. Louis's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Billings, MT
Goods 96.0 · Services 72.4 · Rents 77.4 Knoxville, TN
Goods 96.2 · Services 71.9 · Rents 82.8 Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.1 · Rents 79.8 Idaho Falls, ID
Goods 96.2 · Services 69.7 · Rents 84.0 Lexington-Fayette, KY
Goods 96.2 · Services 74.6 · Rents 77.1 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
Goods 96.2 · Services 75.0 · Rents 78.6
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to St. Louis, MO-IL's index of 95.1.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
MO-relative analysis
Services prices places St. Louis, MO-IL near the bottom of MO's metros
Among the 8 MO metros PlainCost tracks with reported services prices data, St. Louis, MO-IL ranks #8 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares St. Louis, MO-IL only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 8
88th percentile in MO
Services prices
#8 of 8
0th percentile in MO
Rent prices
#2 of 8
75th percentile in MO
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MO only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for St. Louis, MO-IL: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (95.1 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (79.0 here).
Other MO Metros
Kansas City, MO-KS 92.5 Columbia, MO 89.4 Springfield, MO 88.6 Jefferson City, MO 88.0 St. Joseph, MO-KS 86.4 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 86.1
View all MO metros → Cheapest in MO → Most expensive in MO →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for St. Louis
How to read St. Louis's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $105,166 in St. Louis. Salary calculator
- Start with services: it indexes at 69.9, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare St. Louis head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in St. Louis, MO-IL?
St. Louis, MO-IL has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 95.1, meaning it is 4.9% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 100.0, services at 69.9, and rents at 79.0. It ranks #166 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in St. Louis, MO-IL to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $95,088 in St. Louis, MO-IL. Conversely, $100K earned in St. Louis, MO-IL has the purchasing power of $105,166 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in St. Louis, MO-IL?
Rents in St. Louis, MO-IL are indexed at 79.0, which is 21.0% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is St. Louis, MO-IL getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, St. Louis, MO-IL's overall cost index changed by +4.1 points (from 91.0 to 95.1). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The priciest category in St. Louis, MO-IL is goods at 100.0, 0.0% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is services at 69.9, 30.1% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to St. Louis, MO-IL?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Bloomington, Pittsfield, El Centro. These areas have RPP values within a few points of St. Louis, MO-IL's 95.1.
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.