Boston, MA → St. Louis, MO
You'd keep $761 more a month in St. Louis
+$9,132 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Boston | St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $9,042 | $7,561 | −$1,481 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,416 | $1,897 | −$519 |
| Take-home pay | $6,626 | $5,664 | −$962 |
| Rent | $2,619 | $1,144 | −$1,475 |
| Getting around | $445 | $545 | +$100 |
| Groceries | $464 | $368 | −$96 |
| Healthcare | $522 | $414 | −$108 |
| Utilities | $290 | $230 | −$60 |
| Everything else | $406 | $322 | −$84 |
| Left over | $1,880 | $2,641 | +$761 |
To break even in St. Louis, you'd need to earn
$76,500
Household gross, versus $108,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Boston does now.
The tax difference alone
+$960
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 26.7% in Boston, 25.1% in St. Louis.
Boston, MA in full
Great pay in medicine and research, brutal winters, tight housing stock.
St. Louis, MO in full
The lowest home prices of any metro over 2 million people.
The reverse move
Same two cities, but starting from St. Louis on St. Louis wages.
St. Louis → Boston →Rent is Zillow's asking rent for each metro; taxes and living costs are modelled. An estimate, not a quote or tax advice. How this is calculated.