Los Angeles, CA → St. Louis, MO
You'd keep $955 more a month in St. Louis
+$11,460 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Los Angeles | St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,750 | $7,578 | −$1,172 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,378 | $1,903 | −$475 |
| Take-home pay | $6,372 | $5,675 | −$696 |
| Rent | $2,276 | $1,144 | −$1,132 |
| Getting around | $674 | $545 | −$129 |
| Groceries | $476 | $368 | −$108 |
| Healthcare | $536 | $414 | −$122 |
| Utilities | $298 | $230 | −$68 |
| Everything else | $417 | $322 | −$95 |
| Left over | $1,697 | $2,652 | +$955 |
To break even in St. Louis, you'd need to earn
$73,000
Household gross, versus $105,000 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Los Angeles does now.
The tax difference alone
+$1,536
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 27.2% in Los Angeles, 25.1% in St. Louis.
Los Angeles, CA in full
Perfect weather, deep job market, and a car payment you can't avoid.
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 → Los Angeles →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.