Portland, OR → St. Louis, MO
You'd keep $326 more a month in St. Louis
+$3,912 a year for the same registered nurse, the same household size, and the same number of bedrooms.
| Per month | Portland | St. Louis | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | $8,208 | $7,583 | −$625 |
| Income and payroll tax | $2,408 | $1,904 | −$504 |
| Take-home pay | $5,800 | $5,678 | −$122 |
| Rent | $1,417 | $1,144 | −$273 |
| Getting around | $517 | $545 | +$28 |
| Groceries | $424 | $368 | −$56 |
| Healthcare | $477 | $414 | −$63 |
| Utilities | $265 | $230 | −$35 |
| Everything else | $371 | $322 | −$49 |
| Left over | $2,329 | $2,655 | +$326 |
To break even in St. Louis, you'd need to earn
$85,000
Household gross, versus $98,500 today. That's the salary that leaves you exactly as much at the end of the month as Portland does now.
The tax difference alone
+$3,818
A year, in state and local income tax. Effective rates: 29.3% in Portland, 25.1% in St. Louis.
Portland, OR in full
No sales tax, high income tax, and nine months of grey.
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 → Portland →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.