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Short answer: it works, but it's tighter than the number sounds. Here's the part almost nobody actually works out.
That's what a $75,000 St. Louis salary is actually worth, after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, Missouri income tax, and local prices that run 4.9% below the national average. Missouri takes $2,588 of it.
Most cost-of-living coverage is about expensive cities. St. Louis is the other case: 4.9% below average, which changes what a given salary means.
Right. Let's work it out properly.
Start with the headline number and subtract reality. Single filer, standard deduction, 2026 brackets:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gross salary | $75,000 |
| Federal income tax | −$7,670 |
| Social Security and Medicare | −$5,738 |
| Missouri state income tax | −$2,588 |
| Take-home pay | $59,005 |
| Adjusted for St. Louis prices (4.9% below average) | $62,045 |
That last row is the one that matters and it's the one nobody shows you. Your $59,005 spends like $62,045 would somewhere average. The federal government scores every metro against a national average of 100, and St. Louis scores 95.1. St. Louis hands you back roughly $3,000 a year of purchasing power you would not have somewhere average.
This is the deduction that surprises people who moved from somewhere cheaper to be taxed.
Missouri takes about $2,588 of this salary, an effective rate of 3.5% once brackets and deductions shake out.
That sits on top of federal tax and FICA, which between them explain the gap between the number you agreed to and the number that shows up.
Everything above assumes a single filer, which is the common case for "is this salary any good" and the wrong one for plenty of readers. If $75,000 is a household's income and you file jointly, the federal picture changes a lot: the standard deduction doubles and every bracket widens, so federal tax falls from $7,670 to $4,640. That is $3,030 a year back in your pocket.
| Line | Single | Filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $7,670 | $4,640 |
| Social Security and Medicare | $5,738 | $5,738 |
| Take-home pay, at least | $59,005 | $62,035 |
| Same buying power as | $62,045 | $65,231 |
One caveat on that joint column, and it runs in your favour. We hold Missouri tax at the single-filer figure, because state schedules for joint filers vary and we would rather understate the benefit than guess at it. Most states widen their brackets for joint filers too, so your real joint take-home is likely a little higher than the number above, not lower.
The cheapness here is concentrated where it counts. Housing in St. Louis runs 21% below the national average, against goods at 0% above.
Housing is the biggest line in most budgets, so a discount there is worth more than the headline figure suggests. This is the kind of place where a middling salary buys space.
Utilities are a genuine bright spot, running 30% below the national average.
A one-bedroom at St. Louis's fair market rent runs $995 a month, $1,218 for a two-bedroom. Against take-home of $4,917 a month, the one-bedroom eats 20% of it.
That's comfortably inside the 30% rule with room to spare, which leaves $3,922 a month for everything else. This is the range where saving happens without thinking about it.
St. Louis has bounced between 91 and 97 over 2008 to 2024 without settling into a direction.
Which is a reminder that this index moves. A figure quoted confidently from any single year, including this one, is a snapshot rather than a trend.
For what it's worth, St. Louis has not been more expensive than the national average in a single year of this series.
Flip it around. To match what $75,000 buys at the national average, St. Louis only needs to pay you $71,325.
So the same salary stretches further here than the number suggests. Worth knowing if you ever do end up negotiating.
| Metro | Price level100 = US avg | State tax | Real value |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis, MO | 95.1 | 3.5% | $62,045 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 90.4 | 3.8% | $65,003 |
| San Antonio, TX | 94.7 | None | $65,040 |
| Atlanta, GA | 100.1 | 4.0% | $58,540 |
Your salary, your two cities, real federal price data. Takes about fifteen seconds.
Compare my citiesIt works, and it doesn't leave much slack. $75,000 in St. Louis spends like $62,045 somewhere average, so roughly $13,000 a year disappears before you buy anything.
Almost all of that is tax rather than St. Louis. Prices here are already on your side.
After tax you keep about $59,005, which is roughly $4,917 a month. Against St. Louis's price level of 95.1, where 100 is the national average, that spends like $62,045 would somewhere average. Comfortable for one person, workable for two, tighter than the headline number suggests once there are children involved.
About $71,325, matching St. Louis's price level of 95.1 against the national average of 100. If you're moving from a specific city rather than the national average, run both through the calculator, because the answer moves a lot.
About $2,588 on a $75,000 salary, an effective rate of 3.5% once the state's brackets and deductions are applied. That's separate from federal tax and FICA.
Price levels are Regional Price Parities from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the federal government's official measure of geographic price differences. Tax figures are 2026 federal brackets and Missouri state rates. We show the data vintage on every page so you know exactly how current the figures are.