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San Francisco vs St. Louis

Metro-area medians — San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area vs St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area — not the cities proper.

San Francisco and St. Louis are evenly matched, each taking 5 of the clearly-decided measures.

St. Louis is about 22% cheaper to live in, while San Francisco households earn about 66% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in San Francisco.

For your salary & household

Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.

San Francisco, CA
$58,296
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$50,424
real value after local prices
St. Louis, MO
$58,705
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$61,737
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, St. Louis leaves you about $11,313/yr better off after tax and local prices.

Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.

Measure
San Francisco
St. Louis
Livability (CityLedger)
77/100
62/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
115.6
95.1
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$117,279
$85,898
Median household income
$135,590
$81,679
Median rent
$2,435/mo
$1,154/mo
Median home value
$1,132,900
$268,300
Unemployment
5.5%
3.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher
53.8%
39.5%
Average commute
32.7 min
25.4 min
Air quality (median AQI)
53
55
Avg temperature
58°F
57°F

Choose San Francisco for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Bachelor's degree or higher
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full San Francisco profile →

Choose St. Louis for

  • + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Average commute
Full St. Louis profile →

San Francisco vs St. Louis — frequently asked

Is San Francisco cheaper than St. Louis?
St. Louis is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 22% below San Francisco's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
Which has higher household income, San Francisco or St. Louis?
San Francisco has the higher median household income — $135,590 versus $81,679 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 66% more.
Does a paycheck go further in San Francisco or St. Louis?
A paycheck stretches further in San Francisco. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $117,279 there versus $85,898 in St. Louis.
Which has cheaper rent, San Francisco or St. Louis?
St. Louis has cheaper rent — a median of $1,154/mo versus $2,435/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).