2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL

Data updated · Sources: HUD FY 2027 Fair Market Rents, EPI 2026 Family Budget, 2026 tax tables · Methodology

Income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents and EPI living costs for a move from Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$71,000
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-29.0%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$1,541
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$15,576
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$17,117/yr
Tax + housing gain

Interactive Purchasing Power Equivalency Workbench

Adjust your current salary at origin to dynamically compute the statutory tax burden, housing costs, and discretionary cash in both markets.

Presets:
$
$30,000 $100,000 $200,000 $300,000
Origin Location

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

COL 144.2
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$4,911
Local / City Tax $0
Net Annual Take-Home $72,969
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$28,824
Discretionary Cash Flow $44,145
Target Market
Destination Location

St. Louis, MO-IL

COL 102.3
Gross Parity Income $71,000
Federal Income Tax -$6,790
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$5,432
State Income Tax -$2,352
Local / City Tax -$710
Net Annual Take-Home $55,717
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,248
Discretionary Cash Flow $42,469

EPI family budgets put living costs 29.0% lower in St. Louis, MO-IL than in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, so $100,000 in Los Angeles goes about as far as $71,000 in St. Louis. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $2,402 a month in Los Angeles and $1,104 in St. Louis, $15,576 a year less. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $1,541 less a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in St. Louis. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $17,117 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $55,850 in Los Angeles and $49,990 in St. Louis.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

Category-by-category breakdown of monthly baseline consumption between origin and destination.

Expenditure Category Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (Monthly) St. Louis (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$2,402$1,104-$1,298-54.0%
Food & Groceries$367$373+$6+1.6%
Transportation$1,004$1,018+$14+1.4%
Healthcare$398$427+$29+7.3%
Other Necessities$690$411-$279-40.4%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,253$2,124-$129-5.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,298/mo (-54.0%)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $2,402/mo St. Louis: $1,104/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,615/mo (-54.5%)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $2,964/mo St. Louis: $1,349/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$9.26/hr (-29.0%)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $31.89/hr St. Louis: $22.63/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$7.28/hr (-25.7%)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: $28.35/hr St. Louis: $21.07/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

BLS median wage comparisons across benchmark roles between both metropolitan labor markets.

Occupation Title Industry Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Median St. Louis Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$125,830$93,140-$32,690 (-26.0%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$135,560$83,180-$52,380 (-38.6%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$94,360$78,880-$15,480 (-16.4%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$160,920$129,030-$31,890 (-19.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$108,310$100,510-$7,800 (-7.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$104,930$101,100-$3,830 (-3.7%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$132,330$123,870-$8,460 (-6.4%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$175,310$158,780-$16,530 (-9.4%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$204,370$167,130-$37,240 (-18.2%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$134,230$106,200-$28,030 (-20.9%)View Dossier
Quality Control InspectorIndustrial ManufacturingIndustrial Manufacturing$51,560$51,790+$230 (+0.4%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$109,700$108,450-$1,250 (-1.1%)View Dossier

Major US Inter-Metro Relocation Corridors

Empirical cost differentials and statutory tax savings across high-volume migration routes.

New York-Newark-Jersey City → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $14,388 less 1BR rent a year

-30.6% COL+$22,689/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

On $100k: $6,211 less tax and $17,676 less 1BR rent a year

-30.4% COL+$23,887/yr
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin → Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

On $100k: $4,805 less tax and $2,928 less 1BR rent a year

-2.2% COL+$7,733/yr
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont → Columbus

On $100k: $1,729 less tax and $19,884 less 1BR rent a year

-41.0% COL+$21,613/yr
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim → Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

On $100k: $4,113 less tax and $10,908 less 1BR rent a year

-13.5% COL+$15,021/yr
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue → Denver-Aurora-Centennial

On $100k: $3,761 more tax and $4,188 less 1BR rent a year

-13.6% COL+$427/yr
Boston-Cambridge-Newton → Raleigh-Cary

On $100k: $1,299 less tax and $11,592 less 1BR rent a year

-16.2% COL+$12,891/yr
New York-Newark-Jersey City → Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach

On $100k: $8,301 less tax and $7,296 less 1BR rent a year

-27.3% COL+$15,597/yr

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL Relocation FAQs

About $71,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (144.2 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: St. Louis, MO-IL to Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Relocation: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL Overview

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL: 2026 federal, state & local income tax, HUD Fair Market Rents & EPI living costs compared on the same.

Quick answers
How much salary do I need in St. Louis, MO-IL to match $100,000 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?

About $71,000. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (144.2 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, 102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is St. Louis, MO-IL cheaper than Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 29.0% lower in St. Louis, MO-IL than in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.