2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$56,700
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
-43.3%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
+$1,541
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
-$22,788
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
+$24,329/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

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

COL 180.4
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 -$36,036
Discretionary Cash Flow $36,933
Target Market
Destination Location

St. Louis, MO-IL

COL 102.3
Gross Parity Income $56,700
Federal Income Tax -$4,624
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$4,338
State Income Tax -$1,695
Local / City Tax -$567
Net Annual Take-Home $45,476
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,248
Discretionary Cash Flow $32,228

EPI family budgets put living costs 43.3% lower in St. Louis, MO-IL than in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, so $100,000 in San Francisco goes about as far as $56,700 in St. Louis. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $3,003 a month in San Francisco and $1,104 in St. Louis, $22,788 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 $24,329 a year better off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $74,260 in San Francisco 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (Monthly) St. Louis (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$3,003$1,104-$1,899-63.2%
Food & Groceries$469$373-$96-20.5%
Transportation$968$1,018+$50+5.2%
Healthcare$608$427-$181-29.8%
Other Necessities$852$411-$441-51.8%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,253$2,124-$129-5.7%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$1,899/mo (-63.2%)
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont: $3,003/mo St. Louis: $1,104/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent -$2,348/mo (-63.5%)
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont: $3,697/mo St. Louis: $1,349/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) -$17.28/hr (-43.3%)
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont: $39.91/hr St. Louis: $22.63/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) -$20.45/hr (-49.3%)
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont: $41.52/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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont Median St. Louis Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$149,990$93,140-$56,850 (-37.9%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$186,640$129,030-$57,610 (-30.9%)View Dossier
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$186,610$83,180-$103,430 (-55.4%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$110,730$78,880-$31,850 (-28.8%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$135,040$100,510-$34,530 (-25.6%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$232,890$167,130-$65,760 (-28.2%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$126,730$101,100-$25,630 (-20.2%)View Dossier
Solutions ArchitectTechnologyTechnology$161,700$108,450-$53,250 (-32.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$216,150$158,780-$57,370 (-26.5%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$170,810$123,870-$46,940 (-27.5%)View Dossier
Medical and Health Services ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$166,310$106,200-$60,110 (-36.1%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$92,830$77,170-$15,660 (-16.9%)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

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL Relocation FAQs

About $56,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (180.4 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: St. Louis, MO-IL to San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
Relocation: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA to St. Louis, MO-IL Overview

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?

About $56,700. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (180.4 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA, 102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is St. Louis, MO-IL cheaper than San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 43.3% lower in St. Louis, MO-IL than in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.