2026 Relocation & Cost Arbitrage Engine

Relocation: St. Louis, MO-IL to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

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 St. Louis, MO-IL to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ.

Popular Corridors:
Equivalent Salary
$176,900
To maintain parity
Cost of Living Delta
+76.9%
Overall expenditure basket
Annual Tax Delta
-$3,631
State + local taxes
Annual 1BR Rent Delta
+$19,500
HUD Fair Market Rents
Net Annual Buffer
-$23,131/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

St. Louis, MO-IL

COL 102.3
Gross Annual Income $100,000
Federal Income Tax -$13,170
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$7,650
State Income Tax -$3,670
Local / City Tax -$1,000
Net Annual Take-Home $74,510
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$13,248
Discretionary Cash Flow $61,262
Target Market
Destination Location

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

COL 181.0
Gross Parity Income $176,900
Federal Income Tax -$31,190
FICA (SS & Medicare) -$13,533
State Income Tax -$9,965
Local / City Tax -$6,422
Net Annual Take-Home $115,790
HUD 1BR Fair Market Rent -$32,748
Discretionary Cash Flow $83,042

EPI family budgets put living costs 76.9% higher in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ than in St. Louis, MO-IL, so $100,000 in St. Louis goes about as far as $176,900 in New York. HUD's one-bedroom Fair Market Rent is $1,104 a month in St. Louis and $2,729 in New York, $19,500 a year more. On the same $100,000 salary a single filer pays $3,631 more a year in federal, state and local income tax and FICA in New York. Taxes and one-bedroom rent together leave you about $23,131 a year worse off. The BLS median wage across all occupations is $49,990 in St. Louis and $61,430 in New York.

Itemized Cost of Living Expenditure Arbitrage

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

Expenditure Category St. Louis (Monthly) New York-Newark-Jersey City (Monthly) Monthly Delta ($) Difference (%)
Housing (1BR Fair Market Rent)$1,104$2,729+$1,625+147.2%
Food & Groceries$373$426+$53+14.2%
Transportation$1,018$693-$325-31.9%
Healthcare$427$748+$321+75.2%
Other Necessities$411$879+$468+113.9%
Total Taxes (Federal, State, Local, FICA)$2,124$2,427+$303+14.3%

HUD Fair Market Rent Differential

1-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$1,625/mo (147.2%)
St. Louis: $1,104/mo New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,729/mo
2-Bedroom Fair Market Rent +$1,622/mo (120.2%)
St. Louis: $1,349/mo New York-Newark-Jersey City: $2,971/mo

EPI Living Wage Benchmark Comparison

1 Adult (No Children) +$17.40/hr (76.9%)
St. Louis: $22.63/hr New York-Newark-Jersey City: $40.03/hr
2 Adults + 1 Child (per earner) +$13.12/hr (62.3%)
St. Louis: $21.07/hr New York-Newark-Jersey City: $34.19/hr

Top Local Occupations Wage Parity

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

Occupation Title Industry Sector St. Louis Median New York-Newark-Jersey City Median Nominal Wage Delta Action
Registered Nurse (RN)HealthcareHealthcare$83,180$119,720+$36,540 (+43.9%)View Dossier
General and Operations ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$93,140$157,000+$63,860 (+68.6%)View Dossier
Software EngineerTechnologyTechnology$129,030$166,830+$37,800 (+29.3%)View Dossier
Accountant & AuditorFinanceFinance$78,880$105,650+$26,770 (+33.9%)View Dossier
Financial ManagerFinanceFinance$158,780$221,010+$62,230 (+39.2%)View Dossier
Project Management SpecialistBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$100,510$126,660+$26,150 (+26.0%)View Dossier
Management AnalystBusiness OperationsBusiness Operations$101,100$124,390+$23,290 (+23.0%)View Dossier
Computer and Information Systems ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$167,130$215,300+$48,170 (+28.8%)View Dossier
Marketing ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$137,900$192,840+$54,940 (+39.8%)View Dossier
Financial AnalystFinanceFinance$99,950$128,930+$28,980 (+29.0%)View Dossier
Sales ManagersFinance & ManagementFinance & Management$123,870$215,150+$91,280 (+73.7%)View Dossier
ElectricianSkilled TradesSkilled Trades$77,170$79,020+$1,850 (+2.4%)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

St. Louis, MO-IL to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Relocation FAQs

About $176,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, 181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Triangular Relocation & Tax Silo

St. Louis, MO-IL to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: State Paychecks, Rents & Reciprocal Corridor

Reverse Route: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to St. Louis, MO-IL
Relocation: St. Louis, MO-IL to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Overview

St. Louis, MO-IL to New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 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 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ to match $100,000 in St. Louis, MO-IL?

About $176,900. That scales $100,000 by the ratio of the metros' cost-of-living indexes (102.3 in St. Louis, MO-IL, 181.0 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, from EPI family budgets); taxes are compared separately below.

Is New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ cheaper than St. Louis, MO-IL?

EPI's family budgets for a single adult put overall living costs 76.9% higher in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ than in St. Louis, MO-IL. The budgets cover housing, food, transportation, health care and other necessities.