Compare / Chicago to St. Louis
Chicago, IL vs St. Louis, MO
Simple answer
You'd likely save $662 a month in St. Louis.
This is the HUD 2-bedroom fair-market rent for October 2026 through September 2027. It is not your lease.
The largest cost gap in this pair is Fair Market Rent. The 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gap is $662: Chicago is higher at $2,011 versus $1,349.
Illinois taxes wages at a flat 4.95%. Missouri taxes wages at rates up to 4.70%. Combined sales tax differs by 0.5 percentage points, higher in Illinois. The effective property tax gap is 1.13 percentage points, higher in Illinois.
After a move from Illinois to Missouri, those two example households keep the same benefit status labels. A different income can still split Medicaid and marketplace credits.
A $75,000 salary in Chicago lines up with about $68,841 in St. Louis on the 2024 all-items price parity. Census median gross rent and the commute figures are 2024. Fair Market Rents are fiscal year 2027.
Chicago
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $2,011
- HUD area
- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,469
- All-items price parity
- 103.6
- Goods price parity
- 107.3
- Utilities price parity
- 83.6
- Mean commute
- 30.9 min
- Median household income
- $90,770
St. Louis
St. Louis, MO-IL
- 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent
- $1,349
- HUD area
- St. Louis, MO-IL HUD Metro FMR Area
- Census median gross rent
- $1,154
- All-items price parity
- 95.1
- Goods price parity
- 100.0
- Utilities price parity
- 69.9
- Mean commute
- 25.4 min
- Median household income
- $81,679
Equivalent salary
The first number keeps the same place in the national price level. The second also runs 2026 federal income tax, employee Social Security and Medicare, and a simplified state income tax. Groceries use the BEA goods price parity, not a grocery receipt.
$68,841
Salary in St. Louis that matches the 2024 all-items regional price parity.
$66,440
Gross salary in St. Louis whose after-tax pay buys the same basket, using price parities.
$50,311
Scales the salary by the ratio of HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents. Rent is not the whole budget.
Taxes on the two sides of the move
| Tax | Illinois | Missouri |
|---|---|---|
| State income tax on wages | 4.95% flat | up to 4.70% |
| Combined sales tax, Jan 1, 2026 | 9.0% | 8.4% |
| Effective property tax, ACS 2024 median / median | 1.92% | 0.79% |
On a $400,000 home, the state median effective rate implies about $7,694 a year in Illinois and $3,178 in Missouri. That illustration is not a local bill. Childcare prices are not in the verified dataset for these metros.
Benefits if you land in Missouri
Same household, $40,000 a year, scored once in Illinois and once in Missouri. This is an illustration, not your application.
| Program | Chicago | St. Louis |
|---|---|---|
| SNAP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Medicaid and CHIP | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| WIC | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| School meals | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| LIHEAP | Maybe | Maybe |
| Earned Income Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Child Tax Credit | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| Marketplace premium tax credits | Unlikely | Unlikely |
| Lifeline phone and internet | Likely eligible | Likely eligible |
| SSI | Unlikely | Unlikely |
At $40,000 the status labels match. A single adult around $18,000 is where Medicaid expansion and the marketplace coverage gap usually split.
Related comparisons
From Chicago
The eight largest 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent gaps from Chicago.
- Chicago and San Francisco · rent gap $1,686
- Chicago and San Jose · rent gap $1,261
- Chicago and Boston · rent gap $997
- Chicago and McAllen · rent gap $994
- Chicago and Wichita · rent gap $968
- Chicago and New York · rent gap $960
- Chicago and Los Angeles · rent gap $953
- Chicago and Little Rock · rent gap $890
How the salary and tax math works · The reverse city order redirects to this address.