Cost Of Living in St. Louis, MI

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	St. Louis	Michigan	National
Cost of living	82	89	100
Goods & Services	90	93	100
Groceries	95	99	100
Health care	94	93	100
Housing	54	74	100
Transportation	95	97	100
Utilities	102	101	100

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Cost Of Living Quick Facts

The cost of living in St. Louis is 8% lower than the Michigan average
The cost of living in St. Louis is 18% lower than the national average
St. Louis housing is 46% lower than the national average
Michigan general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
Michigan state income tax is 64% higher than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$46,414	$3,868	$1,083	$1,393
Renters	$25,185	$2,099	$588	$756

A good indicator of the general affordability of housing in St. Louis, MI, is the percentage of monthly income that should be spent on housing expenses, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). Generally speaking, no more than 28 percent of your total gross income should be spent on your housing expenses and not more than 36 percent of your gross income on total expenses, including debts. In St. Louis, the median monthly income is $46,414 for those who own their own homes. Under the standard rule, that income level would allow for $1,083 to be budgeted for housing expenses each month, at the most. Renters, on the other hand, earn about $25,185, per the median income in the area. That would allow for renters to spend up to $588 on monthly rental expenses.

Michigan Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
Michigan	6%	6%

Michigan Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
Michigan	4.25%	4.25%

Goods & Services

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$24.53	$24.26	1.1%
Beauty Salon	$56.27	$45.56	23.5%
Toothpaste	$3.64	$3.70	1.8%
Shampoo	$1.40	$1.28	9.1%
Movie	$11.22	$12.13	7.5%
Bowling	$22.17	$18.00	23.1%

Groceries

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$5.51	$5.84	5.7%
Fried Chicken	$1.69	$1.57	7.7%
Milk	$4.84	$4.67	3.6%
Potatoes	$4.77	$4.93	3.3%
Pizza	$10.99	$12.09	9.1%
Beer	$9.38	$10.41	9.9%

Health Care

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$91.40	$125.68	27.3%
Doctor	$139.14	$135.78	2.5%
Dentist	$120.35	$113.29	6.2%
Ibuprofen	$10.88	$10.65	2.1%
Lipitor	$504.80	$468.60	7.7%

Housing

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$81,100.00	$184,700.00	56.1%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$2,520.64	$2,346.69	7.4%
Apartment Rent	$751.00	$949.00	20.9%

Transportation

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$3.42	$3.46	1.2%
Tire Balancing	$60.57	$59.92	1.1%

Utilities

Item	St. Louis	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$180.47	$193.99	7.0%
Phone	$184.98	$192.25	3.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Merrill, MI	852	85	14.8%
Breckenridge, MI	1,428	81	19.4%
Alma, MI	8,918	81	18.5%
Ithaca, MI	2,864	83	17.2%
Shepherd, MI	1,380	86	13.8%
St. Louis, MI	7,156	82	18.1%

Cities with similar population

City	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Heber Springs, AR	7,156	81	18.8%
Seminole, OK	7,155	77	22.6%
Gridley, CA	7,154	110	9.8%
Knoxville, IA	7,154	83	16.8%
Walled Lake, MI	7,153	98	2.5%
St. Louis, MI	7,156	82	18.1%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2023 and was released from C2ER in January, 2024; this is the most current data available.

Cost of Living in St. Louis, MI