$90,000 in St. Louis ≈ $87,539 in Kansas City

$87,539

Purchasing-power equivalent using BEA RPP 2024 (95.1 → 92.5). BLS OEWS May 2025 wages on linked pages.

Prices in Kansas City run −2.7% vs St. Louis for equal purchasing power at this salary level.

St. Louis RPP
95.1
Kansas City RPP
92.5
Price gap
−2.7%
Base salary
$90,000

Prices in Kansas City run −2.7% versus St. Louis on BEA all-items RPP (2024), so overall price levels are lower at the destination. A $90,000 paycheck in St. Louis maps to about $87,539 in Kansas City for equal purchasing power.

Your salary

Needed in Kansas City: $87,539

Live math: salary × (92.5 ÷ 95.1). Same formula as the static ladder below.

Salary needed in Kansas City

In St. LouisIn Kansas City
$60,000$58,360
$90,000$87,539
$150,000$145,899

Equivalent = origin salary × (92.5 ÷ 95.1). Adjust the base with the slider above.

Price level components

ComponentSt. LouisKansas CityUS
All items95.192.5100
Goods100.094.1100
Housing (rents)79.086.6100
Other services98.693.4100

BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, US = 100. Housing is rents; utilities omitted in this view.

Wages in both metros

OccupationSt. LouisKansas CityDest. middle halfDest. OEWS emp.Gap
Chief Executives$202,840$221,640$142,730 to $351,660990+9.3%
Physicians, All Other$246,440$126,260$69,610 to $354,1003,310−48.8%
Computer and Information Systems Managers$167,130$168,050$132,100 to $207,2504,710+0.6%
Architectural and Engineering Managers$162,660$162,680$131,630 to $193,7701,8200%
Financial Managers$158,780$162,490$126,480 to $205,3204,970+2.3%
Pharmacists$138,530$139,460$130,620 to $162,6002,640+0.7%
Lawyers$142,690$134,640$98,680 to $195,0805,310−5.6%
Marketing Managers$137,900$139,240$107,280 to $176,4502,260+1.0%

BLS OEWS May 2025 metro medians where published for both CBSAs. Employment is OEWS published employment, not job openings.

FAQ

What salary do I need in Kansas City to match $90,000 in St. Louis?
About $87,539, based on BEA Regional Price Parities (2024) of 95.1 and 92.5. Formula: salary × (RPP_destination / RPP_origin). Not financial advice.
What do goods, housing, and other RPP components mean?
BEA publishes component indexes alongside all-items RPP. Goods covers merchandise prices; housing (rents) covers rents; other services covers remaining services. All are indexed to US = 100 for the same vintage year.
How do OEWS wages relate to this comparison?
BLS OEWS (May 2025) publishes occupation medians by metro. The wage bridge shows jobs with published medians in both metros, plus middle-half bands and OEWS employment where available. RPP adjusts purchasing power; OEWS reports pay.
Does this include taxes or benefits?
No. PayByCity does not model income taxes, childcare, healthcare premiums, or leave. Use the figures as a price-level starting point, not a take-home or total-rewards calculator.

What this covers

Includes

  • BEA Regional Price Parities (all items, goods, housing rents, other services)
  • BLS OEWS median wages, percentile bands, and employment where published
  • Purchasing-power math: salary × (destination RPP ÷ origin RPP)

Does not include

  • Federal, state, or local income taxes
  • Childcare, healthcare premiums, or leave benefits
  • Job openings. OEWS employment is a published stock estimate, not hiring demand

See methodology and disclaimer.