St. Joseph Port St. Lucie

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from St. Joseph to Port St. Lucie is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 86.4 to 100.2 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $680/mo.

+$462
BLS median salary higher in Port St. Lucie
463 to 210
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
12.8:1 to 17.8:1
NCES student-teacher ratio

BEA Regional Price Parity, HUD Fair Market Rent, BLS OEWS, FBI UCR, NCES, and DOL. The table below lets you override the composite with your own priorities.

Verdict
Less Favorable
Cost Index: 86.4 → 100.2
Rent Delta: +$680/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + Lower violent crime rate
  • + Fewer environmental violations

Cons of Moving

  • - 14% higher cost of living
  • - $680/mo more expensive rent (2BR)
  • - Higher student-teacher ratios

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP rises from 86.4 to 100.2, so the same paycheck buys less in Port St. Lucie (ratio 1.16). HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $680/mo ($8,160/yr) from $1,077 in St. Joseph to $1,757 in Port St. Lucie.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (3 destination wins · 3 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Port St. Lucie sits #306 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). St. Joseph is #120/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $462 higher ($61,551 → $62,013). Labor-market size: 49,300 tracked jobs at origin vs 160,790 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Missouri 68 (C, #12/51) vs Florida 62 (C, #23/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
St. Joseph
Port St. Lucie
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 86.4
RPP 100.2
St. Joseph
Rent (2BR)
$1,077/mo
$1,757/mo
St. Joseph
Wages
$61,551
$62,013
Port St. Lucie
Crime
463 per 100K
210 per 100K
Port St. Lucie
Schools
12.8:1
17.8:1
St. Joseph
Childcare
N/A
$10,505/yr
Tie
Environment
6737 violations
2736 violations
Port St. Lucie

State retirement friendliness

Primary-state scores from PlainRelocate's retirement registry (tax + healthcare + climate composite). Metro pairs use each metro's primary state abbreviation.

Origin state · Missouri
68 C #12/51
Income tax
82
Property tax
68
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
80
Destination state · Florida
62 C #23/51
Income tax
100
Property tax
67
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
12

Full retirement ranking · Source composite documented on methodology (Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides + federal healthcare/climate inputs).

Salary Adjustment Calculator

Enter your current salary in St. Joseph to see what you'd need to earn in Port St. Lucie to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Port St. Lucie
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Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA; retirement desk: Tax Foundation + AARP tax guides June 2026