St. Louis Harrisburg-Carlisle

Relocation analysis based on 7 federal data sources

Should you move?

Moving from St. Louis to Harrisburg-Carlisle is less favorable: BEA regional price parity goes from 95.1 to 98.7 (US = 100), and HUD 2-bedroom rent rises by $577/mo.

-$1,201
BLS median salary lower in Harrisburg-Carlisle
463 to 250
violent crimes per 100K (FBI UCR, state-level)
12.8:1 to 13.6:1
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: 95.1 → 98.7
Rent Delta: +$577/mo

Pros of Moving

  • + Lower violent crime rate

Cons of Moving

  • - 4% higher cost of living
  • - $577/mo more expensive rent (2BR)

Purchasing power stays near-even: BEA RPP moves only from 95.1 to 98.7 (ratio 1.04), inside a ±5% band. HUD 2BR Fair Market Rent rises $577/mo ($6,924/yr) from $916 in St. Louis to $1,493 in Harrisburg-Carlisle.

The seven-dimension ledger splits (2 destination wins · 4 origin wins); priorities decide this move. Harrisburg-Carlisle sits #270 of 387 metros on PlainRelocate livability (bottom third of the corpus). St. Louis is #182/387 on the same ranking. Composite verdict: Less Favorable. Override it with the dimension table below.

BLS OEWS median salary moves $1,201 lower ($68,074 → $66,873). Labor-market size: 1,311,920 tracked jobs at origin vs 327,450 at destination.

State retirement friendliness is near-even: Missouri 68 (C, #12/51) vs Pennsylvania 65 (C, #18/51). Full state tax and healthcare sub-scores sit in the retirement desk below.

Dimension
St. Louis
Harrisburg-Carlisle
Winner
Cost of Living
RPP 95.1
RPP 98.7
St. Louis
Rent (2BR)
$916/mo
$1,493/mo
St. Louis
Wages
$68,074
$66,873
St. Louis
Crime
463 per 100K
250 per 100K
Harrisburg-Carlisle
Schools
12.8:1
13.6:1
St. Louis
Childcare
N/A
N/A
Tie
Environment
6737 violations
5292 violations
Harrisburg-Carlisle

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 · Pennsylvania
65 C #18/51
Income tax
95
Property tax
58
Estate tax
100
Healthcare
72

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. Louis to see what you'd need to earn in Harrisburg-Carlisle to maintain the same purchasing power.

Equivalent salary in Harrisburg-Carlisle
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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