Cost of Living
per year
per month
How St. Joseph's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in St. Joseph?
Your $100,000 in St. Joseph has the same purchasing power as $128,999 in the average US city. You'd need $28,999 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of St. Joseph's cost index of 78, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to St. Joseph? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: the cost-of-living math actually works and air quality you don't have to think about, plus 1 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
By the numbers, St. Joseph is one of the more affordable US cities of its size. The composite index sits at 78, about 22% below the national average, with housing as the main driver of the discount. Median rent in town runs about $854/mo against a typical household income of $54,515, which is the kind of ratio that leaves room to save.
St. Joseph's air quality index averages about 40 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in St. Joseph is about 16 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from St. Joseph's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Yes — and a lot of it. With winter averages near 22°F, St. Joseph sees real accumulation most years. Salt for the steps, tires that handle ice, and a sense of humor about February are the usual costs of admission.
Cold enough to plan around. Winter in St. Joseph averages roughly 22°F, with stretches where daytime highs don't break freezing for weeks. Decent insulation, a real coat, and a car that starts in cold weather are non-negotiable.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in St. Joseph runs about 87°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
St. Joseph falls in roughly USDA Zone 7. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
St. Joseph is at about 906 feet (276 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Higher than average. St. Joseph reports about 5,164 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
No — your dollar actually goes further here. St. Joseph's composite cost-of-living index is 78, roughly 22% under the US average. Housing is usually the biggest driver of the discount.
Mostly car-dependent. St. Joseph's Walk Score of 40/100 means a handful of errands work on foot — depending on the neighborhood — but most residents still need a car for the rest.
Roughly $54,264 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in St. Joseph runs about $854/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.