Can You Afford St Louis

When a city has the economic backing that St. Louis does, you might expect that the average person would have a hard time finding an affordable home and making ends meet. This is, after all, a city which is renowned for its ability to attract doctors, lawyers, and financial experts. These professionals come to the city thanks to its educational facilities and job opportunities.

However, the city of St. Louis has a housing market that is surprisingly affordable, more so than what you might find in an Toronto real estate market or in any other major city. This despite the facts mentioned above and the relatively large size of St. Louis itself.

In fact, the cost of living in St. Louis, and that includes the cost of housing, is significantly below that of almost every other major city in the United States of America. No major metropolitan area in the United States is more affordable, according to research published by the Council for Community and Economic Research in 2008. It's a place where you can pay your rent and still live a comfortable life, more than you can say for many who live in Scarborough condos far to the north.

We touched on the housing market above, but let's put some numbers to the statement in order t o fill out the picture. Those who make a median income in St. Louis are more likely to be able to afford a nice home. Only Detroit and Minneapolis citizens are more likely to be able to find reasonably priced homes in the top 20 metropolitan areas. Those coming from Poughkeepsie NY homes are often shocked at the difference in affordability in St. Louis; the New York area ranks as the most expensive on the list. Only 21.5% of median earners are able to afford a home in that MA!

This bodes well for anyone coming from an overpriced real estate market, whether you are moving out of a resale home in Mississauga or in Los Angeles. However, you might be asking yourself why the city of St. Louis is so affordable.

Certainly, in most cities with lower real estate costs, there are contingent issues. Detroit, for example, is suffering through a major economic downturn. Foreclosures and sales of houses are way down, thus so are prices. In addition, there are not that many jobs in Detroit for homeowners.

St. Louis, however, has an economy that can only be considered robust. The median wage earned by people in the area is just under $70,000. The economy is bolstered by internationally acclaimed medical facilities and Fortune 500 companies, and is in no danger of slowing down any time soon.

So what does account for the lower costs of living and housing in St. Louis compared to other major American metropolitan areas? One can only hypothesize, but it may be that those who truly earn the big bucks choose not to buy real estate in the area, preferring the coasts and southern climates. Even Penetanguishene real estate in Georgian Bay cottage country is bloated thanks to the wealthy entertainers and CEOs who vacation there. St. Louis is still largely out of the way of the most famous and overpaid of the world's citizens, a likely contributing factor, as far as the real estate picture is concerned. In short, a good collection of upper middle class residents in St. Louis make it a place with both a stable economy and an affordable cost of living. It is one of the few big cities in the United States that can make that claim!