Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Louis, MO and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Lisbon: $2,202 a month against $2,552 in St. Louis, MO, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in St. Louis, MO
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St. Louis, MO Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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St. Louis, MO

🇺🇸 United States

$2,552

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in St. Louis, MO and in Lisbon

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in St. Louis, MO and in Lisbon actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,552 in St. Louis, MO versus $2,202 in Lisbon.

St. Louis, MO $2,552
Lisbon $2,202

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,739 in St. Louis, MO versus $3,274 in Lisbon.

St. Louis, MO $3,739
Lisbon $3,274

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,926 in St. Louis, MO versus $4,346 in Lisbon.

St. Louis, MO $4,926
Lisbon $4,346

Living in St. Louis, MO is roughly 16% more expensive than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: St. Louis, MO 88% above, Lisbon 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.92 $18.92

$17.04 €15.15

11.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$75.9 $75.9

$62.3 €55.4

21.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 $11.06

$11.02 €9.80

0.36%

Cappuccino

$5.16 $5.16

$3.12 €2.78

65.38%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 $2.49

$2.27 €2.02

9.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 $2.02

$1.74 €1.55

16.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.91 $5.91

$3.42 €3.04

72.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.18 $7.18

$3.74 €3.33

91.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.17 €1.04

-10.26%

White Bread (500g)

$3.44 $3.44

$1.86 €1.66

84.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.38 $4.38

$1.54 €1.37

184.42%

Eggs

$4.19 $4.19

$4.06 €3.61

3.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.37 $12.37

$12.91 €11.49

-4.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.26 $11.26

$7.90 €7.03

42.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.45 $15.45

$17.64 €15.69

-12.41%

Apples (1kg)

$4.98 $4.98

$2.26 €2.01

120.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 $1.64

$1.75 €1.55

-6.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.14 $4.14

$1.89 €1.68

119.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.81 $4.81

$2.56 €2.27

87.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.89 $2.89

$1.85 €1.64

56.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.88 $2.88

$1.97 €1.75

46.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.08 $2.08

$1.45 €1.29

43.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.11 $2.11

$0.77 €0.69

174.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.55 $9.55

$6.71 €5.97

42.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.07 $14.07

$5.67 €5.04

148.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 $1.76

$1.37 €1.22

28.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 $3.28

$2.11 €1.88

55.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.96 $1.96

$2.32 €2.07

-15.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.58 $3.58

$3.95 €3.51

-9.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 $1.63

$1.05 €0.93

55.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.91 $28.91

$17.15 €15.26

68.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 $0.86

$2.19 €1.95

-60.73%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$29.9K $29.9K

$33.8K €30.0K

-11.54%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$25.6K $25.6K

$38.3K €34.0K

-33.03%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$185 $185

$164 €146

12.92%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$51.9 $51.9

$18.48 €16.43

181.06%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.8 $67.8

$32.96 €29.32

105.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.19 $42.19

$45.87 €40.80

-8.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$13.41 $13.41

$9.75 €8.67

37.54%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,311 $1,311

$684 €608

91.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K $23.1K

$17.6K €15.7K

30.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.3 $50.3

$104 €92.3

-51.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.37 $40.37

$46.20 €41.09

-12.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.3 $86.3

$99.7 €88.7

-13.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 $112

$125 €111

-10.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,620 $1,620

$1,589 €1,414

1.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,335 $1,335

$1,169 €1,040

14.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,663 $2,663

$2,851 €2,536

-6.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,213 $2,213

$1,993 €1,773

11.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,773 $2,773

$7,793 €6,932

-64.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,463 $2,463

$4,418 €3,930

-44.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.51

3.85

69.09%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for St. Louis, MO: October 18, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

St. Louis, MO

$1.3K 52.3%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1% 12.4% $166

Groceries & Markets

St. Louis, MO

$386 15.1%

Lisbon

$273 12.4% 29.2% $113

Eating Out

St. Louis, MO

$308 12.1%

Lisbon

$247 11.2% 19.7% $61

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Louis, MO

$305 11.9%

Lisbon

$215 9.8% 29.4% $89

Clothing & Footwear

St. Louis, MO

$130 5.1%

Lisbon

$168 7.7% 29.7% $39

Sport & Entertainment

St. Louis, MO

$69 2.7%

Lisbon

$65 3% 5.3% $3.6

Getting Around

St. Louis, MO

$20 * 0.8%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 222% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,620 in St. Louis, MO and $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $76.0 in St. Louis, MO vs $62.0 in Lisbon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $386 vs $273 per month, with Lisbon cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇸 St. Louis, MO

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

18:30 6:30 PM

00:30 12:30 AM

6 h ahead of St. Louis, MO

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

301,578

545,923 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

St. Louis, MO Lisbon 6,780 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Louis, MO
Lisbon

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

St. Louis, MO vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Louis, MO and Lisbon differ by about 16% in total monthly costs ($2,552 vs $2,202 including rent). Lisbon is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,828 in St. Louis, MO and $3,302 in Lisbon to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,620 in St. Louis, MO versus $1,589 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 41% higher in St. Louis, MO. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $2,552 per month in St. Louis, MO versus $2,202 in Lisbon – a 16% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $2,202 in Lisbon versus $2,552 in St. Louis, MO, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Lisbon but tight or insufficient in St. Louis, MO. The gap between the two cities makes Lisbon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, St. Louis, MO and Lisbon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lisbon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 16% less than in St. Louis, MO. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.