St. Joseph composite
55.5 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
St. Joseph vs Topeka
St. Joseph, MO-KS and Topeka, KS side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 55.5
- St. Joseph Life Score
- B+
- St. Joseph grade
- 62.2
- Topeka Life Score
- A
- Topeka grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, St. Joseph scores higher on 1 (cost of living) and Topeka on 6 (wages, rent, safety, schools, childcare, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
St. Joseph vs Topeka across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ St. Joseph Topeka ◗
cost of living
93
82
wages
32
42
rent
86
87
safety
14
16
schools
13
31
childcare
0
99
environment
87
90
St. Joseph and Topeka differ across eleven dimensions of livability. St. Joseph has a cost-of-living index of 86.4 vs Topeka's 88.8 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $61,551 in St. Joseph and $64,149 in Topeka. A 2-bedroom averages $1,077/mo vs $1,057/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the St. Joseph vs Topeka Comparison
St. Joseph (MO) and Topeka (KS) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 86.4 for St. Joseph against 88.8 for Topeka, a 2.4-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,077/mo in St. Joseph and $1,057/mo in Topeka, a $20/mo difference that compounds to $240 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $61,551 across 49,300 jobs in St. Joseph against $64,149 across 108,560 jobs in Topeka. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in St. Joseph carries the same local purchasing power as $102,822 in Topeka - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 463.3 per 100,000 residents in MO vs 456.2 in KS, with property-crime rates of 1971.6 and 2090.0 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MO lists 2,321 public schools at a 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while KS lists 1,354 schools at 13.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, St. Joseph and Topeka are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Topeka composite
62.2 /100
Grade A · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-2.4 pts
St. Joseph vs Topeka BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$20 /mo
St. Joseph priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
St. Joseph
St. Joseph composite (Grade B+)
Topeka
Topeka composite (Grade A)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | St. Joseph | Topeka |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.4 | 88.8 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 94.0 |
| Services | 88.3 | 88.9 |
| Rents | 55.4 | 65.0 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Topeka gives the same purchasing power as your salary in St. Joseph?
$
Equivalent in Topeka:
$102,822
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (St. Joseph: 86.4, Topeka: 88.8, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | St. Joseph | Topeka |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $774/mo | $792/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $832/mo | $820/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,077/mo | $1,057/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,363/mo | $1,392/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,566/mo | $1,411/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | St. Joseph | Topeka |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $61,551 | $64,149 |
| Total Employment | 49,300 | 108,560 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | St. Joseph (MO) | Topeka (KS) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 463.3 | 456.2 |
| Property Crime | 1971.6 | 2090.0 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MO | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,321 | 1,354 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 12.8:1 | 13.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 3.5% | 0.7% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MO | KS |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 621 | 403 |
| Water Systems | 1,666 | 858 |
| Superfund Sites | 39 | 20 |
| Water Violations | 6,246 | 3,784 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | St. Joseph | Topeka |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 48.0 | 45.0 |
| Good Air Days | 56.3% | 67.2% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 1 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MO | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 201,695 | 84,344 |
| Health-Based Violations | 54,821 | 33,424 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.4% | 99.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MO | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 883 | 365 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MO | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 62/100 | 90/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 50.6 | 29.9 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 50.8 | 34.2 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is St. Joseph more expensive than Topeka? ▼
St. Joseph has a cost of living index of 86.4 compared to Topeka's 88.8 (national average = 100). Topeka is 2.4 points above St. Joseph on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between St. Joseph and Topeka? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,077/mo in St. Joseph vs $1,057/mo in Topeka, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $774/mo to $792/mo.
How do salaries compare between St. Joseph and Topeka? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $61,551 in St. Joseph and $64,149 in Topeka, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in St. Joseph has the same purchasing power as $102,822 in Topeka.
Is St. Joseph or Topeka safer? ▼
At the state level, MO has a violent crime rate of 463.3 per 100,000 residents compared to KS's 456.2 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1971.6 vs 2090.0 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between St. Joseph and Topeka? ▼
MO has 2,321 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1, while KS has 1,354 schools at 13.8:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of MO schools vs 0.7% in KS. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial