St. Louis vs Waco
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Waco edges it, 63 to 62, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Gateway Arch, cheap brick housing and a free zoo in Forest Park
Full St. Louis profile →Plan a trip to St. Louis →Brazos River city of Baylor and Magnolia, halfway from Dallas to Austin
Full Waco profile →Plan a trip to Waco →Where they differ
- Internet. Waco leads on internet, 86 to 79, against St. Louis. Measured download: 76.1 Mbps vs 107.6 Mbps.
Where they are close. Within five points on getting there & around, air quality, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick St. Louis if you want
- no clear edge over Waco in the data
Pick Waco if you want
- to spend about $76 less a month
- faster internet (107.6 Mbps measured)
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 23 | 24 ✓ |
| Safety | 51 | 51 |
| Healthcare | 85 | 85 |
| Internet | 79 | 86 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 61 | 61 |
| Getting there & around | 29 | 32 ✓ |
| Climate | 42 | 42 |
| Air quality | 90 | 92 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 96 | 96 |
Cost
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one person | $2,853 | $2,777 ✓ |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 5.76 | 5.76 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 60.3 | 60.3 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 88 | 88 |
| Life expectancy | 78.5 yrs | 78.5 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 76.1 Mbps | 107.6 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 11.2 Mbps | 18.7 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | home country | home country |
| Entry, EU passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
| Entry, UK passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
Getting there and around
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 64 | 188 ✓ |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 ✓ | 2 |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 3 ✓ | 1 |
Climate and air
| Metric | St. Louis | Waco |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 5 | 5 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 9.4 µg/m³ | 8.7 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, St. Louis or Waco?
- Waco is cheaper: about $2,777 per month versus $2,853 for one person.
- Is St. Louis or Waco safer?
- St. Louis and Waco score the same on safety (51), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, St. Louis or Waco?
- Waco: a measured median of 107.6 Mbps versus 76.1 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); OpenFlights airports and routes; Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); Regional Price Parities by metropolitan area, 2024 (all items); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.