Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners Salary
Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners in St. Louis, MO-IL make a median of $76,310 a year, or about $36.69 an hour. The range runs from $32K at the entry level to $103K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $80,250 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 24.3% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $76K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About court reporters and simultaneous captioners
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What this looks like in St. Louis
Court reporters and simultaneous captioners pay in St. Louis tracks closely to the national median, $76K locally vs. $72K nationwide, a 5% difference. Housing is manageable: a 2-bedroom at the HUD median costs $1,218/month, 24.7% of take-home, well inside the 30% guideline. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for court reporters and simultaneous captioners in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $77K | $74K |
| Oklahoma City | $61K | $68K |
| Louisville/Jefferson County | $49K | $53K |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines | $82K | $89K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level court reporters and simultaneous captioners (10th percentile) start around $32K. Mid-career wages sit at $76K. Top earners bring in $103K or more, a $71K spread from bottom to top.
Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $116K | +60% | 1,400 |
| Texas | $110K | +52% | 1,270 |
| Washington | $108K | +49% | 80 |
| New York | $102K | +41% | 1,400 |
| Iowa | $94K | +30% | 160 |
| Rhode Island | $92K | +27% | 60 |
| Minnesota | $84K | +16% | 320 |
| Colorado | $83K | +15% | 260 |
| Massachusetts | $80K | +10% | 50 |
| Arizona | $78K | +7% | 70 |
| Nebraska | $76K | +6% | 60 |
| Illinois | $76K | +5% | 770 |
| South Dakota | $75K | +4% | 40 |
| North Carolina | $74K | +2% | 110 |
| Missouri | $73K | +0% | 270 |
| North Dakota | $71K | -3% | 60 |
| Idaho | $69K | -4% | 40 |
| Alabama | $67K | -7% | 350 |
| Ohio | $67K | -7% | 340 |
| Mississippi | $67K | -7% | 40 |
| Wisconsin | $66K | -9% | 60 |
| Pennsylvania | $65K | -10% | 670 |
| Louisiana | $63K | -12% | 270 |
| Montana | $63K | -13% | 50 |
| Nevada | $62K | -14% | 70 |
| Michigan | $62K | -15% | 260 |
| South Carolina | $61K | -16% | 140 |
| Oklahoma | $61K | -16% | 180 |
| Connecticut | $59K | -18% | 210 |
| Maryland | $59K | -18% | N/A |
| Arkansas | $59K | -18% | 130 |
| West Virginia | $57K | -22% | 90 |
| Virginia | $55K | -24% | 320 |
| Indiana | $55K | -24% | 890 |
| Kentucky | $50K | -30% | 80 |
| Florida | $49K | -32% | 1,110 |
| Maine | $49K | -32% | 30 |
| Delaware | $45K | -38% | 40 |
Showing 1–10 of 38 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track court reporters and simultaneous captioners salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a court reporters and simultaneous captioner afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $76K, rent takes 24.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for court reporters and simultaneous captioners in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new court reporters and simultaneous captioners typically earn — is $32K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,927/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 63% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is court reporters and simultaneous captioner a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $76K locally vs. $72K nationally, a 5% difference.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for court reporters and simultaneous captioners?
St. Louis pays $76K median vs. the U.S. average of $72K — that’s +5%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $80K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do court reporters and simultaneous captioners make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $76,310 a year, that works out to about $37 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $32,120, and experienced court reporters and simultaneous captioners can clear $103,190. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $76K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,935/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 24.7% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a court reporters and simultaneous captioners salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median court reporters and simultaneous captioners salary is worth about $80,250 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do court reporters and simultaneous captioners get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.