Financial Examiners Salary
Financial Examiners in St. Louis, MO-IL make a median of $80,430 a year, or about $38.67 an hour. The range runs from $55K at the entry level to $154K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $84,583 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 24% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $80K 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 financial examiners
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in St. Louis
Pay for financial examiners in St. Louis runs about 15% below the U.S. median of $94K. Housing is manageable: a 2-bedroom at the HUD median costs $1,218/month, 23.6% 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. Lower pay, lower costs, St. Louis can be a reasonable trade-off for financial examinerss who value affordability over top-dollar markets.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for financial examiners in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $89K | $96K |
| Springfield | $76K | $86K |
| Columbia | $77K | $87K |
| Jefferson City | $65K | $74K |
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 financial examiners (10th percentile) start around $55K. Mid-career wages sit at $80K. Top earners bring in $154K or more, a $99K spread from bottom to top.
Financial Examiners pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Financial Examiners salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $199K | +111% | 470 |
| New York | $129K | +37% | 13,480 |
| Connecticut | $121K | +28% | N/A |
| Washington | $114K | +21% | 420 |
| Massachusetts | $111K | +18% | 950 |
| New Jersey | $106K | +13% | 2,190 |
| California | $106K | +13% | 4,200 |
| Minnesota | $104K | +11% | 1,280 |
| Virginia | $104K | +11% | 1,280 |
| Maryland | $103K | +9% | 350 |
| North Carolina | $101K | +7% | 2,610 |
| Colorado | $100K | +6% | 1,910 |
| Oregon | $95K | +0% | 820 |
| Rhode Island | $94K | -0% | 320 |
| Illinois | $93K | -1% | 4,050 |
| Delaware | $92K | -2% | 430 |
| Utah | $92K | -2% | 960 |
| Alaska | $91K | -4% | 50 |
| South Dakota | $89K | -6% | 150 |
| Tennessee | $87K | -7% | 500 |
| South Carolina | $86K | -8% | 480 |
| Wisconsin | $86K | -8% | 580 |
| Mississippi | $85K | -9% | 420 |
| Idaho | $85K | -9% | 210 |
| Nevada | $85K | -10% | 180 |
| Louisiana | $84K | -10% | 240 |
| North Dakota | $83K | -12% | 220 |
| Indiana | $81K | -14% | 420 |
| Montana | $81K | -14% | 140 |
| Maine | $81K | -14% | 230 |
| New Hampshire | $81K | -14% | 130 |
| Oklahoma | $81K | -14% | 400 |
| Kansas | $80K | -15% | 470 |
| Iowa | $80K | -15% | 1,020 |
| Arizona | $80K | -15% | 1,910 |
| Missouri | $80K | -15% | 2,290 |
| Pennsylvania | $79K | -17% | 2,590 |
| Texas | $78K | -17% | 5,230 |
| Georgia | $78K | -17% | 1,450 |
| Kentucky | $76K | -19% | 640 |
| Florida | $76K | -19% | 4,190 |
| Vermont | $75K | -21% | 170 |
| Nebraska | $74K | -21% | 840 |
| Michigan | $71K | -25% | 710 |
| Ohio | $69K | -27% | 3,680 |
| New Mexico | $68K | -28% | 220 |
| Hawaii | $63K | -33% | 270 |
| West Virginia | $61K | -36% | 240 |
| Arkansas | $58K | -39% | 540 |
Showing 1–10 of 49 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track financial examiners salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
Related careers in Business & Finance
Frequently asked questions
Can a financial examiner afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $80K, rent takes 23.6% 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 financial examiners in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new financial examiners typically earn — is $55K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,322/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 37% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is financial examiner a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Local pay runs 15% below the national median — $80K here vs. $94K nationally.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for financial examiners?
St. Louis pays $80K median vs. the U.S. average of $94K — that’s -15%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $85K — below the national median.
How much do financial examiners make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $80,430 a year, that works out to about $39 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $55,370, and experienced financial examiners can clear $153,980. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $80K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,160/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 23.6% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a financial examiners 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 financial examiners salary is worth about $84,583 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do financial examiners 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.