Tapers Salary
In St. Louis, MO-IL, tapers earn $81,400 at the median, or about $39.14 an hour. The range runs from $49K at the entry level to $84K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $85,603 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 23.7% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $81K 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 tapers
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What this looks like in St. Louis
St. Louis sits well above the national pay line for tapers, local pay runs about 19% higher than the U.S. median of $68K. Housing is manageable: a 2-bedroom at the HUD median costs $1,218/month, 23.4% 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. Combined with manageable housing costs, St. Louis offers a genuinely strong financial position for taperss at the median.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for tapers in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | $81K | $88K |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $113K | $109K |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines | $67K | $73K |
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 tapers (10th percentile) start around $49K. Mid-career wages sit at $81K. Top earners bring in $84K or more, a $35K spread from bottom to top.
Tapers pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Tapers salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $113K | +66% | 320 |
| Hawaii | $95K | +40% | 170 |
| Pennsylvania | $82K | +20% | 60 |
| Washington | $79K | +16% | 1,550 |
| Minnesota | $78K | +14% | 220 |
| New York | $78K | +14% | N/A |
| Kansas | $74K | +9% | 30 |
| Ohio | $74K | +8% | 110 |
| California | $73K | +8% | 4,540 |
| Oregon | $71K | +5% | 500 |
| Iowa | $67K | -2% | 100 |
| Massachusetts | $65K | -5% | 510 |
| Michigan | $64K | -7% | 190 |
| Connecticut | $64K | -7% | 80 |
| Missouri | $63K | -8% | 220 |
| Nevada | $61K | -11% | 1,190 |
| Wisconsin | $58K | -15% | 70 |
| Idaho | $58K | -15% | 310 |
| Arizona | $56K | -18% | 780 |
| Colorado | $55K | -20% | N/A |
| Utah | $53K | -22% | 210 |
| Florida | $49K | -28% | N/A |
| New Mexico | $48K | -29% | 60 |
| North Carolina | $46K | -33% | N/A |
| Texas | $44K | -36% | 220 |
| Indiana | $43K | -37% | 120 |
| West Virginia | $42K | -39% | 30 |
Showing 1–10 of 27 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track tapers 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 taper afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $81K, rent takes 23.4% 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 tapers in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new tapers typically earn — is $49K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,968/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 41% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is taper a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Local pay is 19% above the national median — $81K here vs. $68K nationally.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for tapers?
St. Louis pays $81K median vs. the U.S. average of $68K — that’s +19%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $86K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do tapers make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $81,400 a year, that works out to about $39 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $49,460, and experienced tapers can clear $84,090. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $81K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,213/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 23.4% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a tapers 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 tapers salary is worth about $85,603 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do tapers 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.