Abilene vs St. Cloud
Metro-area medians — Abilene, TX Metro Area vs St. Cloud, MN Metro Area — not the cities proper.
St. Cloud comes out ahead, winning 6 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.
St. Cloud is both cheaper to live in (about 3% less) and higher-earning (about 19% more) than Abilene. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in St. Cloud.
Their widest everyday difference: Abilene has the tighter job market — 3.2% unemployment versus 3.6%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Abilene leaves you about $2,005/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose St. Cloud for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Median rent
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
More comparisons
Metros closest to Abilene and St. Cloud on cost, income, size, and education.
Abilene vs St. Cloud — frequently asked
- Is Abilene cheaper than St. Cloud?
- St. Cloud is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 3% below Abilene's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Abilene or St. Cloud?
- St. Cloud has the higher median household income — $75,688 versus $63,390 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 19% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Abilene or St. Cloud?
- A paycheck stretches further in St. Cloud. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $86,370 there versus $70,150 in Abilene.
- Which has cheaper rent, Abilene or St. Cloud?
- St. Cloud has cheaper rent — a median of $1,039/mo versus $1,173/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).