Duluth vs Jefferson City
Metro-area medians — Duluth, MN-WI Metro Area vs Jefferson City, MO Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Jefferson City comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 6 clearly-decided measures.
Duluth and Jefferson City cost about the same to live in, but Jefferson City households earn about 6% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Jefferson City.
Their widest everyday difference: Jefferson City has the tighter job market — 2.6% unemployment versus 4.6%.
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, Jefferson City leaves you about $1,725/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 Jefferson City for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Median rent
- + Unemployment
More comparisons
Metros closest to Duluth and Jefferson City on cost, income, size, and education.
Duluth vs Jefferson City — frequently asked
- Is Duluth cheaper than Jefferson City?
- They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Duluth and Jefferson City metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
- Which has higher household income, Duluth or Jefferson City?
- Jefferson City has the higher median household income — $73,164 versus $69,309 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 6% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Duluth or Jefferson City?
- A paycheck stretches further in Jefferson City. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $83,165 there versus $78,079 in Duluth.
- Which has cheaper rent, Duluth or Jefferson City?
- Jefferson City has cheaper rent — a median of $874/mo versus $993/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).