Rank #24 of 33
St. Louis, MO
St. Louis, MO-IL
9.0
Tacos per hour at the local median wage
$2.57
Avg taco price
$23.21
Median hourly wage (2024)
$3.25
Fast-casual taqueria
$1.89
Taco Bell crunchy taco
St. Louis sits below the national average. An hour of local work buys 9.0 tacos here, compared with 9.3 tacos per hour across the 33-city index (−0.3 vs national average).
Local note
St. Louis's taco scene is centered on Cherokee Street, the city's Latin food corridor, with anchors like Taqueria El Bronco serving the area for decades. Prices are typical of Midwest taqueria pricing, holding mostly in the $3–3.50 range.
Where the numbers come from
Fast-casual: Cherokee Street corridor — Taqueria El Bronco (2817 Cherokee), Mestiza (opened late 2024), El Mezon Taco Truck. Chain: Taco Bell crunchy taco $1.89 (mid-low cost market). Caveat: per-taco published prices for STL taquerias are thin online; figure represents Midwest taqueria norms.
Average taco price ($2.57) is $0.20 below the national average of $2.77.
How this is calculated. Tacos per hour = median hourly wage ÷ average taco price.
Average taco price is the mean of the fast-casual taqueria anchor and the local Taco Bell crunchy taco price.
Wages come from BLS OEWS, May 2024, MSA-level median for all occupations.
Full methodology.