Cost of Living 3rd Quarter
Missouri tied for the fifth lowest cost of living in the United States for the third quarter 2026. In general, the most expensive areas to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas were the Midwest and Southern states. MERIC derives the cost of living index for each state by averaging the indices of participating cities and metropolitan areas in that state. Missouri’s cost of living index for the third quarter 2026 was 88.8.
October Business Index
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October 2026 increased by 1.6 points to 57.8, from 56.2 in September. The Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for the nine-states region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas, rose above growth neutral (expansionary economy) for the ninth straight month. This index measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports. Typically, a score above 50 indicates an expansionary economy, while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Videos
Click on the following link to view instructional videos on how to use and view reports and data on the MERIC website.
