Cost of Living Data Series

Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the first quarter in 2024. 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 first quarter 2024 was 88.5.

Cost of Living Map of United States Image

Cities across the nation participate in the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) survey on a volunteer basis. Price information in the survey is governed by C2ER collection guidelines which strive for uniformity.

 

2024  First Quarter Average Cost of Living

RankStateIndexGroceryHousingUtilitiesTransportationHealth Misc.
1West Virginia 83.899.657.494.592.8101.390.9
2Oklahoma 86.495.468.997.389.395.292.0
3Kansas 87.395.674.596.287.298.690.5
4Alabama 88.197.169.4100.791.287.295.6
5Mississippi 88.396.175.290.789.7100.793.2
6Missouri 88.595.577.798.584.091.293.0
7Arkansas 88.595.074.990.788.288.296.7
8Iowa 90.196.775.193.596.996.395.7
9Indiana 90.397.677.890.494.897.395.1
10Tennessee 90.397.182.888.689.190.294.5
11Georgia 91.397.779.794.097.799.994.4
12Michigan 91.898.377.097.098.390.998.0
13Louisiana 92.195.884.679.795.494.598.8
14Texas 92.496.282.1103.692.796.196.0
15Kentucky 92.699.778.287.195.1106.8100.3
16North Dakota 92.894.582.283.498.7109.399.3
17Illinois 93.397.782.298.097.599.997.1
18Nebraska 93.498.280.790.596.1102.4100.8
19South Dakota 93.497.688.185.6102.5102.094.0
20New Mexico 93.695.888.186.592.5101.098.4
21Ohio 94.099.184.0101.896.294.697.4
22Montana 94.699.784.883.9107.5108.997.1
23Minnesota 94.8102.381.596.794.2106.3100.8
24Wyoming 95.1100.487.685.588.5105.9102.1
25Pennsylvania 95.698.485.8103.5107.588.497.8
26Wisconsin 97.098.291.097.992.6109.6100.9
27South Carolina 97.699.690.7111.295.192.9100.5
28North Carolina 98.598.492.998.896.2105.0102.9
29Delaware 100.9101.997.097.9103.3101.7103.6
30Idaho 101.1103.5100.978.4109.897.5103.8
31Virginia 101.399.9107.099.994.3102.099.6
32Colorado 101.8100.4108.290.393.6105.5102.1
33Puerto Rico 102.6112.7102.1160.489.669.692.0
34Nevada 102.7104.0109.0107.7117.590.692.3
35Utah 102.998.1111.994.499.989.5102.3
36Florida 103.1104.7108.4105.9101.1100.698.3
37Arizona 110.5102.0128.5101.1104.993.6105.6
38Maine 111.3100.7121.9110.9111.0114.9106.7
39Connecticut 113.2102.0117.8133.8107.6107.4111.4
40Rhode Island 113.4101.4115.4141.999.1105.2115.4
41New Hampshire 113.699.6116.5103.7112.3103.5121.7
42New Jersey 113.7103.5135.6100.1106.9105.0106.6
43Oregon 114.1108.5135.089.1121.3112.4103.5
44Vermont 114.7105.8128.8112.6100.8109.8112.5
45Washington 115.1108.3127.291.3127.1117.9109.8
46Maryland 116.2105.1141.6109.5104.7100.7107.2
47New York 123.1103.3166.2102.3109.9105.7107.8
48Alaska 125.1126.5120.8148.9117.0153.1120.6
49Massachusetts 144.3104.0212.8149.0113.8123.6116.1
50District of Columbia 144.6105.2235.0107.9106.8116.0111.8
51California 145.0112.3209.7135.8141.3105.7114.1
52Hawaii 186.2124.1313.2176.4138.8122.0133.5
US ***100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

All of the participating Missouri cities had a composite index below the national average for the first quarter in 2024. The city with the lowest cost of living index for this time period was Springfield with an index of 85.2 The city with the highest cost of living was Kansas City, with an index of 91.3. 

Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities - First Quarter 2024

MetroIndexGroceryHousingUtilitiesTransport.HealthMisc.
Springfield, MO   85.294.073.682.592.891.790.7
 Joplin, Mo86.793.367.1110.883.593.194.2
Missouri 88.595.577.798.584.091.293.0
St. Louis MO-IL 89.598.281.398.889.386.790.7
 Columbia, MO89.795.377.395.579.2102.197.9
Kansas City MO-KS91.396.789.2104.785.981.190.4
US Average  100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0
Cost of Living Map of United States Chart Image JPG
 

See https://www.c2er.org/ for details and more data products.