Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the Third Quarter 2025. 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 Q3 2025 was 89.0.
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.
2025 Quarter 3 Cost of Living
| Rank | State | Index | Grocery | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 84.4 | 94.7 | 67.9 | 98.6 | 87.7 | 93.1 | 87.9 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 85.5 | 94.3 | 70.2 | 88.9 | 86.9 | 93.6 | 91.7 |
| 3 | Alabama | 87.9 | 97.7 | 71.1 | 97.1 | 88.5 | 88.6 | 94.8 |
| 4 | West Virginia | 88.1 | 96.1 | 70.8 | 89.2 | 97.7 | 91.1 | 95.8 |
| 5 | Kansas | 88.9 | 95.5 | 77.5 | 97.7 | 92.3 | 93.2 | 91.6 |
| 6 | Missouri | 89.0 | 95.2 | 77.8 | 91.3 | 85.9 | 96.6 | 94.8 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 89.3 | 92.3 | 77.9 | 95.7 | 88.6 | 85.8 | 96.4 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 90.3 | 96.8 | 83.0 | 87.7 | 87.6 | 87.7 | 95.2 |
| 9 | Iowa | 90.3 | 97.9 | 77.2 | 87.2 | 101.3 | 96.7 | 94.9 |
| 10 | Indiana | 90.6 | 99.7 | 76.2 | 96.1 | 98.6 | 100.7 | 93.6 |
| 11 | Texas | 90.8 | 94.6 | 78.7 | 101.9 | 92.5 | 96.1 | 95.2 |
| 12 | North Dakota | 91.3 | 94.3 | 76.5 | 81.1 | 98.5 | 109.2 | 100.4 |
| 13 | Nebraska | 91.6 | 98.2 | 79.0 | 88.9 | 91.7 | 100.9 | 98.4 |
| 14 | South Dakota | 91.8 | 97.2 | 84.9 | 85.8 | 95.2 | 110.1 | 93.1 |
| 15 | Georgia | 91.8 | 97.8 | 78.8 | 99.5 | 94.0 | 97.2 | 96.7 |
| 16 | Kentucky | 91.9 | 99.7 | 75.0 | 88.4 | 96.6 | 92.9 | 102.0 |
| 17 | New Mexico | 92.5 | 96.4 | 85.6 | 83.7 | 92.3 | 101.4 | 97.4 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 92.5 | 100.0 | 79.8 | 96.0 | 95.5 | 93.2 | 98.1 |
| 19 | Louisiana | 92.7 | 95.9 | 84.1 | 84.8 | 96.0 | 92.3 | 99.5 |
| 20 | Ohio | 92.8 | 98.7 | 84.4 | 100.3 | 93.2 | 90.7 | 95.5 |
| 21 | Minnesota | 94.2 | 100.5 | 80.6 | 96.1 | 96.6 | 103.9 | 100.1 |
| 22 | Michigan | 94.7 | 99.1 | 85.4 | 97.0 | 98.9 | 97.7 | 98.4 |
| 23 | Wyoming | 95.3 | 99.8 | 87.2 | 101.3 | 93.3 | 101.3 | 98.2 |
| 24 | Illinois | 95.9 | 100.9 | 84.9 | 100.2 | 103.8 | 102.0 | 99.1 |
| 25 | Pennsylvania | 97.1 | 100.0 | 87.0 | 108.8 | 104.3 | 94.4 | 99.7 |
| 26 | North Carolina | 97.4 | 100.3 | 92.2 | 94.4 | 93.2 | 107.1 | 101.0 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | 97.7 | 100.1 | 97.8 | 89.2 | 97.4 | 102.3 | 98.2 |
| 28 | Nevada | 98.6 | 101.8 | 108.0 | 82.8 | 117.1 | 89.5 | 89.8 |
| 29 | Idaho | 99.0 | 96.9 | 102.3 | 70.5 | 109.2 | 105.0 | 100.6 |
| 30 | Utah | 99.1 | 95.7 | 107.6 | 82.7 | 104.7 | 89.7 | 97.5 |
| 31 | Florida | 99.5 | 105.7 | 99.1 | 96.6 | 94.9 | 94.0 | 99.7 |
| 32 | Virginia | 100.1 | 100.6 | 99.7 | 98.4 | 99.2 | 103.9 | 100.3 |
| 33 | Puerto Rico | 100.8 | 105.5 | 101.1 | 159.2 | 86.4 | 67.7 | 92.6 |
| 34 | Colorado | 102.7 | 100.9 | 106.8 | 87.8 | 97.9 | 105.4 | 104.4 |
| 35 | Delaware | 102.8 | 103.8 | 102.1 | 97.1 | 100.0 | 103.3 | 104.8 |
| 36 | Arizona | 108.8 | 100.4 | 125.3 | 101.2 | 100.2 | 93.6 | 105.2 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 109.2 | 99.8 | 113.9 | 113.0 | 103.8 | 106.1 | 110.4 |
| 38 | Montana | 109.8 | 100.2 | 123.3 | 83.6 | 106.0 | 111.4 | 110.2 |
| 39 | Oregon | 111.8 | 106.7 | 122.4 | 96.6 | 126.3 | 116.5 | 104.6 |
| 40 | Rhode Island | 113.4 | 105.6 | 120.4 | 127.8 | 102.5 | 103.5 | 111.8 |
| 41 | Vermont | 113.7 | 107.6 | 128.7 | 113.4 | 104.1 | 113.0 | 106.7 |
| 42 | Washington | 113.9 | 106.5 | 120.1 | 99.5 | 130.4 | 114.1 | 111.3 |
| 43 | Connecticut | 114.1 | 107.0 | 124.1 | 125.0 | 103.9 | 113.4 | 109.1 |
| 44 | Maine | 114.2 | 102.4 | 139.6 | 119.4 | 102.1 | 114.9 | 100.4 |
| 45 | New Jersey | 114.6 | 104.4 | 139.6 | 102.1 | 103.9 | 113.7 | 104.4 |
| 46 | Maryland | 118.9 | 107.0 | 147.5 | 113.4 | 100.0 | 108.2 | 108.3 |
| 47 | New York | 126.6 | 103.5 | 178.6 | 104.4 | 105.8 | 112.9 | 106.7 |
| 48 | Alaska | 127.7 | 124.4 | 126.1 | 155.5 | 120.0 | 142.6 | 123.8 |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 135.2 | 106.5 | 199.4 | 104.6 | 103.6 | 122.8 | 112.2 |
| 50 | California | 136.7 | 107.5 | 181.8 | 144.9 | 136.2 | 104.1 | 115.3 |
| 51 | Massachusetts | 150.8 | 102.4 | 232.9 | 155.4 | 105.9 | 133.9 | 117.3 |
| 52 | Hawaii | 179.7 | 130.5 | 298.6 | 185.3 | 137.8 | 128.1 | 120.1 |
| ** | U.S. | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
All of the participating Missouri cities had a composite index below the national average for Q3 2025. The city with the lowest cost of living index for this time period was Joplin with an index of 84.0. The city with the highest cost of living was Springfield, with an index of 92.6.
Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities - Q3 2025
| Metro | Index | Grocery | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin MO | 84.0 | 92.0 | 61.9 | 96.8 | 81.0 | 94.9 | 94.8 |
| Missouri | 89.0 | 95.2 | 77.8 | 91.3 | 85.9 | 96.6 | 94.8 |
| St. Louis MO-IL | 89.4 | 99.8 | 80.1 | 96.2 | 85.3 | 89.2 | 91.9 |
| Columbia MO | 90.1 | 96.5 | 78.8 | 92.7 | 86.6 | 99.3 | 95.7 |
| Springfield MO | 92.6 | 92.4 | 90.3 | 79.6 | 90.8 | 102.9 | 96.8 |
See https://www.c2er.org/ for details and more data products.