Cost of Living Data Series

Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the third quarter of 2023. 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 2023 was 88.3.

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.

Cost of Living Map of United States Image of Map

2023 Third Quarter 2023 Cost of Living

Rank State Index  Grocery Housing Utilities Transportation Health  Misc.
1 West Virginia  85.2 98.0 62.3 96.0 91.6 95.0 92.3
2 Mississippi  86.7 96.8 72.6 87.0 85.3 98.5 92.4
3 Oklahoma  86.8 94.2 71.1 94.5 94.1 92.6 91.8
4 Kansas  87.4 96.5 68.2 104.9 89.6 97.9 92.2
5 Alabama  88.2 95.8 70.5 101.8 89.1 85.8 96.0
6 Missouri  88.3 95.2 76.4 101.5 88.8 90.1 91.2
7 Arkansas  88.5 94.8 73.4 91.5 89.9 85.8 97.3
8 Iowa  89.9 96.3 72.6 95.7 98.8 101.4 95.9
9 Tennessee  90.4 96.8 82.2 93.0 87.1 87.9 94.8
10 Louisiana  90.7 94.2 80.5 83.0 94.4 99.3 97.4
11 Georgia  90.9 97.5 77.8 88.3 92.7 99.5 97.7
12 Nebraska  91.0 95.6 78.1 87.8 98.9 99.7 97.1
13 Michigan  91.0 100.1 77.8 100.0 97.0 94.1 93.3
14 Indiana  91.1 99.4 78.6 102.0 94.0 96.0 93.3
15 Illinois  91.8 98.6 78.8 88.3 101.1 95.9 97.3
16 South Dakota  91.8 95.6 85.8 86.2 96.3 99.6 94.3
17 Ohio  92.2 100.4 78.4 98.0 96.0 101.2 96.1
18 Texas  93.0 96.0 84.1 101.5 91.3 93.4 97.1
19 Wyoming  93.2 102.5 80.7 91.9 95.9 100.5 97.8
20 Kentucky  93.2 100.8 79.1 98.7 93.9 88.4 100.5
21 New Mexico  93.9 96.1 87.0 92.8 96.2 98.4 97.9
22 South Carolina  94.3 98.0 80.7 112.0 91.3 91.8 100.1
23 North Dakota  94.3 93.7 83.2 96.3 101.3 112.1 98.9
24 Minnesota  94.4 98.8 82.4 95.2 96.9 109.4 99.2
25 Pennsylvania  94.8 98.3 82.1 106.6 104.1 92.3 98.5
26 Wisconsin  95.4 99.9 84.4 99.5 99.4 109.1 98.4
27 North Carolina  96.2 98.2 92.3 92.4 92.0 106.9 99.1
28 Idaho  99.0 100.5 94.7 88.4 106.8 100.5 102.6
29 Delaware  100.8 101.5 95.9 99.6 99.6 102.3 104.8
30 Florida  101.0 99.7 107.4 98.9 97.2 97.1 98.2
31 Nevada  101.1 104.0 106.5 100.5 118.7 89.2 92.5
32 Virginia  101.4 100.6 105.6 102.9 92.6 101.8 100.0
33 Montana  103.1 102.4 102.5 94.3 115.0 97.7 104.2
34 Utah  104.5 99.7 113.6 97.7 109.3 91.5 101.6
35 Colorado  106.9 103.8 117.1 93.1 106.3 99.0 104.7
36 Arizona  110.0 102.9 128.8 95.0 105.5 95.2 104.9
37 New Jersey  110.3 101.2 126.4 109.8 103.0 100.4 104.6
38 Maine  110.7 102.9 120.5 106.2 109.7 111.2 107.6
39 Rhode Island  112.0 103.4 120.7 110.4 89.8 107.0 115.6
40 Connecticut  113.9 103.5 123.0 138.6 104.6 108.8 107.6
41 Oregon  114.7 109.6 134.4 98.0 125.9 110.5 102.9
42 Maryland  114.8 108.4 136.9 112.3 98.5 101.4 106.0
43 Vermont  114.9 105.6 135.1 118.2 101.0 107.3 106.1
44 New Hampshire  115.6 102.1 113.4 127.9 112.4 107.5 122.4
45 Washington  115.7 110.2 128.0 93.5 131.3 119.7 109.6
46 Alaska  126.4 121.2 123.1 154.1 119.1 148.9 122.8
47 New York  126.5 104.1 177.0 103.0 107.3 108.4 108.5
48 California  136.4 112.3 192.7 122.8 127.1 109.1 110.5
49 District of Columbia  145.3 107.7 230.2 110.1 108.2 116.5 115.0
50 Massachusetts  148.0 105.9 227.1 138.5 117.6 115.3 116.7
51 Hawaii  179.2 111.3 306.3 163.2 126.2 125.8 130.3
US  *** 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 the third quarter 2023. 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 Kansas City, with an index of 94.4. 

Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities - Third Quarter 2023

Metro Index Grocery Housing Utilities Transport. Health Misc.
Joplin, Mo 84.0 92.3 61.1 114.5 88.6 87.6 89.4
Springfield, MO      84.5 94.0 70.8 81.5 88.0 95.3 90.0
 Missouri  88.3 95.2 76.4 101.5 88.8 90.1 91.2
St. Louis MO-IL  88.7 96.9 74.8 102.9 91.8 88.2 92.0
 Columbia, MO 90.1 96.0 81.1 95.5

87.2

96.2 93.2
Kansas City MO-KS 94.4 96.6 94.4 112.9 88.5 83.2 91.6
US Average   100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

 

Cost of Living for Selected Missouri Cities Third Quarter 2023

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