Cost of Living Data Series

Missouri had the fourth lowest cost of living in the United States for the first 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 first quarter 2023 was 88.4.

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 jpg

2023 First Quarter 2023 Cost of Living

Rank State Index  Grocery Housing Utilities Transportation Health  Misc.
1 Mississippi  85.3 97.1 68.6 86.1 88.6 97.6 91.0
2 Oklahoma  86.0 93.8 68.0 98.2 92.3 91.8 91.5
3 Kansas  87.7 96.8 69.4 107.5 88.3 97.1 91.9
4 Missouri  88.4 94.8 77.2 97.7 90.3 89.9 91.6
5 Alabama  88.8 96.4 70.4 103.6 92.0 86.9 96.2
6 Iowa  89.7 96.8 72.4 94.5 100.6 99.7 95.4
7 Nebraska  90.1 95.2 78.4 85.7 101.8 97.1 94.8
8 West Virginia  90.3 97.7 70.9 94.5 97.8 97.0 99.0
9 Arkansas  90.3 95.4 76.3 91.8 92.2 87.2 99.1
10 Tennessee  90.4 97.8 82.9 93.2 90.0 88.1 92.8
11 Illinois  90.8 97.5 78.3 90.9 102.4 95.4 94.3
12 Georgia  91.0 98.9 78.5 84.4 94.5 101.4 97.2
13 Indiana  91.5 98.0 77.0 105.4 95.7 98.9 94.7
14 Louisiana  92.0 95.1 84.7 85.3 97.2 97.9 96.3
15 Michigan  92.7 97.4 80.9 99.6 98.6 94.0 96.8
16 Wyoming  92.8 102.0 80.7 85.7 95.6 98.6 99.0
17 Texas  93.0 94.8 84.2 105.7 92.6 94.1 95.9
18 Kentucky  93.8 101.2 72.5 102.9 97.7 81.8 106.3
19 South Dakota  93.8 98.0 93.9 87.9 93.0 97.0 93.2
20 Ohio  94.0 100.9 80.1 97.2 97.7 96.5 100.1
21 Minnesota  94.1 97.2 82.3 91.5 99.0 111.5 99.6
22 New Mexico  94.2 96.7 87.5 93.2 93.5 99.6 98.3
23 North Dakota  94.6 94.6 84.3 101.8 101.4 111.6 96.9
24 Wisconsin  95.0 97.9 84.4 102.8 98.6 113.7 96.7
25 North Carolina  96.1 99.0 92.1 94.5 93.5 109.5 97.3
26 South Carolina  96.5 100.1 89.4 105.3 91.6 96.7 99.5
27 Puerto Rico  96.6 108.1 84.3 138.7 89.6 71.0 95.6
28 Pennsylvania  99.0 100.9 89.9 105.9 108.2 96.7 102.0
29 Nevada  101.3 102.1 110.7 96.6 117.2 94.9 91.3
30 Utah  101.5 98.3 106.5 93.5 100.9 90.3 102.9
31 Florida  102.3 100.1 110.5 96.7 99.8 96.3 99.4
32 Delaware  102.6 103.0 99.7 97.8 109.5 104.3 103.9
33 Virginia  103.1 100.6 107.7 103.6 96.5 102.6 102.2
34 Montana  103.7 103.0 111.4 91.6 99.4 95.7 103.3
35 Colorado  105.5 100.6 116.1 90.9 107.4 102.0 103.0
36 Idaho  106.1 103.7 113.8 84.6 109.7 101.2 106.3
37 Arizona  107.2 101.8 125.3 94.3 99.2 93.5 102.1
38 Rhode Island  110.5 100.5 114.6 109.7 98.9 107.4 115.2
39 Maine  111.5 101.2 118.9 108.0 112.8 96.2 112.8
40 Connecticut  113.1 99.8 122.7 122.3 102.6 109.7 111.9
41 New Jersey  114.1 103.9 136.8 107.2 106.1 96.1 106.6
42 Vermont  114.9 103.1 131.4 120.8 115.6 106.2 106.1
43 New Hampshire  115.0 102.3 109.8 130.2 113.6 120.6 120.8
44 Oregon  115.1 107.6 139.9 94.0 113.6 101.4 105.8
45 Washington  115.1 109.7 129.4 92.2 117.1 119.8 110.8
46 Maryland  119.5 108.5 152.2 109.2 100.2 96.2 108.5
47 Alaska  124.4 127.4 118.1 148.1 121.9 149.8 118.8
48 New York  125.1 103.0 173.3 102.5 106.7 104.5 109.0
49 California  134.5 112.3 186.5 124.8 124.1 106.4 110.9
50 Massachusetts  148.4 105.0 219.5 126.1 127.5 112.6 125.8
51 District of Columbia  148.7 106.9 241.8 110.2 107.9 104.7 117.7
52 Hawaii  179.0 125.6 309.7 141.1 140.3 118.4 123.8
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 first quarter 2023. The city with the lowest cost of living index for this time period was Joplin with an index of 84.5 The city with the highest cost of living was Kansas City, with an index of 92.9. 

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

Metro Index Grocery Housing Utilities Transport. Health Misc.
Joplin, Mo 84.5 92.7 60.0 106.0 94.7 90.9 91.8
Springfield, MO      85.1 93.4 72.5 91.9 89.2 95.3 90.0
 Missouri  88.4 94.8 77.2 97.7 90.3 89.9 91.6
St. Louis MO-IL  88.6 96.2 76.3 101.6 91.6 87.8 91.1
 Columbia, MO 91.1 96.1 84.4 92.1

89.3

91.0 94.5
Kansas City MO-KS 92.9 95.8 92.8 107.0 86.6 94.4 90.8
US Average   100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

 

Cost of Living for Selected Missouri Cities First Quarter 2023 Bar Chart Jpg

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