Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the third 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 third quarter 2024 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.
2024 Third Quarter Average Cost of Living
| Rank | State | Index | Grocery | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | 84.8 | 98.4 | 61.3 | 96.4 | 93.1 | 96.8 | 91.2 |
| 2 | Kansas | 86.7 | 94.6 | 70.7 | 100.8 | 92.2 | 92.6 | 90.3 |
| 3 | Mississippi | 87.5 | 96.8 | 72.2 | 89.4 | 90.1 | 95.6 | 93.8 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 87.9 | 96.5 | 74.7 | 96.5 | 90.6 | 99.3 | 90.5 |
| 5 | Alabama | 88.8 | 97.8 | 71.4 | 100.5 | 90.3 | 90.1 | 95.8 |
| 6 | Missouri | 89.0 | 97.0 | 78.6 | 98.0 | 88.3 | 91.6 | 91.7 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 89.0 | 95.5 | 75.2 | 90.4 | 91.5 | 85.8 | 97.1 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 90.0 | 97.1 | 82.8 | 86.0 | 88.1 | 87.6 | 94.8 |
| 9 | Iowa | 90.4 | 96.5 | 75.4 | 92.9 | 98.2 | 96.7 | 96.3 |
| 10 | Indiana | 91.3 | 97.0 | 77.3 | 92.1 | 101.6 | 97.7 | 96.1 |
| 11 | Georgia | 91.5 | 97.4 | 79.2 | 100.4 | 95.7 | 97.9 | 94.8 |
| 12 | North Dakota | 92.1 | 96.1 | 79.8 | 81.2 | 100.2 | 105.7 | 99.2 |
| 13 | Michigan | 92.3 | 98.7 | 78.5 | 98.6 | 100.6 | 90.6 | 97.2 |
| 14 | South Dakota | 92.3 | 98.4 | 89.7 | 85.5 | 96.0 | 101.2 | 91.3 |
| 15 | Texas | 92.6 | 95.9 | 81.3 | 107.3 | 92.4 | 94.9 | 96.5 |
| 16 | Nebraska | 92.8 | 99.3 | 79.5 | 87.1 | 97.4 | 101.4 | 99.8 |
| 17 | Kentucky | 92.9 | 99.5 | 77.8 | 85.7 | 100.0 | 101.4 | 101.0 |
| 18 | New Mexico | 92.9 | 97.4 | 84.9 | 82.9 | 89.8 | 105.1 | 99.5 |
| 19 | Louisiana | 93.5 | 96.6 | 84.4 | 81.1 | 97.4 | 95.2 | 101.5 |
| 20 | Montana | 94.0 | 98.7 | 84.6 | 83.0 | 101.8 | 96.6 | 99.8 |
| 21 | Ohio | 94.9 | 98.5 | 87.6 | 95.6 | 96.9 | 97.1 | 98.2 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | 94.9 | 99.1 | 83.5 | 104.4 | 103.9 | 91.7 | 97.7 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 95.2 | 99.6 | 86.4 | 99.3 | 94.2 | 93.4 | 100.0 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 95.3 | 102.0 | 80.3 | 98.0 | 98.3 | 104.9 | 102.0 |
| 25 | Wyoming | 95.4 | 100.6 | 90.1 | 92.0 | 95.0 | 100.5 | 97.9 |
| 26 | Illinois | 95.5 | 98.3 | 84.2 | 99.4 | 107.7 | 100.6 | 98.2 |
| 27 | North Carolina | 97.6 | 98.9 | 95.6 | 95.4 | 91.7 | 104.3 | 100.1 |
| 28 | Maryland | 98.9 | 102.4 | 82.2 | 113.1 | 103.0 | 92.2 | 107.3 |
| 29 | Wisconsin | 99.3 | 98.1 | 98.5 | 86.4 | 101.7 | 105.4 | 102.3 |
| 30 | Nevada | 100.1 | 103.4 | 106.8 | 96.6 | 115.1 | 84.1 | 91.3 |
| 31 | Delaware | 100.2 | 102.1 | 96.5 | 97.3 | 103.0 | 101.5 | 102.2 |
| 32 | Virginia | 100.5 | 99.2 | 103.8 | 98.9 | 96.3 | 106.3 | 99.2 |
| 33 | Idaho | 102.0 | 101.9 | 99.1 | 77.7 | 109.2 | 101.4 | 108.7 |
| 34 | Florida | 102.4 | 106.7 | 107.7 | 98.6 | 98.4 | 95.3 | 99.4 |
| 35 | Puerto Rico | 102.5 | 110.0 | 102.4 | 148.1 | 93.8 | 71.0 | 94.4 |
| 36 | Colorado | 102.7 | 100.7 | 107.6 | 88.6 | 100.8 | 103.5 | 103.7 |
| 37 | Utah | 109.5 | 98.6 | 129.7 | 101.7 | 113.4 | 89.8 | 100.9 |
| 38 | Oregon | 110.0 | 103.0 | 131.7 | 90.9 | 113.3 | 112.0 | 98.4 |
| 39 | New Hampshire | 111.5 | 100.3 | 116.2 | 121.3 | 104.1 | 110.3 | 112.5 |
| 40 | Connecticut | 111.7 | 102.5 | 117.2 | 135.2 | 105.5 | 112.3 | 107.0 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | 112.4 | 102.7 | 114.4 | 141.2 | 96.7 | 107.1 | 113.2 |
| 42 | Arizona | 112.8 | 101.7 | 136.0 | 108.3 | 102.0 | 89.7 | 106.2 |
| 43 | Maine | 113.5 | 101.4 | 135.8 | 111.0 | 107.7 | 112.9 | 102.6 |
| 44 | Washington | 113.6 | 103.5 | 126.7 | 94.4 | 119.9 | 116.4 | 109.7 |
| 45 | Vermont | 114.1 | 106.4 | 133.1 | 110.7 | 95.4 | 113.3 | 108.5 |
| 46 | New Jersey | 114.8 | 103.6 | 138.2 | 100.7 | 106.4 | 106.7 | 107.6 |
| 47 | New York | 123.4 | 103.8 | 170.2 | 97.5 | 108.3 | 111.6 | 105.9 |
| 48 | Alaska | 123.4 | 125.1 | 117.8 | 157.4 | 115.7 | 146.4 | 117.6 |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 138.1 | 104.7 | 213.0 | 100.5 | 108.4 | 114.8 | 112.5 |
| 50 | California | 144.7 | 112.4 | 209.1 | 137.7 | 130.2 | 106.5 | 116.8 |
| 51 | Massachusetts | 146.9 | 104.5 | 226.0 | 146.1 | 109.5 | 130.1 | 113.6 |
| 52 | Hawaii | 184.6 | 135.9 | 302.6 | 210.0 | 133.7 | 123.7 | 124.9 |
| ** | 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 the third quarter in 2024. The city with the lowest cost of living index for this time period was Joplin with an index of 85.2. The city with the highest cost of living was Columbia, with an index of 90.5.
Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities - Third Quarter 2024
| Metro | Index | Grocery | Housing | Utilities | Transport. | Health | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin MO | 85.2 | 94.6 | 68.1 | 108.3 | 81.3 | 94.5 | 89.4 |
| Missouri | 89.0 | 97.0 | 78.6 | 98.0 | 88.3 | 91.6 | 91.7 |
| Springfield MO | 89.6 | 96.2 | 79.7 | 83.0 | 89.8 | 97.3 | 95.5 |
| St. Louis MO-IL | 89.7 | 99.3 | 78.9 | 97.2 | 95.1 | 83.4 | 91.8 |
| Kansas City MO-KS | 90.1 | 98.1 | 84.2 | 104.7 | 88.8 | 83.4 | 88.9 |
| Columbia MO | 90.5 | 96.7 | 82.1 | 96.8 | 86.7 | 99.4 | 93.1 |
See https://www.c2er.org/ for details and more data products.