In the first quarter of 2008, Missouri had the 5th lowest cost of living in the United States. In general, the most expensive areas to live are New England, Alaska, Hawaii, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas continue to be 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 for the first quarter of 2008 was 90.0.
Cities across the nation participate in ACCRA's survey on a volunteer basis. Price information in the survey is governed by ACCRA collection guidelines which strive for uniformity.
| FIRST QUARTER 2008 COST OF LIVING FIGURES | ||||||||
STATE |
RANK | INDEX | GROCERIES | HOUSING | UTILITIES | TRANSPORTATION | HEALTH CARE | MISC GOODS |
| AL | 10 | 91.8 | 98.6 | 79 | 91.6 | 98.7 | 90.5 | 98.9 |
| AK | 44 | 127.7 | 139 | 134.4 | 141.7 | 108.7 | 131.3 | 119 |
| AZ | 35 | 104 | 105.8 | 109 | 97.3 | 100 | 99.4 | 102.5 |
| AR | 9 | 91.6 | 95.6 | 79.2 | 103.9 | 95.8 | 91.7 | 96.1 |
| CA | 50 | 139.4 | 119 | 208.7 | 96.7 | 111.3 | 111.7 | 109.8 |
| CO | 30 | 103 | 107.6 | 107.4 | 92.2 | 98.7 | 104.1 | 101.7 |
| CT | 48 | 131.4 | 122.9 | 160.9 | 136.5 | 108.8 | 115 | 115.7 |
| DE | 31 | 103.1 | 107.3 | 91 | 123.7 | 102 | 111.5 | 105.7 |
| DC | 49 | 138 | 107.4 | 218.2 | 102.4 | 105.9 | 108.6 | 101.7 |
| FL | 36 | 105.1 | 102.8 | 110.7 | 98.9 | 106.1 | 99.6 | 103.3 |
| GA | 12 | 92.1 | 100.4 | 79.5 | 89.3 | 101 | 101.6 | 97.1 |
| HI | 51 | 165.3 | 164 | 249.1 | 138.5 | 117.1 | 109.8 | 120.5 |
| ID | 7 | 91.2 | 94.3 | 83.6 | 90.5 | 96.2 | 93.3 | 95.2 |
| IL | 24 | 96.5 | 96.9 | 89.2 | 107.9 | 101.8 | 100.7 | 97.1 |
| IN | 17 | 93.8 | 95.6 | 86.9 | 96.1 | 98.5 | 96.1 | 96.9 |
| IA | 14 | 92.8 | 90.7 | 85.1 | 101.4 | 99.4 | 94.9 | 95.7 |
| KS | 6 | 90.4 | 90.5 | 83.7 | 93.4 | 95.1 | 89.5 | 94.1 |
| KY | 11 | 92 | 90.1 | 81.5 | 104.5 | 93.8 | 93.4 | 97.7 |
| LA | 18 | 93.9 | 94.5 | 90.1 | 86.4 | 99.5 | 94.1 | 97.6 |
| ME | 39 | 115.7 | 99.4 | 133.7 | 131.1 | 100.3 | 104.6 | 107.1 |
| MD | 45 | 128 | 107 | 177.4 | 122.6 | 109.5 | 106.1 | 101.4 |
| MA | 43 | 122.9 | 112.2 | 143.3 | 124.6 | 108.4 | 125.3 | 112.4 |
| MI | 23 | 96.3 | 94.9 | 97.4 | 101.2 | 98 | 94.3 | 94.1 |
| MN | 33 | 103.7 | 106.7 | 102.4 | 104.6 | 99.2 | 102.1 | 105.1 |
| MS | 13 | 92.1 | 94.3 | 82.2 | 108.1 | 96.2 | 93.9 | 93.8 |
| MO | 5 | 90 | 91.9 | 78.8 | 94.2 | 94.2 | 93.9 | 96.3 |
| MT | 34 | 103.9 | 111.5 | 105.9 | 101.4 | 95.6 | 102.1 | 102.9 |
| NE | 3 | 89.5 | 95 | 79.6 | 92.7 | 94.8 | 91.2 | 93.4 |
| NV | 37 | 110.7 | 104.3 | 128.8 | 99.4 | 102.3 | 107.4 | 103.2 |
| NH | 40 | 116.5 | 107.7 | 125.6 | 105.7 | 106.2 | 127.7 | 116.8 |
| NJ | 46 | 128.5 | 115.1 | 162.9 | 111.6 | 102.2 | 108 | 118.7 |
| NM | 26 | 100.9 | 100.2 | 103.6 | 97.3 | 98.8 | 101 | 100.4 |
| NY | 47 | 130.6 | 113.4 | 168.6 | 132.2 | 110.8 | 105.8 | 111.9 |
| NC | 25 | 96.7 | 101.9 | 90.1 | 94.5 | 98.2 | 104.5 | 99.7 |
| ND | 20 | 94.2 | 99.2 | 84.9 | 103.4 | 94.8 | 94.8 | 97.8 |
| OH | 15 | 93.3 | 96.9 | 79.7 | 104.8 | 100.6 | 96.5 | 97.9 |
| OK | 1 | 87.9 | 93.7 | 74.7 | 92.2 | 94.5 | 97.5 | 93.2 |
| OR | 38 | 114.4 | 105.7 | 132.1 | 91.7 | 103.8 | 111.6 | 112.3 |
| PA | 28 | 101.7 | 101.1 | 102.9 | 107.1 | 100.3 | 92.7 | 100.7 |
| RI | 42 | 122.5 | 112.5 | 134.1 | 132 | 103.7 | 125.8 | 118.7 |
| SC | 21 | 95.4 | 102.3 | 84.6 | 96.1 | 97.9 | 102 | 100.8 |
| SD | 8 | 91.4 | 103.8 | 77.8 | 95.3 | 94.1 | 96.7 | 96.1 |
| TN | 2 | 88.7 | 92.7 | 75.8 | 87.8 | 95.4 | 93 | 96.5 |
| TX | 4 | 89.5 | 89.6 | 77.4 | 97.1 | 97.4 | 96.1 | 94.7 |
| UT | 16 | 93.6 | 98.5 | 90.4 | 80.2 | 97.3 | 91.3 | 97.7 |
| VT | 41 | 120.1 | 113.7 | 129.4 | 131 | 110 | 103.7 | 116.1 |
| VA | 29 | 101.8 | 98 | 106.7 | 101.6 | 96.8 | 100.4 | 100.8 |
| WA | 32 | 103.1 | 107 | 103.7 | 87 | 103.8 | 114.4 | 104.4 |
| WV | 19 | 94 | 93.8 | 92.5 | 87.7 | 102.1 | 97.2 | 94.4 |
| WI | 22 | 96.2 | 92.5 | 90.6 | 104 | 104.1 | 101.6 | 97.1 |
| WY | 27 | 101.5 | 112.6 | 106.5 | 104.7 | 91.7 | 98.3 | 95.2 |
Each of the participating Missouri cities had a composite index below the national average in the 1st quarter of 2008. These cities ranged from an index of 82.2 in Joplin to 96.1 in Kansas City. In general, the major metropolitan areas are the most expensive areas in Missouri to Reside.
Cost Of Living Indices For Participating Missouri Cities Ist Quarter 2008 |
|||||||
| City | Composite Index | Groceries | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health Care | Misc |
| Columbia MO | 91.8 | 91.8 | 84.5 | 95.5 | 95.3 | 93.4 | 95.9 |
| Jefferson City MO | 88.5 | 88.9 | 73 | 97.1 | 97.7 | 91.5 | 96.3 |
| Joplin MO | 82.2 | 81.7 | 75.5 | 86.2 | 85.3 | 82.2 | 86.3 |
| Kansas City MO-KS | 96.1 | 90.5 | 88.8 | 105.4 | 99.2 | 98 | 100.7 |
| St. Joseph MO | 93.6 | 93 | 81.2 | 95.3 | 92.4 | 103.7 | 103.7 |
| St. Louis MO-IL | 90 | 99 | 78.3 | 96.9 | 95.9 | 95.9 | 92.4 |
| Springfield MO | 87.9 | 98.5 | 70.5 | 82.8 | 93.5 | 92.7 | 98.6 |
| Missouri | 90 | 91.9 | 78.8 | 94.2 | 94.2 | 93.9 | 96.3 |
| U.S AVERAGE | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
*ACCRA has changed its name to C2ER. See http://www.c2er.org/ for details and more data products.
