Missouri tied for the fifth lowest cost of living in the United States for the third quarter 2026. 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 2026 was 88.8.
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 Third Quarter 2026
| Rank | State | Index | Grocery | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 83.8 | 94.5 | 66.8 | 97.5 | 86.3 | 95.8 | 88.2 |
| 2 | Mississippi | 86.6 | 94.0 | 71.3 | 94.9 | 90.2 | 86.7 | 93.6 |
| 3 | Alabama | 86.9 | 96.4 | 69.7 | 95.9 | 89.7 | 87.5 | 94.7 |
| 4 | West Virginia | 87.9 | 96.4 | 70.7 | 92.2 | 99.2 | 89.6 | 94.9 |
| 5 | Kansas | 88.8 | 95.2 | 77.1 | 97.5 | 91.9 | 93.3 | 92.5 |
| 5 | Missouri | 88.8 | 95.7 | 78.9 | 93.7 | 87.3 | 95.2 | 92.7 |
| 6 | Iowa | 89.1 | 96.7 | 76.1 | 88.2 | 96.3 | 95.5 | 94.6 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 89.1 | 93.8 | 77.7 | 97.1 | 90.8 | 85.9 | 95.2 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 90.0 | 96.6 | 81.7 | 87.2 | 89.8 | 89.2 | 95.1 |
| 8 | Indiana | 90.6 | 98.2 | 78.6 | 94.8 | 97.1 | 94.7 | 94.4 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 90.9 | 98.9 | 77.8 | 89.6 | 89.3 | 104.5 | 97.6 |
| 10 | Georgia | 91.0 | 97.4 | 78.2 | 97.9 | 93.3 | 99.1 | 95.8 |
| 11 | North Dakota | 91.0 | 94.6 | 78.3 | 84.0 | 96.2 | 107.0 | 98.6 |
| 12 | New Mexico | 91.1 | 96.1 | 84.1 | 80.9 | 93.4 | 101.3 | 95.4 |
| 12 | Texas | 91.1 | 95.7 | 78.0 | 101.0 | 93.8 | 98.1 | 96.5 |
| 13 | Louisiana | 91.8 | 95.5 | 82.9 | 84.3 | 95.4 | 93.9 | 98.6 |
| 14 | South Dakota | 91.9 | 97.5 | 85.6 | 84.0 | 96.4 | 104.2 | 93.9 |
| 15 | Ohio | 92.3 | 98.2 | 83.7 | 99.8 | 93.8 | 92.5 | 95.0 |
| 16 | Michigan | 92.5 | 99.0 | 83.5 | 97.6 | 99.0 | 88.3 | 95.0 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 92.6 | 99.3 | 80.1 | 95.9 | 95.8 | 97.6 | 98.1 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 93.0 | 100.8 | 79.0 | 87.5 | 95.4 | 93.3 | 102.5 |
| 19 | Wyoming | 93.3 | 99.7 | 84.9 | 94.8 | 91.3 | 99.8 | 97.1 |
| 20 | Minnesota | 93.8 | 99.8 | 80.1 | 95.5 | 95.2 | 111.1 | 99.8 |
| 21 | Illinois | 95.2 | 99.5 | 84.4 | 100.4 | 101.9 | 103.9 | 98.5 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 96.6 | 101.2 | 89.9 | 96.7 | 93.2 | 106.1 | 99.8 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 97.0 | 99.2 | 88.2 | 109.2 | 101.4 | 96.5 | 99.7 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 97.8 | 99.7 | 96.5 | 93.9 | 95.4 | 102.2 | 99.0 |
| 25 | Idaho | 98.0 | 97.8 | 99.6 | 72.0 | 107.7 | 103.1 | 100.0 |
| 26 | Virginia | 99.4 | 100.1 | 99.2 | 99.2 | 98.4 | 97.9 | 99.8 |
| 27 | Utah | 100.2 | 98.1 | 107.8 | 88.2 | 102.3 | 89.9 | 98.4 |
| 28 | Puerto Rico | 100.7 | 107.9 | 96.9 | 162.3 | 92.2 | 68.7 | 92.2 |
| 29 | Delaware | 101.6 | 103.1 | 100.7 | 99.6 | 98.4 | 102.2 | 102.8 |
| 29 | Florida | 101.6 | 105.2 | 103.8 | 96.0 | 98.7 | 100.7 | 100.3 |
| 30 | Nevada | 102.3 | 103.3 | 111.8 | 81.2 | 114.0 | 101.4 | 95.8 |
| 31 | Colorado | 102.6 | 101.0 | 108.0 | 87.1 | 96.3 | 103.4 | 103.9 |
| 32 | Arizona | 107.8 | 100.2 | 119.9 | 100.9 | 103.7 | 97.4 | 105.0 |
| 33 | New Hampshire | 109.6 | 99.9 | 116.0 | 116.1 | 103.3 | 105.1 | 108.8 |
| 33 | Montana | 109.6 | 102.1 | 124.7 | 82.3 | 104.3 | 106.9 | 108.3 |
| 34 | Oregon | 110.8 | 105.1 | 120.0 | 96.9 | 118.3 | 114.9 | 106.1 |
| 35 | Rhode Island | 112.3 | 104.0 | 119.0 | 123.6 | 100.0 | 103.3 | 111.7 |
| 36 | Washington | 113.3 | 106.1 | 120.2 | 98.9 | 129.0 | 110.5 | 110.5 |
| 37 | Maine | 114.0 | 101.7 | 133.3 | 122.8 | 100.8 | 114.9 | 103.5 |
| 38 | Connecticut | 114.1 | 105.9 | 124.8 | 123.0 | 103.9 | 109.6 | 109.4 |
| 39 | Vermont | 114.2 | 102.4 | 129.6 | 112.6 | 103.5 | 108.9 | 109.9 |
| 40 | New Jersey | 116.4 | 106.7 | 140.4 | 105.2 | 101.7 | 115.8 | 106.3 |
| 41 | Maryland | 119.9 | 108.5 | 146.7 | 114.4 | 104.1 | 106.0 | 109.0 |
| 42 | Alaska | 127.1 | 124.9 | 128.8 | 150.7 | 114.9 | 132.0 | 123.0 |
| 43 | New York | 127.2 | 102.0 | 178.5 | 105.5 | 107.3 | 109.5 | 106.4 |
| 44 | District of Columbia | 135.3 | 108.1 | 193.6 | 108.5 | 105.8 | 119.2 | 112.8 |
| 45 | California | 137.9 | 109.4 | 183.6 | 139.1 | 136.8 | 109.2 | 114.6 |
| 46 | Massachusetts | 148.6 | 105.1 | 215.6 | 156.0 | 107.4 | 129.1 | 120.8 |
| 47 | Hawaii | 186.0 | 134.3 | 307.1 | 196.4 | 137.4 | 110.9 | 123.3 |
| ** | United States | 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 of 2026. The city with the lowest cost of living index for this time period was Joplin with an index of 84.2. The city with the highest cost of living was Springfield, with an index of 92.5.
Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities - Third Quarter 2026
| Metro | Index | Grocery | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin MO | 84.2 | 93.1 | 58.7 | 100.6 | 91.2 | 91.3 | 95.9 |
| Kansas City MO-KS | 86.4 | 97.1 | 81.5 | 97.5 | 87.0 | 90.1 | 82.4 |
| Missouri | 88.8 | 95.7 | 78.9 | 93.7 | 87.3 | 95.2 | 92.7 |
| Columbia MO | 89.7 | 95.2 | 79.7 | 95.6 | 87.6 | 97.0 | 94.1 |
| Springfield MO | 92.5 | 95.3 | 87.4 | 81.0 | 97.9 | 97.3 | 96.5 |
See the Council of Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for details and more data products.