Trendsights Newsletter

Cost of Living 2025
Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for 2025. 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. Missouri’s cost of living index for 2025 was 88.9. MERIC derives the cost of living index for each state by averaging the indices of participating cities and metropolitan areas in that state.
Valentine's Day Fun Facts
Valentine’s Day gives honor to our most cherished loved ones. Average spending per person this year is projected to be $199.78, with nationwide spending projected at $29.1 billion. With more than 50 sugar and confectionary manufacturers and the top greeting card manufacturer located in the state, Missouri is poised to contribute to the impact of this holiday.
Missouri Population 2025
Missouri added 26,997 new residents to the state from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2025, bringing the state’s total population to 6.27 million people. This was a 0.4% change over the year. Missouri ranks 18th in the U.S. by population size. Texas grew the most over the year, adding 391,243 new residents, followed by Florida (196,680), North Carolina (145,907), Georgia (98,540), and South Carolina (79,958).
Third Quarter GDP and Personal Income in Missouri
Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 4.4 percent nationally and 4.5 percent in Missouri during the third quarter of 2025. Nationally, GDP growth ranged from 6.5 percent in Kansas to 0.4 percent in North Dakota. Personal Income rose by 2.6 percent in Missouri during the third quarter of 2025, compared to 3.3 percent growth nationwide.
Job Ads Comparison - November 2025
Job postings increased 12.4 percent from November 2024 to November 2025. In November 2025, there were 60,610 online job postings compared to 53,940 in November 2024. Registered Nurses (61%) and Health Technologists & Technicians, All Other (47%) had the largest increases due to a rise in postings from employment agencies and travel medical companies.
Skills Demand Over Time - Production Occupations
Employers request a variety of skills from job applicants. Some skills are termed as durable, or soft skills, such as communication, time management, emotional intelligence, or customer service. Other skills are considered technical or hard skills, such as machinery, tools, blueprinting, or mathematics. This brief explores skills requested by employers in their job postings for Production occupations, and how the demand for these skills has changed over the last five years. In 2024, there were over 25,880 online job postings for Production occupations in Missouri, a 45 percent increase from approximately 17,820 postings in 2019.
Latest Federal Beige Books for Kansas City and St. Louis
The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from each District's sources. Click on the link above to learn more about the economic activity, including the Kansas City and St. Louis district reports.
Skills Transfer - Food Service Occupations
The economy and workforce are constantly changing and evolving due to changes in technology, how and where work is done, and the needs of consumers. Jobs that were in-demand in the past may not be in-demand today, or in the future, but the skills from those jobs may apply to careers in other fields. Explore how skills in some of the Food Service occupations that are projected to decline in employment from 2022-2032 may transfer to different higher-demand occupations.
Missouri Business Index for December
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for December 2025 increased to 55.8 from 48.6 in November. Component indices of inventories (71.8) and delivery lead time (57.1) helped raise Missouri’s overall index for the month. Conditions are mixed across the region as the regional index fell below 50 for the fourth time in six months. The Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index is a leading economic indicator for the nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas. It measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports. Typically, a score greater than 50 indicates an expansionary economy while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Target Industry: Financial and Professional Services
There were more than 56,000 online job postings for the Financial and Professional Services industry from January 2024 to December 2024. The top occupations were Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents and Customer Service Representatives, each making up 3.3 percent of total industry job postings during the year. Top specialized skills identified in job postings for this industry include auditing, project management, and marketing.
Winter Holiday Outlook
This holiday season, 9 in 10 consumers plan to celebrate the winter holidays. Holiday spending is forecasted to total more than $1 trillion for the first time in history. See this and other fun facts for travel destinations, shipping, spending, and Christmas trees in this quick winter holiday outlook.
Year-to-Year Comparison in Job Postings
ob postings increased 25.9 percent from September 2024 to September 2025. In September 2025, there were 72,770 online job postings compared to 57,800 in September 2024. Physical Therapists (183%) and Registered Nurses (69%) had the largest increase, due to an increase in postings from employment agencies and travel medical companies. By industry, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services had the largest increase in job postings, while Educational Services had the largest decline.
Missouri Manufacturing Target Industry Highlights
The Manufacturing industry includes material and product producers and the industries that support them. Employment grew an average of 0.8 percent per year from 2019 to 2024, adding a total of 11,351 jobs. The industries with the greatest employment growth include Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services; Chemical Manufacturing; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; and Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing. The average annual private wage in Manufacturing in 2024 was $77,747, which was $12,995 more than the state’s average annual private wage of $64,752.
St. Louis Region Economic Report
The St. Louis Region workforce had more than 1,056,400 employees in 2024, making up 35 percent of Missouri’s employment. Health Care and Social Assistance was the largest employing industry in the St. Louis Region in 2024. The industry’s employment of over 194,600 is nearly double that of the next largest industry. Retail Trade was the second largest industry, with employment of 106,346. The industry sectors with the largest increase in employment were Accommodation and Food Services and Health Care and Social Assistance, with an increase of over 18,500 and 17,100 jobs, respectively. Click on the above link for more information about the St. Louis economy and workforce.
Target Industries: Agribusiness
There were more than 4,800 online job postings for the Agribusiness industry from January 2024 to December 2024. Maintenance and Repair Workers, General was the top occupation, making up 4.9 percent of total industry job postings for the time period. Top specialized skills identified in job postings for this industry included personal protective equipment, forklift truck operation, operating systems, and machinery.
Twelve Days of Christmas Price Index
For 42 years, calculating the prices of the 12 gifts from the classic song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” has served as a whimsical holiday tradition and a lighthearted look at inflation over the year. The total PNC Christmas Price Index increased 4.5 percent in 2025, totaling $51,476. Five Gold Rings had the largest increase over the year, costing 32.5 percent more than in 2024. Five of the 12 gifts had no increase compared to 2024. See the full index for an interactive look at the price of True Love's gifts.
October Job Postings
Online job postings in Missouri increased from 72,920 in September to 75,150 in October. Occupations with the highest number of openings included Customer Service Representatives, Maintenance and Repair Workers, Medical and Health Services Managers, and Health Technologists and Technicians.
Thanksgiving Fun Facts
Turkey will be on the menu for many American households for the Thanksgiving holiday, with more than 40 million turkeys expected to be consumed nationwide. Missouri produced 15 million turkeys in 2025 and was ranked in the top five states for turkey production. Learn more fun facts about Thanksgiving’s and Missouri’s contribution to the main course at the link above.
3rd Quarter 2025 Cost of Living
Missouri had the sixth lowest cost of living in the United States for the third quarter of 2025 at 89.0. MERIC derives the cost-of-living index for each state by averaging the indices of participating cities and metropolitan areas in that state. All the participating Missouri cities had a composite index below the national average for Q3 2025. The city with the lowest cost of living index for the quarter was Joplin at 84.0.
Missouri Business Index Rises
Missouri’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October 2025 climbed to a regional high of 62.7 from 47.1 in September. Components of the overall index for Missouri from the survey of supply managers for October were new orders at 60.6, production at 59.1, delivery lead time at 69.2, inventories at 62.6, and employment at 62.0. Regionally, the index moved slightly above growth neutral. The Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index is a leading economic indicator for a nine-state region stretching from Minnesota to Arkansas. It measures such factors as new orders, production, supplier delivery times, backlogs, inventories, prices, employment, import orders and exports. A score above 50 typically indicates an expansionary economy, while a score below 50 forecasts a sluggish economy.
Southeast Economic and Workforce Report
The Southeast Region workforce had more than 158,100 employees in 2024, making up 5.2 percent of Missouri’s employment. Health Care and Social Assistance was the largest employing industry in the region in 2024, with employment totaling nearly 32,000. Retail Trade was the second largest industry, followed by Manufacturing and Educational Services.
Target Industries: Information Technology
There were over 23,000 online job postings in Missouri for the Information Technology industry from January 2024 to December 2024. The top occupation was Software Developers, which made up 9.2 percent of total industry job postings for the time period. Some top specialized skills required included Project Management, Computer Science, Agile Methodology, Marketing, and Workflow Management.
Industry Concentration in Missouri
Industry concentration analysis using location quotients (LQ) helps identify the industries that are more specialized in a particular area. Businesses that are more specialized due to exporting goods and services, or because they draw customers in from outside the state, are important sources of new income. Overall, the manufacturing sector in Missouri has an LQ of 1.2, indicating the industry is more concentrated in the state than in the U.S. Click on the link above to view other industries that have a high concentration in Missouri.
Latest Federal Beige Books for Kansas City and St. Louis
The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a variety of mostly qualitative information, gathered directly from each District's sources. Missouri is the only state with two federal reserve banks – one in Kansas City and one in St. Louis. Reports for these regions give an update on labor markets, prices, consumer spending, and industry activity. Click on the link above to learn more about economic activity across the country in October.