In the 2nd quarter of 2001, Missouri had the 3rd lowest cost of living in the United States (of the 45 states and the District of Columbia surveyed by ACCRA). In general, the most expensive areas to live are Alaska, New England, California, and Nevada. The least expensive areas continue to be the Midwest and Southern States.
Missouri moved up one spot in the rankings since the 1st quarter, when the state had the 4th lowest cost of living. The cost of living index for Missouri dropped to 92.8 from 92.6 last quarter. The Transportation and Utilities categories had the greatest decline while the largest increase was in the Grocery Items category.
Missouri's larger metropolitan areas had COL indices that were close to the national average in the 2nd quarter, but no city had an index over 100. In general, however, the metropolitan areas are the most expensive areas in Missouri to reside.
Chambers of Commerce in cities across the nation participate in ACCRA's survey on a volunteer basis. No cities in HI, MD, ME, NH, and RI participated last quarter.
| 2nd Quarter 2001 Cost of Living Figures | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Composite | Rank | Grocery Items | Health Care | Housing | Miscellaneous | Transportation | Utilities |
| AK | 124.2 | 44 | 133.4 | 158.4 | 119.5 | 116.1 | 120.7 | 138.2 |
| AL | 93.1 | 5 | 94.2 | 89.7 | 85.2 | 98.8 | 98.5 | 90.9 |
| AR | 90.7 | 1 | 91.9 | 89.0 | 84.5 | 94.9 | 91.5 | 92.5 |
| AZ | 101.6 | 29 | 102.6 | 108.6 | 102.7 | 98.2 | 106.1 | 99.6 |
| CA | 119.3 | 42 | 112.9 | 125.7 | 137.6 | 107.3 | 115.4 | 118.2 |
| CO | 104.2 | 36 | 108.6 | 109.9 | 109.5 | 98.3 | 102.5 | 99.9 |
| CT | 122.0 | 43 | 111.8 | 138.7 | 145.8 | 103.9 | 110.8 | 137.7 |
| DC | 113.4 | 40 | 108.0 | 117.3 | 131.7 | 107.2 | 112.4 | 84.0 |
| DE | 103.3 | 31 | 106.3 | 103.2 | 101.9 | 102.7 | 93.3 | 118.1 |
| FL | 98.3 | 22 | 100.9 | 100.4 | 93.7 | 99.0 | 102.7 | 99.5 |
| GA | 95.0 | 10 | 98.5 | 91.9 | 90.0 | 99.9 | 91.2 | 92.6 |
| IA | 96.7 | 15 | 90.7 | 94.0 | 94.2 | 99.2 | 96.8 | 108.3 |
| ID | 96.7 | 16 | 97.4 | 100.4 | 93.9 | 102.2 | 95.7 | 82.2 |
| IL | 101.8 | 30 | 98.1 | 98.5 | 101.0 | 103.0 | 107.7 | 101.3 |
| IN | 95.1 | 11 | 92.0 | 94.4 | 94.1 | 96.0 | 98.9 | 97.0 |
| KS | 95.6 | 13 | 92.8 | 91.5 | 92.8 | 99.2 | 97.5 | 95.8 |
| KY | 95.2 | 12 | 96.7 | 89.5 | 94.2 | 96.9 | 95.7 | 91.5 |
| LA | 99.1 | 25 | 96.6 | 91.8 | 97.1 | 99.6 | 100.3 | 111.8 |
| MA | 133.2 | 46 | 109.8 | 126.0 | 175.7 | 109.8 | 116.7 | 152.9 |
| MI | 97.0 | 17 | 104.6 | 87.7 | 98.6 | 98.1 | 100.5 | 72.4 |
| MN | 106.3 | 38 | 101.0 | 118.2 | 103.5 | 106.4 | 107.8 | 116.5 |
| MO | 92.8 | 3 | 92.1 | 94.9 | 88.8 | 97.6 | 93.6 | 85.8 |
| MS | 95.0 | 9 | 88.4 | 87.5 | 94.9 | 96.9 | 99.4 | 99.2 |
| MT | 100.7 | 27 | 105.9 | 98.9 | 99.9 | 102.5 | 94.9 | 94.6 |
| NC | 97.0 | 18 | 98.7 | 94.1 | 96.6 | 98.6 | 95.9 | 91.4 |
| ND | 98.1 | 21 | 97.8 | 90.6 | 92.5 | 102.8 | 99.7 | 102.0 |
| NE | 99.5 | 26 | 98.5 | 93.4 | 104.6 | 99.1 | 96.8 | 92.3 |
| NJ | 118.6 | 41 | 114.0 | 123.6 | 142.7 | 106.8 | 104.4 | 107.1 |
| NM | 103.7 | 34 | 108.7 | 105.2 | 109.1 | 100.3 | 99.8 | 92.8 |
| NV | 106.4 | 39 | 112.3 | 120.5 | 106.1 | 101.8 | 119.0 | 91.0 |
| NY | 126.7 | 45 | 114.4 | 116.2 | 156.4 | 109.8 | 105.6 | 149.5 |
| OH | 98.9 | 24 | 102.9 | 95.3 | 91.0 | 97.7 | 101.1 | 122.5 |
| OK | 93.4 | 7 | 95.1 | 92.7 | 84.1 | 98.3 | 94.0 | 102.2 |
| OR | 103.8 | 35 | 105.2 | 116.8 | 102.3 | 105.4 | 104.4 | 90.7 |
| PA | 101.0 | 28 | 97.0 | 95.5 | 99.0 | 101.3 | 100.9 | 118.5 |
| SC | 94.2 | 8 | 99.9 | 93.3 | 90.9 | 96.8 | 89.6 | 89.8 |
| SD | 98.8 | 23 | 99.1 | 95.2 | 93.6 | 101.1 | 101.1 | 106.6 |
| TN | 91.6 | 2 | 94.7 | 84.7 | 86.6 | 96.3 | 95.2 | 83.7 |
| TX | 92.8 | 4 | 89.9 | 96.0 | 88.0 | 97.0 | 96.5 | 92.0 |
| UT | 96.0 | 14 | 108.9 | 92.9 | 86.9 | 100.6 | 97.9 | 82.9 |
| VA | 98.0 | 20 | 95.5 | 94.3 | 97.7 | 100.7 | 97.5 | 96.4 |
| VT | 105.5 | 37 | 106.0 | 108.1 | 98.1 | 108.1 | 99.2 | 126.3 |
| WA | 103.5 | 32 | 108.7 | 122.9 | 104.3 | 103.9 | 100.3 | 81.2 |
| WI | 97.4 | 19 | 97.1 | 100.4 | 92.2 | 99.6 | 103.3 | 97.3 |
| WV | 93.1 | 6 | 102.1 | 92.6 | 87.8 | 96.2 | 97.0 | 76.8 |
| WY | 103.7 | 33 | 110.1 | 94.7 | 106.2 | 99.3 | 95.4 | 116.3 |
| Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities 2nd Quarter 2001 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Composite Index | Grocery Items | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health Care | Misc. Goods and Services |
| Columbia | 98.9 | 97.8 | 93.5 | 90.5 | 99.5 | 95.4 | 106.3 |
| Joplin | 86.4 | 88.8 | 82.6 | 75.4 | 80.6 | 102.0 | 90.5 |
| Jefferson City | 92.9 | 89.9 | 88.2 | 86.3 | 95.3 | 88.1 | 99.9 |
| Nevada | 85.9 | 87.0 | 80.9 | 81.9 | 78.9 | 82.0 | 93.3 |
| springfield | 93.1 | 99.8 | 87.1 | 83.7 | 100.1 | 99.6 | 94.1 |
| St. Joseph | 94.2 | 87.6 | 94.1 | 94.6 | 93.3 | 94.7 | 97.6 |
| St. Louis | 98.1 | 94.0 | 95.3 | 88.4 | 107.6 | 102.4 | 101.2 |
| Missouri | 92.8 | 92.1 | 94.9 | 88.8 | 97.6 | 93.6 | 85.8 |
| US Average | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
