In the 3rd quarter of 2001, Missouri had the 3rd lowest cost of living in the United States (of the 43 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.
Despite a slight drop in the cost of living index, Missouri did not move in the rankings since the 2nd quarter. The cost of living index for Missouri dropped to 92.4 from 92.8 last quarter. The Transportation category had the largest increase while Utilities had the greatest decline.
Missouri's larger metropolitan areas had COL indices that were close to the national average in the 3rd quarter, but no city had an index over 100. In general, 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, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ or RI participated last quarter.
| 3rd Quarter 2001 Cost of Living Figures | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Rank | Composite Index | Grocery Items | Health Care | Housing | Misc. Goods and Services | Transportation | Utilities |
| AK | 42 | 127.5 | 131.8 | 159.3 | 123.6 | 116.6 | 137.3 | 145.6 |
| AL | 12 | 95.0 | 93.7 | 90.0 | 91.4 | 99.1 | 97.1 | 93.1 |
| AR | 1 | 90.9 | 91.8 | 92.2 | 83.3 | 96.3 | 90.0 | 93.4 |
| AZ | 35 | 103.9 | 102.6 | 114.4 | 108.4 | 99.2 | 109.5 | 97.3 |
| CA | 40 | 121.3 | 115.4 | 131.6 | 139.4 | 107.9 | 120.5 | 119.1 |
| CO | 38 | 105.0 | 109.4 | 110.5 | 110.4 | 97.9 | 107.3 | 100.2 |
| CT | 41 | 125.5 | 111.0 | 127.2 | 155.9 | 105.5 | 118.8 | 137.4 |
| DC | 44 | 129.3 | 113.6 | 130.8 | 161.4 | 115.2 | 126.9 | 109.0 |
| DE | 37 | 105.0 | 105.1 | 103.5 | 107.9 | 99.4 | 98.4 | 126.5 |
| FL | 20 | 98.8 | 101.4 | 98.7 | 94.7 | 99.4 | 104.9 | 98.1 |
| GA | 14 | 95.7 | 99.5 | 95.2 | 92.2 | 98.6 | 91.0 | 94.2 |
| IA | 11 | 94.9 | 92.1 | 96.1 | 93.8 | 96.5 | 95.3 | 97.0 |
| ID | 17 | 97.9 | 94.1 | 101.5 | 96.2 | 99.1 | 104.8 | 96.3 |
| IL | 21 | 99.2 | 96.0 | 94.4 | 97.3 | 101.3 | 103.0 | 101.7 |
| IN | 13 | 95.0 | 92.2 | 95.3 | 94.3 | 96.5 | 92.0 | 100.7 |
| KS | 9 | 94.8 | 95.5 | 94.4 | 92.8 | 96.2 | 93.5 | 96.0 |
| KY | 6 | 93.1 | 96.2 | 90.0 | 87.9 | 97.8 | 90.3 | 91.1 |
| LA | 19 | 98.3 | 95.8 | 94.6 | 99.3 | 98.1 | 96.9 | 105.2 |
| MI | 32 | 103.4 | 106.5 | 97.3 | 112.9 | 100.5 | 100.0 | 83.7 |
| MN | 34 | 103.6 | 96.3 | 116.8 | 103.6 | 106.1 | 106.6 | 96.2 |
| MO | 3 | 92.4 | 92.7 | 95.7 | 86.4 | 97.9 | 90.6 | 89.8 |
| MS | 8 | 94.3 | 90.3 | 87.6 | 92.2 | 98.5 | 94.5 | 96.4 |
| MT | 26 | 100.7 | 108.2 | 100.5 | 98.5 | 101.9 | 100.0 | 90.0 |
| NC | 15 | 96.3 | 98.4 | 94.5 | 96.8 | 97.8 | 90.1 | 92.7 |
| ND | 10 | 94.8 | 95.2 | 90.1 | 87.0 | 99.0 | 96.0 | 105.4 |
| NE | 16 | 97.5 | 98.8 | 92.8 | 99.3 | 100.2 | 95.6 | 83.6 |
| NM | 31 | 103.0 | 107.0 | 106.3 | 107.9 | 100.4 | 98.7 | 91.0 |
| NV | 39 | 109.1 | 114.9 | 130.0 | 105.4 | 104.0 | 111.8 | 115.1 |
| NY | 43 | 128.2 | 112.9 | 119.6 | 159.8 | 110.5 | 115.6 | 141.9 |
| OH | 25 | 99.6 | 102.7 | 96.7 | 94.1 | 99.3 | 96.8 | 119.6 |
| OK | 5 | 93.0 | 95.5 | 92.6 | 83.8 | 98.2 | 89.0 | 104.3 |
| OR | 36 | 104.5 | 107.8 | 122.1 | 104.9 | 102.9 | 106.8 | 89.7 |
| PA | 27 | 100.8 | 95.4 | 92.9 | 98.9 | 102.4 | 106.0 | 110.8 |
| SC | 24 | 99.6 | 102.4 | 96.9 | 101.8 | 100.5 | 90.7 | 95.9 |
| SD | 23 | 99.5 | 100.5 | 97.8 | 97.4 | 102.0 | 93.3 | 103.3 |
| TN | 2 | 91.7 | 95.2 | 84.8 | 87.0 | 96.7 | 93.6 | 83.2 |
| TX | 7 | 93.9 | 91.6 | 96.6 | 87.0 | 98.2 | 97.2 | 99.5 |
| UT | 22 | 99.4 | 109.5 | 93.4 | 92.9 | 101.9 | 104.5 | 89.2 |
| VA | 28 | 101.4 | 100.0 | 99.4 | 102.2 | 101.7 | 100.8 | 101.7 |
| VT | 33 | 103.4 | 97.6 | 102.3 | 92.8 | 100.3 | 103.8 | 165.2 |
| WA | 30 | 102.6 | 107.1 | 125.4 | 97.4 | 104.9 | 105.7 | 83.5 |
| WI | 18 | 98.2 | 95.3 | 101.6 | 100.6 | 99.3 | 97.9 | 89.2 |
| WV | 4 | 92.6 | 103.3 | 93.3 | 84.9 | 95.6 | 98.6 | 77.7 |
| WY | 29 | 101.8 | 106.8 | 100.0 | 104.4 | 98.2 | 97.3 | 104.3 |
| Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities 3rd Quarter 2001 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Composite | Grocery Items | Health Care | Housing | MISC | Transportation | Utilities |
| Columbia | 97.9 | 96.5 | 96.0 | 94.1 | 100.9 | 94.3 | 107.0 |
| Jefferson City | 92.3 | 92.8 | 91.0 | 84.2 | 99.9 | 93.1 | 88.7 |
| Joplin | 88.2 | 89.0 | 100.7 | 80.8 | 96.9 | 80.4 | 78.3 |
| Nevada | 85.9 | 90.8 | 82.1 | 79.6 | 91.7 | 80.1 | 83.8 |
| St. Louis | 99.4 | 91.8 | 104.0 | 95.7 | 102.7 | 104.3 | 105.0 |
| Springfield | 90.6 | 95.2 | 100.7 | 84.2 | 95.5 | 91.6 | 75.9 |
| MO | 92.4 | 92.7 | 95.7 | 86.4 | 97.9 | 90.6 | 89.8 |
| US Average | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
