Cost of Living Data Series
4th Quarter 2011

In the fourth quarter of 2011, Missouri had the 14th 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 through the fourth quarter of 2011 was 93.11, down from the third quarter 2011 index of 93.36.

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.

Cost of Living Bar Chart of Top US States

 

Composite Cost of Living 2nd Quarter 2011 Map of United States


Composite Cost of Living (Scaled)
4th Quarter 2011
Composite Scaled Map of US

Fourth Quarter 2011 Cost of Living
State Rank Index Grocery Items Housing Utilities Transportation Health Care Misc Goods & Services
OK 1 90.35 94.69 80.39 89.36 97.22 97.07 94.50
TN 2 90.36 94.12 79.30 92.27 93.49 91.91 96.72
TX 3 90.69 89.19 82.36 95.55 97.45 96.61 94.06
KY 4 91.06 90.93 82.27 97.93 96.22 92.31 94.79
AR 5 91.08 96.01 81.81 93.77 92.65 89.98 96.00
UT 6 91.50 96.37 82.10 88.64 94.75 89.87 97.87
IN 7 92.18 92.22 85.35 92.13 100.19 96.24 95.02
MS 8 92.56 96.53 81.20 106.18 96.00 93.37 95.33
ID 9 92.56 96.85 81.83 95.52 99.55 95.14 96.67
KS 10 92.63 92.18 86.63 87.80 95.90 92.13 98.67
NE 11 92.70 96.80 84.22 98.76 98.90 92.57 94.54
MI 12 92.82 96.46 84.24 100.73 98.75 95.41 94.04
AL 13 92.99 99.33 80.91 98.88 95.43 88.03 99.01
MO 14 93.11 96.26 80.39 100.03 96.90 96.34 99.14
OH 15 93.86 99.17 80.83 100.89 99.16 97.17 98.71
GA 16 93.94 103.60 81.70 95.41 97.72 97.11 98.61
LA 17 95.03 95.53 95.95 85.86 98.04 93.33 96.22
IL 18 95.10 95.88 87.73 99.58 103.95 99.43 96.35
IA 19 95.19 95.65 92.91 92.35 100.06 95.59 96.26
VA 20 96.75 95.94 94.78 99.62 95.69 99.00 97.94
NC 21 96.90 103.39 87.73 97.67 97.50 103.40 100.97
NV 22 97.08 102.81 89.66 89.42 103.84 104.69 100.49
WI 23 97.56 97.29 92.25 103.64 102.54 107.02 97.47
SC 24 97.69 105.13 87.13 105.17 96.33 99.72 101.71
FL 25 97.70 104.89 90.83 94.77 102.67 100.13 99.78
WV 26 97.95 92.10 102.55 97.20 100.80 91.68 96.46
WY 27 98.29 102.61 102.76 93.35 91.05 101.42 96.12
ND 28 98.40 100.26 95.74 82.78 97.62 101.51 104.84
NM 29 99.25 99.01 99.71 96.81 98.32 99.27 100.02
SD 30 99.38 99.22 100.36 99.45 92.06 96.14 101.41
MT 31 100.02 109.09 94.75 93.22 99.70 105.15 102.54
PA 32 100.86 101.12 97.64 108.26 101.47 95.89 101.70
CO 33 101.36 99.81 111.08 89.86 97.28 101.58 98.45
AZ 34 102.90 103.69 108.65 96.99 101.37 101.26 100.14
MN 35 103.25 102.55 99.46 104.22 104.03 104.86 106.09
WA 36 103.60 103.93 106.67 88.83 106.39 114.68 103.10
DE 37 105.56 111.81 99.53 114.34 101.08 109.01 106.49
OR 38 106.75 100.68 116.01 94.49 110.90 114.03 102.68
ME 39 112.96 105.67 127.95 102.97 111.55 112.48 106.50
NH 40 119.83 101.57 126.26 127.08 99.69 111.07 127.16
MA 41 120.69 116.71 127.76 128.20 103.60 119.78 119.39
VT 42 122.03 108.43 146.33 126.65 102.86 105.89 113.20
MD 43 124.02 109.95 171.19 119.49 106.37 99.26 98.84
RI 44 125.64 111.31 134.25 129.66 104.27 112.10 131.53
NJ 45 129.58 107.23 166.37 132.58 103.29 106.48 117.14
CA 46 131.12 112.38 184.32 110.97 110.67 109.38 108.05
NY 47 132.67 112.69 182.59 124.36 107.96 109.83 110.74
CT 48 132.97 118.67 163.03 128.99 113.99 113.71 122.48
AK 49 133.56 137.43 146.50 156.46 115.06 141.17 118.21
DC 50 143.30 111.31 240.54 103.90 108.09 101.22 100.68
HI 51 167.83 155.59 251.82 161.88 125.88 123.73 120.46

Each of the participating Missouri cities had a composite index below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2011. These cities ranged from an index of 88.8 in Springfield to 99.4 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 4th Quarter  2011
    GROCERY       HEALTH MISC
CITY INDEX ITEMS HOUSING UTILITIES TRANSPORTATION CARE SERVICES
Springfield MO 88.8 95.3 75.3 83.6 94.3 95.3 96.9
Joplin MO 90.8 95.3 75.3 116.0 97.1 96.9 91.7
St. Louis MO-IL 91.1 95.1 75.3 104.4 98.3 98.9 95.6
Columbia MO 91.2 95.5 80.4 90.7 96.1 96.3 96.7
Missouri 93.1 96.3 80.4 100.0 96.9 96.3 99.1
St. Joseph MO 93.7 98.1 83.5 98.0 95.0 92.9 99.2
Jefferson City MO 96.8 95.7 83.0 97.3 98.8 96.9 108.7
Kansas City MO-KS 99.4 98.8 89.9 110.1 98.7 97.2 105.2
U.S. Average 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

 

Third Quarter 2011 Cost of Living for Missouri Cities

*ACCRA has changed its name to C2ER. See http://www.c2er.org/ for details and more data products.

 



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