In the 2nd quarter of 2002, Missouri had the 12th
lowest cost of living in the United States (of the 46 states and the
District of Columbia surveyed by ACCRA). In general, the most
expensive areas to live are New England, Alaska, 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 for the 2nd quarter
2002 was 93.5, compared to 92.2 in the previous quarter.
Chambers of commerce in 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. No cities in ME, NH, RI, or VT participated last quarter.
| 2nd Quarter 2002 Cost of Living Figures | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Rank | Composite Index | Grocery Items | Health Care | Housing | Misc. | Transportation | Utilities |
| AK | 42 | 126.1 | 128.3 | 156.7 | 128.6 | 118.1 | 120.6 | 133.9 |
| AL | 7 | 92.4 | 95.3 | 85.1 | 82.6 | 98.5 | 99.3 | 91.6 |
| AR | 2 | 90.1 | 91.3 | 87.8 | 79.4 | 96.5 | 91.6 | 99.2 |
| AZ | 22 | 97.0 | 100.7 | 102.8 | 90.8 | 94.1 | 104.1 | 110.2 |
| CA | 41 | 122.0 | 117.6 | 121.3 | 147.5 | 106.8 | 114.3 | 114.4 |
| CO | 32 | 101.2 | 107.8 | 110.9 | 102.4 | 97.2 | 99.9 | 96.5 |
| CT | 43 | 131.0 | 119.3 | 133.3 | 173.2 | 107.7 | 108.6 | 129.6 |
| DC | 45 | 133.2 | 113.8 | 125.3 | 172.9 | 117.2 | 127.1 | 111.5 |
| DE | 33 | 101.7 | 107.0 | 112.5 | 97.9 | 96.5 | 100.3 | 120.6 |
| FL | 26 | 98.0 | 100.7 | 97.3 | 89.6 | 100.6 | 106.0 | 101.3 |
| GA | 5 | 91.9 | 98.0 | 88.6 | 81.1 | 97.8 | 92.6 | 94.0 |
| HI | 46 | 139.5 | 155.5 | 117.7 | 172.4 | 107.2 | 125.4 | 156.8 |
| IA | 17 | 95.0 | 90.6 | 91.5 | 95.6 | 96.0 | 99.5 | 93.8 |
| ID | 20 | 96.8 | 93.0 | 97.9 | 96.3 | 100.3 | 93.6 | 95.0 |
| IL | 37 | 102.9 | 97.1 | 100.7 | 110.2 | 99.1 | 106.2 | 101.4 |
| IN | 15 | 94.5 | 93.4 | 95.1 | 90.8 | 97.3 | 97.3 | 93.7 |
| KS | 16 | 94.7 | 92.6 | 90.0 | 88.5 | 98.9 | 97.8 | 102.8 |
| KY | 8 | 92.6 | 94.6 | 89.8 | 84.9 | 98.8 | 92.4 | 91.7 |
| LA | 18 | 95.5 | 91.5 | 87.6 | 95.2 | 97.8 | 100.0 | 94.2 |
| MA | 44 | 132.2 | 112.7 | 121.3 | 176.7 | 107.6 | 104.3 | 159.0 |
| MD | 14 | 94.1 | 90.2 | 91.0 | 87.4 | 98.3 | 99.4 | 103.1 |
| MI | 28 | 99.0 | 100.2 | 94.7 | 97.4 | 103.8 | 99.4 | 84.9 |
| MN | 36 | 102.4 | 98.8 | 111.3 | 94.6 | 105.1 | 121.8 | 96.1 |
| MO | 12 | 93.5 | 96.7 | 93.8 | 86.4 | 98.3 | 93.3 | 92.4 |
| MS | 10 | 93.0 | 90.6 | 83.3 | 90.4 | 97.5 | 89.9 | 98.2 |
| MT | 24 | 97.5 | 109.9 | 96.0 | 89.8 | 100.4 | 96.4 | 90.0 |
| NC | 21 | 97.0 | 99.2 | 93.9 | 95.7 | 99.5 | 93.3 | 93.3 |
| ND | 13 | 93.9 | 98.5 | 79.4 | 83.1 | 105.3 | 95.9 | 82.0 |
| NE | 11 | 93.1 | 98.9 | 90.2 | 83.8 | 98.0 | 99.2 | 88.5 |
| NJ | 47 | 143.9 | 114.6 | 174.5 | 206.4 | 112.8 | 110.5 | 134.8 |
| NM | 35 | 101.8 | 104.0 | 102.1 | 106.2 | 101.6 | 96.3 | 90.4 |
| NV | 39 | 108.1 | 104.8 | 101.1 | 104.0 | 105.6 | 110.7 | 140.7 |
| NY | 40 | 121.0 | 111.8 | 115.8 | 142.7 | 109.9 | 108.0 | 128.2 |
| OH | 25 | 97.7 | 103.1 | 92.2 | 90.3 | 98.1 | 100.7 | 110.3 |
| OK | 3 | 91.7 | 95.4 | 89.7 | 81.7 | 97.5 | 93.0 | 95.6 |
| OR | 38 | 104.2 | 106.9 | 117.6 | 101.1 | 105.2 | 101.8 | 100.7 |
| PA | 31 | 100.8 | 100.0 | 92.5 | 99.0 | 100.7 | 101.7 | 112.4 |
| SC | 27 | 98.8 | 101.6 | 95.7 | 97.7 | 100.7 | 94.8 | 96.5 |
| SD | 23 | 97.4 | 99.0 | 95.2 | 92.2 | 102.7 | 102.3 | 85.9 |
| TN | 1 | 89.0 | 92.8 | 86.2 | 80.6 | 95.0 | 91.8 | 83.9 |
| TX | 4 | 91.8 | 88.3 | 97.2 | 84.6 | 96.1 | 98.8 | 94.2 |
| UT | 9 | 92.7 | 109.5 | 89.4 | 77.6 | 98.1 | 94.7 | 88.5 |
| VA | 29 | 100.4 | 101.7 | 95.8 | 101.8 | 100.6 | 100.0 | 95.5 |
| WA | 34 | 101.7 | 107.6 | 123.9 | 98.6 | 102.8 | 97.3 | 88.2 |
| WI | 19 | 95.9 | 93.8 | 103.8 | 91.8 | 96.5 | 100.7 | 100.4 |
| WV | 6 | 92.0 | 98.9 | 89.5 | 85.0 | 94.5 | 101.3 | 82.8 |
| WY | 30 | 100.8 | 104.4 | 95.9 | 104.4 | 97.7 | 96.8 | 101.1 |
St. Louis was the only participating city in Missouri that had an index score over the national average of 100 in the 2nd quarter of 2002. Other Missouri cities ranged from an index of 86.2 in Joplin to 98.0 in Columbia. In general, the metropolitan areas are the most expensive areas in Missouri to reside. (Kansas City did not participate in the 2nd quarter survey.)
| Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities 2nd Quarter 2002 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Composite Index | Grocery Items | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health Care | Misc. |
| Columbia | 98.0 | 92.7 | 95.5 | 94.7 | 104.3 | 95.5 | 101.9 |
| Jefferson City | 91.5 | 95.4 | 76.2 | 101.8 | 98.9 | 89.3 | 98.3 |
| Joplin | 86.2 | 90.4 | 77.7 | 93.3 | 79.4 | 97.1 | 90.1 |
| Nevada | 88.6 | 96.4 | 86.5 | 84.9 | 81.1 | 83.3 | 90.7 |
| Springfield | 90.8 | 100.0 | 80.7 | 77.0 | 92.9 | 98.4 | 96.6 |
| St. Joseph | 96.6 | 96.5 | 91.4 | 87.4 | 94.8 | 90.9 | 104.7 |
| St. Louis | 102.6 | 105.7 | 96.5 | 107.8 | 101.5 | 102.1 | 105.5 |
| Missouri | 93.5 | 96.7 | 93.8 | 86.4 | 98.3 | 93.3 | 92.4 |
| US Average | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
