In the 3rd quarter of 2002, Missouri had the 13th 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, 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 for the 3rd quarter 2002 was 92.6, compared to 93.5 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.
| 3rd Quarter 2002 Cost of Living Figures | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Rank | Composite Index | Grocery Items | Health Care | Housing | MISC | Transportation | Utilities |
| AK | 43 | 130.0 | 130.8 | 160.3 | 135.1 | 118.4 | 126.2 | 144.3 |
| AL | 6 | 91.0 | 93.6 | 85.1 | 79.3 | 98.6 | 95.8 | 93.6 |
| AR | 1 | 88.9 | 91.2 | 87.9 | 78.6 | 94.8 | 90.1 | 95.7 |
| AZ | 27 | 98.6 | 106.0 | 103.6 | 90.7 | 97.4 | 104.2 | 106.3 |
| CA | 44 | 130.0 | 122.5 | 134.1 | 166.9 | 109.4 | 119.2 | 111.9 |
| CO | 35 | 101.7 | 105.4 | 107.0 | 105.0 | 98.4 | 104.4 | 89.0 |
| CT | 42 | 129.4 | 118.2 | 125.3 | 170.3 | 106.7 | 110.5 | 128.2 |
| DC | 45 | 133.2 | 116.4 | 123.9 | 173.3 | 116.2 | 123.8 | 114.1 |
| DE | 34 | 101.6 | 106.2 | 140.8 | 93.6 | 96.9 | 97.6 | 120.9 |
| FL | 26 | 97.4 | 102.3 | 96.1 | 88.8 | 100.3 | 102.3 | 100.7 |
| GA | 11 | 92.1 | 98.1 | 89.0 | 81.8 | 98.5 | 90.6 | 93.4 |
| HI | 47 | 144.5 | 157.6 | 116.9 | 170.8 | 120.2 | 125.4 | 167.0 |
| IA | 12 | 92.5 | 88.9 | 91.2 | 89.5 | 95.1 | 97.0 | 94.9 |
| ID | 10 | 91.9 | 87.3 | 94.6 | 85.5 | 100.5 | 93.3 | 83.9 |
| IL | 31 | 100.5 | 97.6 | 99.7 | 104.1 | 98.6 | 103.5 | 98.0 |
| IN | 17 | 94.6 | 91.5 | 90.4 | 91.5 | 96.2 | 99.6 | 101.4 |
| KS | 14 | 92.7 | 93.0 | 88.6 | 86.5 | 96.2 | 96.0 | 98.3 |
| KY | 9 | 91.6 | 93.6 | 87.8 | 85.3 | 97.8 | 90.2 | 88.7 |
| LA | 25 | 97.4 | 93.5 | 89.9 | 97.6 | 99.5 | 97.5 | 100.4 |
| MA | 40 | 118.9 | 109.7 | 119.4 | 142.2 | 103.5 | 106.1 | 134.4 |
| MD | 16 | 93.6 | 90.6 | 91.5 | 87.4 | 97.6 | 96.0 | 103.1 |
| MI | 32 | 101.1 | 103.8 | 93.9 | 103.4 | 98.1 | 107.5 | 96.7 |
| MN | 33 | 101.4 | 96.7 | 110.0 | 100.2 | 101.0 | 106.3 | 105.0 |
| MO | 13 | 92.6 | 94.3 | 90.1 | 86.1 | 97.5 | 93.5 | 92.7 |
| MS | 15 | 93.4 | 93.0 | 86.7 | 86.2 | 100.2 | 95.4 | 93.5 |
| MT | 22 | 96.7 | 105.8 | 93.8 | 90.7 | 99.3 | 99.1 | 88.2 |
| NC | 19 | 95.6 | 97.2 | 93.3 | 91.4 | 100.5 | 90.9 | 94.2 |
| ND | 7 | 91.3 | 96.1 | 84.0 | 84.6 | 95.9 | 95.8 | 84.8 |
| NE | 8 | 91.5 | 96.8 | 87.8 | 84.0 | 95.4 | 98.1 | 85.5 |
| NJ | 46 | 142.5 | 115.4 | 169.4 | 201.0 | 112.1 | 113.2 | 136.8 |
| NM | 36 | 102.0 | 102.6 | 100.7 | 106.6 | 102.2 | 97.4 | 90.5 |
| NV | 37 | 104.9 | 111.5 | 114.0 | 99.5 | 101.7 | 109.1 | 112.2 |
| NY | 41 | 120.0 | 113.4 | 114.6 | 142.9 | 107.5 | 109.1 | 122.0 |
| OH | 24 | 97.2 | 103.2 | 92.1 | 89.2 | 98.1 | 98.2 | 111.9 |
| OK | 3 | 90.3 | 92.2 | 89.0 | 79.9 | 97.4 | 90.9 | 93.1 |
| OR | 38 | 105.3 | 105.5 | 119.3 | 102.2 | 105.4 | 105.1 | 106.6 |
| PA | 28 | 100.0 | 98.5 | 92.9 | 97.0 | 99.3 | 102.4 | 117.6 |
| SC | 21 | 96.4 | 100.3 | 91.6 | 90.3 | 100.7 | 93.4 | 99.3 |
| SD | 23 | 97.0 | 99.0 | 92.8 | 90.4 | 102.5 | 99.6 | 92.3 |
| TN | 4 | 90.6 | 93.9 | 85.7 | 80.4 | 98.7 | 93.3 | 85.5 |
| TX | 2 | 89.7 | 87.3 | 93.8 | 80.7 | 95.1 | 95.6 | 93.7 |
| UT | 18 | 95.3 | 111.4 | 90.2 | 82.0 | 101.6 | 96.0 | 85.7 |
| VA | 29 | 100.3 | 98.0 | 94.5 | 102.3 | 101.8 | 98.8 | 96.3 |
| WA | 39 | 105.8 | 107.3 | 124.7 | 110.8 | 102.5 | 101.5 | 92.8 |
| WI | 20 | 96.0 | 94.5 | 101.8 | 93.6 | 96.9 | 101.8 | 93.0 |
| WV | 5 | 90.6 | 96.6 | 85.8 | 84.2 | 92.5 | 100.0 | 84.2 |
| WY | 30 | 100.5 | 108.1 | 89.8 | 98.1 | 101.8 | 95.5 | 100.9 |
Both Kansas City and St. Louis had an index score over the national average of 100 in the 3rd quarter of 2002. Other Missouri cities ranged from an index of 84.9 in Joplin to 96.8 in Columbia. In general, the metropolitan areas are the most expensive areas in Missouri to reside.
| Cost of Living Indices for Participating Missouri Cities 3rd Quarter 2002 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Composite Index | Grocery Items | Housing | Utilities | Transportation | Health Care | Misc. |
| Columbia | 96.8 | 95.8 | 93.1 | 95.6 | 101.1 | 93.3 | 100.0 |
| Jefferson City | 92.8 | 96.4 | 81.3 | 101.1 | 97.2 | 83.5 | 98.8 |
| Joplin | 84.9 | 83.5 | 74.9 | 93.7 | 79.5 | 93.1 | 92.2 |
| Kansas City | 102.2 | 102.7 | 104.0 | 97.7 | 96.8 | 83.6 | 105.9 |
| Nevada | 86.4 | 87.3 | 82.7 | 85.1 | 80.6 | 83.5 | 91.7 |
| St Joseph | 88.7 | 85.2 | 80.4 | 83.8 | 96.2 | 89.2 | 96.2 |
| St Louis | 100.7 | 108.0 | 93.8 | 107.2 | 103.0 | 97.6 | 101.2 |
| Springfield | 88.6 | 95.5 | 78.7 | 77.7 | 93.3 | 97.1 | 93.6 |
| Missouri | 92.6 | 94.3 | 90.1 | 86.1 | 97.5 | 93.5 | 92.7 |
| US Average | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
