Is Missouri America's Best Value?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#11

11th out of 50 states overall.

Better than most states for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#1

1st cheapest state, about 22% below average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $58,800 here.

How we measure cost ›

Missouri ranks 11th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 1st for affordability. It does best on cost, education, and walkability, and struggles most with climate, healthcare, and safety. A typical household earns about $63,700 a year, and the cost of living runs about 22% below average.

Why Missouri ranks #11 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Missouri scores on each, best to worst.

Cost of living
#1 of 50
Education
#26 of 50
Walkability
#26 of 50
Green space
#27 of 50
Economy
#28 of 50
Dog friendly
#30 of 50
Air quality
#33 of 50
Climate
#34 of 50
Healthcare
#34 of 50
Safety
#36 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Missouri at a glance

Typical household income

$63,700

39th highest

Typical home price

$258,000

40th highest

Overall cost of living

22% below average

1st cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 8%

25th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 24 min

one way

Taxes in Missouri

See your real Missouri take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Missouri taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.