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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The remote work era changed the math: earn a tech salary, live in an affordable market. We analyzed 4 cities across Missouri for that equation. St Louis — cost index 77, utilities 93, rent $1,326/mo — leads.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Louis | 77 | $1,326 | Details |
| 2 | Kansas | 83 | $1,418 | Details |
| 3 | Independence | 77 | $1,313 | Details |
| 4 | Springfield | 71 | $1,209 | Details |
#1 Ranked: St Louis — cost index 77, rent $1,326/mo, income $55,279
St Louis rent up 3% over the past year
Remote-worker scoring: cost index 77, utilities index 93, income $55,279 — maximizing geographic arbitrage
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The remote work era changed the math: earn a tech salary, live in an affordable market. We analyzed 4 cities across Missouri for that equation. St Louis — cost index 77, utilities 93, rent $1,326/mo — leads.
Why St Louis ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 77 on the cost index, residents save roughly 34% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,326/month while the median household pulls in $55,279/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 77, though Healthcare (95) lags behind. Home prices average $179,917 — $287,453 below the national median.
Bottom line: St Louis leads this ranking for clear, data-backed reasons — but the "best" city depends on your priorities. Click into any city below to see the full detail page with 12-month trend charts, profession-specific salary data, and a breakdown of all five cost categories. If you're seriously considering a move, use our salary calculator to model your specific income against these numbers.
281,754 residents · Missouri
A closer look at St Louis: the cost index of 77 — and yes, that's adjusted for the region — breaks down to a Housing index of 77 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 95 (weakest). Median rent is $1,326/month — 30% below the national median — while household income sits at $55,279, meaning locals spend about 29% of income on rent. That's within the recommended 30% threshold, though it doesn't leave much room.
152,933 residents · Missouri
Why Kansas ranks #2: the numbers tell a clear story. At 83 on the cost index, residents save roughly 28% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,418/month while the median household pulls in $67,449/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 83, though Healthcare (97) lags behind. Home prices average $245,199 — $222,171 below the national median (though the trend is moving in the right direction).
120,922 residents · Missouri
Independence earns its position at #3 through a combination that's hard to replicate. The 77 cost index sits 34 points below the national baseline, and the $59,480 median income means purchasing power here is amplified by the low cost base. Homes list at $203,383 — $263,987 below the national median — a genuine ownership opportunity. On the cost side, Housing leads the way at 77, while Healthcare trails at 95.
112,544 residents · Missouri
Dive into Springfield's numbers: cost index 71 (40 points below national average), rent $1,209/month, income $45,984, and a home price of $238,992. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 71, while Healthcare runs 94. With 112,544 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to remote workers. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
St Louis ranks #1 in Missouri for this analysis with a cost index of 77 and median income of $55,279.
St Louis scores highest for remote workers due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,326/mo, and competitive median income of $55,279.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
St Louis (ranked #1) has a cost index of 77 and rent of $1,326/mo, while Springfield (ranked #4) has a cost index of 71 and rent of $1,209/mo — a 6-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in St Louis is $1,326/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $569 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in St Louis is $179,917, which is 3.3× the local median income. That's within the standard 3.5× affordability rule for most local earners. The national median home price is $467,370.
Missouri has a 4.8% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 8.335%, and the effective property tax rate is 0.88%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.