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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
The numbers are clear: 4 of 4 cities in Missouri beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Kansas stands out at 94 on the index, with rent of $1,418/month and household income of $67,449. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 94 | $1,418 | Details |
| 2 | St Louis | 89 | $1,326 | Details |
| 3 | Independence | 90 | $1,313 | Details |
| 4 | Springfield | 90 | $1,209 | Details |
#1 Ranked: Kansas — cost index 94, rent $1,418/mo, income $67,449
Kansas rent up 3% over the past year
4 of 4 cities come in below the national cost-of-living average of 112
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
The numbers are clear: 4 of 4 cities in Missouri beat the national cost-of-living benchmark of 112. Kansas stands out at 94 on the index, with rent of $1,418/month and household income of $67,449. Assembled from 2026 Census, Zillow, and BLS data.
So, Kansas. Cost index of 94, rent at $1,418/month. It's lower than the national average. Median income is $67,449, which is below the national median. Take it or leave it — the data is what it is.
(Tangentially — this is the kind of city where you can actually build equity on a median salary, which is increasingly rare.)
What to do with this data: use the ranking as a shortlist, then dig into the city profiles for trend lines and category breakdowns. The difference between #1 and #5 is often smaller than the difference between "good on paper" and "actually fits my life." Compare your top picks with our calculator to see real take-home numbers. Honestly, this is the kind of city that makes you wonder why more people aren't paying attention. The numbers are right there — rent that doesn't eat your paycheck, costs that actually leave room for a life. And yet it barely shows up in the national conversation about affordable places to live. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's what keeps it affordable.
510,704 residents · Missouri
Dive into Kansas's numbers: cost index 94 (18 points below national average), rent $1,418/month, income $67,449, and a home price of $245,199. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 85, while Healthcare runs 97. As a major city with 510,704 residents, amenities and job markets are robust (that's pre-tax, of course).
281,754 residents · Missouri
A closer look at St Louis: the cost index of 89 breaks down to a Housing index of 74 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 92 (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.
120,922 residents · Missouri
Dive into Independence's numbers: cost index 90 (22 points below national average), rent $1,313/month, income $59,480, and a home price of $203,383. The city's cost profile isn't flat — Housing is the cheapest category at 76, while Healthcare runs 93. With 120,922 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
170,188 residents · Missouri
A closer look at Springfield: the cost index of 90 breaks down to a Housing index of 76 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 93 (weakest). Median rent is $1,209/month — 36% below the national median — while household income sits at $45,984, meaning locals spend about 32% of income on rent. That exceeds the recommended 30% threshold — affordability here depends on earning above the median.
Cities with the highest rents in Missouri are ranked from most expensive to least. High rent doesn't always mean unaffordable — we pair rent data with income to show the full picture. 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.
Kansas ranks #1 in Missouri for this analysis with a cost index of 94 and median income of $67,449.
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.
Kansas (ranked #1) has a cost index of 94 and rent of $1,418/mo, while Springfield (ranked #4) has a cost index of 90 and rent of $1,209/mo — a 4-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 Kansas is $1,418/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $477 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Kansas is $245,199, which is 3.6× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. 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.