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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Veterans' benefits — pension, VA disability, GI Bill — stretch farther in some cities. We ranked 4 cities in Missouri on cost, state tax burden, and healthcare. St Louis leads with index 77 — for better or worse — and 4.8% state tax.
#1 Ranked: St Louis — cost index 77, rent $1,326/mo, income $55,279
St Louis rent up 3% over the past year
Veteran scoring: cost index 77, state tax 4.8%, healthcare index 95 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
Veterans' benefits — pension, VA disability, GI Bill — stretch farther in some cities. We ranked 4 cities in Missouri on cost, state tax burden, and healthcare. St Louis leads with index 77 — for better or worse — and 4.8% state tax.
Veterans have unique financial considerations: pension, VA disability, GI Bill benefits all interact with local costs and taxes. Our model weights cost of living (20pts), state tax burden (20pts), and healthcare costs (15pts) for supplemental care beyond VA. St Louis scores highest with a 77 cost index and 4.8% state tax.
What does daily life actually cost in St Louis? Start with the 29% rent-to-income ratio — tight but manageable for most households. And depending on your situation, on the category level, Housing (index 77) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 95) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $55,279 and homes at $179,917 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons. An outlier in the best sense.
This looks affordable — until you factor in healthcare. In St Louis, the healthcare index sits at 95 — not a dealbreaker, but worth knowing about.
St Louis rent up 3% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked St Louis has increased from $1,282 — we had to double-check this one — to $1,326/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
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.
| 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 |
281,754 residents · Missouri
Here's St Louis by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 77. Rent: $1,326/month — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — . Income: $55,279/year. Home price: $179,917. Population: 281,754. The strongest category is Housing at 77; the most expensive is Healthcare at 95. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $6,828 per year vs. the national median. If you're a planner, this number should anchor your spreadsheet.
152,933 residents · Missouri
Real talk: Dive into Kansas's numbers: cost index 83 (28 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 83, while Healthcare runs 97. With 152,933 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
120,922 residents · Missouri
Why Independence ranks #3: the numbers tell a clear story. At 77 on the cost index, residents save roughly 34% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,313/month — for better or worse — while the median household pulls in $59,480/year. The Housing category is particularly strong at 77, though Healthcare (95) lags behind. Home prices average $203,383 — $263,987 below the national median.
112,544 residents · Missouri
A closer look at Springfield: the cost index of 71 breaks down to a Housing index of 71 (strongest category) and a Healthcare index of 94 (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 (that's pre-tax, of course).
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 military veterans 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.