Loading
Assembling your view…
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. Which Missouri city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 4 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. St Louis leads at cost index 77 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — with a utilitie…
#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
Remote workers have a superpower: location independence. Which Missouri city let you keep the most of that salary? We scored 4 cities on cost of living, utility infrastructure, and income potential. St Louis leads at cost index 77 — which, honestly, is lower than you'd expect here — with a utilities index of 93 (that's pre-tax, of course).
Remote workers profit from geographic arbitrage. Our model scores cost index (20pts), local income as a proxy for economic infrastructure (15pts), and utility costs (10pts) — because when your living room is your office, reliable affordable internet and power matter. St Louis scores highest with a 77 cost index and 93 utilities index. Kansas offers a different cost profile.
A closer look at St Louis: the cost index of 77 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.
The gap here is wider than it has any right to be: St Louis rent up 3% over the past year. Rent in #1-ranked St Louis has increased from $1,282 to $1,326/mo over the past 12 months — a 3% increase. Rising costs may erode its top ranking over time. This stands out as genuinely impressive.
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. I'll say what the data can't: this city punches above its weight in ways that don't show up in a spreadsheet. There's a reason people who move here tend to stay. You can call it quality of life, you can call it vibes, whatever — the point is, the cost structure gives people room to actually enjoy where they live, and that's increasingly rare in this country.
| 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
Real talk: a closer look at St Louis: the cost index of 77 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 (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
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 (that's pre-tax, of course).
120,922 residents · Missouri
Dive into Independence's numbers: cost index 77 — we had to double-check this one — (34 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 77, while Healthcare runs 95. That tracks. With 120,922 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs.
112,544 residents · Missouri
Here's Springfield by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). And as a general rule, cost index: 71. Rent: $1,209/month — for better or worse — . Income: $45,984/year. Home price: $238,992. Population: 112,544. The strongest category is Housing at 71; the most expensive is Healthcare at 94. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $8,232 per year vs. the national median. That's an underrated factor in the decision (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 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.