These Are The 10 Most Affordable Places In Missouri

A wise sage once said “she works hard for the money” and these places in Missouri definitely treat her right.

You see, these are the places in Missouri where the cost of living is the lowest; where your salary goes the furthest. And when if you have the luxury of choosing where to live in the Show Me State, then the cost of living should play a role in the decision.

So we did the hard for you and crunched the numbers to find the cities that have lower food, energy, and housing costs. After the dust settled on our analysis of the 122 largest places in Missouri, we were left with this set of the best value for your money:

1. Dexter
2. Poplar Bluff
3. Kennett
4. Nevada
5. Charleston
6. Caruthersville
7. Trenton
8. Sikeston
9. Neosho
10. Webb City

So listen up Ladue as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

How We Determined The Most Affordable Places To Live In The Show Me State

There are basic necessities that you have to buy no matter where in the country you live. Those things include:

• Housing
• Food
• Gas
• Health Insurance
• Utilities
• Transportation

You can then compare the cost of these things in each of the places in Missouri to figure out which is the least expensive.

What you are left with is a “Cost of Living Index” that normalizes to 100 for an average place in the United States.

So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 122 places in Missouri that have more than 5,000 people.

And just so you can better understand how the cost of living index works, 100 is the average cost of a place in the United States. A score of 90 means that the place cost 10% less than average. A score of 90 means it’s 10% less expensive.

San Francisco has a score of 243 meaning it’s almost 2.5 times as expensive as the average place in the country.

1. Dexter

Population: 7,846
Services: 93
Groceries: 92
Healthcare: 86
Housing: 49
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 92

2. Poplar Bluff

Population: 17,110
Services: 93
Groceries: 92
Healthcare: 86
Housing: 52
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 92

3. Kennett

Population: 11,244
Services: 93
Groceries: 92
Healthcare: 86
Housing: 52
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 92

4. Nevada

Population: 8,073
Services: 94
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 90
Housing: 46
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 119

5. Charleston

Population: 5,847
Services: 113
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 91
Housing: 43
Transportation: 96
Utiltiies: 90

6. Caruthersville

Population: 6,169
Services: 113
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 91
Housing: 47
Transportation: 96
Utiltiies: 90

7. Trenton

Population: 6,067
Services: 103
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 99
Housing: 45
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 93

8. Sikeston

Population: 16,414
Services: 93
Groceries: 92
Healthcare: 86
Housing: 58
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 92

9. Neosho

Population: 11,906
Services: 94
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 90
Housing: 52
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 119

10. Webb City

Population: 10,923
Services: 94
Groceries: 89
Healthcare: 90
Housing: 54
Transportation: 87
Utiltiies: 119

Detailed List Of Affordable Places In Missouri

City	Rank	Population	Services	Grociers	Healthcare
Dexter	1	7,846	93	92	86
Poplar Bluff	2	17,110	93	92	86
Kennett	3	11,244	93	92	86
Nevada	4	8,073	94	89	90
Charleston	5	5,847	113	89	91
Caruthersville	6	6,169	113	89	91
Trenton	7	6,067	103	89	99
Sikeston	8	16,414	93	92	86
Neosho	9	11,906	94	89	90
Webb City	10	10,923	94	89	90
Macon	11	5,470	101	96	99
Carthage	12	14,271	94	89	90
Marshall	13	12,950	101	96	99
Bowling Green	14	5,301	101	96	99
Moberly	15	13,980	101	96	99
Kirksville	16	17,503	101	96	99
Hannibal	17	17,835	101	96	99
Aurora	18	7,502	99	100	94
Park Hills	19	8,717	97	101	101
Chillicothe	20	8,791	103	89	99
Joplin	21	49,924	94	89	90
Mexico	22	11,571	101	96	99
Bonne Terre	23	6,853	97	101	101
Clinton	24	9,167	103	89	99
Monett	25	8,893	94	89	90
Sedalia	26	21,340	101	96	99
Lebanon	27	14,454	99	100	94
Cameron	28	9,935	103	89	99
Boonville	29	8,305	101	96	99
Excelsior Springs	30	11,244	103	89	99
Maryville	31	11,924	95	95	102
West Plains	32	12,020	99	100	94
Richmond	33	5,790	103	89	99
Jennings	34	14,741	97	101	101
Fulton	35	12,702	101	96	99
Savannah	36	5,034	103	89	99
Desloge	37	5,027	97	101	101
Rolla	38	19,484	98	96	99
Marshfield	39	6,644	99	100	94
Normandy	40	5,020	97	101	101
De Soto	41	6,440	97	101	101
Grandview	42	24,491	103	89	99
Bolivar	43	10,331	99	100	94
Springfield	44	160,246	99	100	94
Berkeley	45	9,022	97	101	101
Independence	46	116,513	103	89	99
Raytown	47	29,486	103	89	99
Pevely	48	5,449	97	101	101
Perryville	49	8,234	97	101	101
Carl Junction	50	7,339	94	89	90
Odessa	51	5,260	103	89	99
Harrisonville	52	10,017	103	89	99
Jefferson City	53	42,983	98	96	99
Willard	54	5,237	99	100	94
Sullivan	55	7,830	97	101	101
Oak Grove	56	7,653	103	89	99
Ferguson	57	21,205	97	101	101
Overland	58	16,063	97	101	101
Farmington	59	16,522	97	101	101
Republic	60	14,637	99	100	94
Gladstone	61	25,635	103	89	99
Battlefield	62	5,496	99	100	94
Bellefontaine Neighbors	63	10,863	97	101	101
Cape Girardeau	64	37,982	97	101	101
Warrensburg	65	18,988	103	89	99
Florissant	66	52,273	97	101	101
Dellwood	67	5,028	97	101	101
Kansas City	68	459,772	103	89	99
Hazelwood	69	25,678	97	101	101
Ozark	70	17,710	99	100	94
Warrenton	71	7,850	97	101	101
Union	72	10,220	97	101	101
Belton	73	23,182	103	89	99
Pacific	74	6,024	97	101	101
Festus	75	11,559	97	101	101
Maplewood	76	8,081	97	101	101
Troy	77	10,587	97	101	101
Jackson	78	13,815	97	101	101
Nixa	79	19,032	99	100	94
Pleasant Hill	80	8,046	103	89	99
Liberty	81	29,252	103	89	99
Blue Springs	82	52,401	103	89	99
Grain Valley	83	12,507	103	89	99
Smithville	84	8,411	103	89	99
Black Jack	85	6,911	97	101	101
Kearney	86	8,419	103	89	99
Columbia	87	109,008	101	96	99
Washington	88	13,979	97	101	101
Branson	89	10,463	99	100	94
Arnold	90	20,859	97	101	101
Maryland Heights	91	27,418	97	101	101
Bridgeton	92	11,756	97	101	101
Greenwood	93	5,179	103	89	99
Shrewsbury	94	6,261	97	101	101
Lee’S Summit	95	90,544	103	89	99
Raymore	96	19,006	103	89	99
Valley Park	97	6,938	97	101	101
Crestwood	98	11,901	97	101	101
University City	99	35,397	97	101	101
Brentwood	100	8,022	97	101	101
Wentzville	101	28,879	97	101	101
O’Fallon	102	79,073	97	101	101
Manchester	103	18,154	97	101	101
Eureka	104	10,122	97	101	101
Ballwin	105	30,446	97	101	101
Parkville	106	5,538	103	89	99
Kirkwood	107	27,494	97	101	101
Richmond Heights	108	8,640	97	101	101
Ellisville	109	9,123	97	101	101
Webster Groves	110	22,974	97	101	101
Dardenne Prairie	111	11,341	97	101	101
Olivette	112	7,734	97	101	101
Chesterfield	113	47,471	97	101	101
Wildwood	114	35,388	97	101	101
Des Peres	115	8,395	97	101	101
Creve Coeur	116	17,777	97	101	101
Weldon Spring	117	5,473	97	101	101
Glendale	118	5,911	97	101	101
Sunset Hills	119	8,477	97	101	101
Clayton	120	15,740	97	101	101
Town And Country	121	10,821	97	101	101
Ladue	122	8,524	97	101	101