Overall
88.0
Cheap
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Jefferson City, MO
Cost-of-living indicators for Jefferson City, MO, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 88.0
- Overall RPP
- #337
- of 387 metros
- 62.1
- Rents RPP
- $114K
- $100K national buys
Jefferson City ranks #337 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has risen 6.6 points since 2008.
- rising since 2008
- similar cost to Rocky Mount
The verdict
Jefferson City costs less than 87% of U.S. metros, an overall index of 88.0, 12.0% below the national average, with rents the biggest swing at 62.1.
- bottom 13%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 94.2
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 85.5
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $113,669 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $87,975.
Jefferson City vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
88 Bottom 13% higher than 13% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Jefferson City cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
62.1 RPP
- Services
Services
85.5 RPP
- Overall
Overall
88 RPP
- Goods
Goods
94.2 RPP
What this shows Jefferson City's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 62.1 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 85.5. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Jefferson City's cost comes from
Metros near Jefferson City's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Jefferson City (Jefferson City, this metro): goods RPP 94.2, rents RPP 62.1
- Rocky Mount: goods RPP 96.6, rents RPP 56.1
- Auburn: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 62.1
- Sumter: goods RPP 96.3, rents RPP 60.8
- Johnson City: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 63.2
- Cleveland: goods RPP 96.2, rents RPP 60.3
- Mobile: goods RPP 96.4, rents RPP 60.1
Price Index Summary
Goods
94.2
Below avg
Services
85.5
Cheap
Rents
62.1
Cheap
Housing-led affordability profile
How Jefferson City's cost structure works
Housing is the strongest affordability offset in Jefferson City: rents index at 62.1, the component furthest below the national benchmark. That does not make every local expense low, but it is the clearest explanation for the metro's overall RPP of 88.0.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA, Elkhart-Goshen, IN, Auburn-Opelika, AL. They resemble Jefferson City across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Jefferson City's overall index has risen by 6.6 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$87,975
in Jefferson City, MO purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$43,987
$75,000 nationally
$65,981
$125,000 nationally
$109,969
$150,000 nationally
$131,963
$200,000 nationally
$175,950
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
B
81/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability B
81st percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has been trending upward, increasing by 6.6 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2018, when the index jumped 6.8 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Jefferson City overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 81.4 |
| 2009 | 84.7 |
| 2010 | 87.8 |
| 2011 | 87.4 |
| 2012 | 89.9 |
| 2013 | 88.3 |
| 2014 | 86.8 |
| 2015 | 86.7 |
| 2016 | 85.8 |
| 2017 | 82.5 |
| 2018 | 89.3 |
| 2019 | 91.1 |
| 2020 | 88.9 |
| 2021 | 88.2 |
| 2022 | 87.0 |
| 2023 | 87.4 |
| 2024 | 88.0 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Jefferson City's overall RPP rose +0.6 points, from 87.4 in 2023 to 88.0 in 2024. The largest category movement was rents, changing from 57.7 to 62.1. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Jefferson City's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
Goods 93.7 · Services 83.7 · Rents 63.1 Elkhart-Goshen, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.4 · Rents 64.3 Auburn-Opelika, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 83.9 · Rents 62.1 Kokomo, IN
Goods 94.3 · Services 86.3 · Rents 59.3 Sumter, SC
Goods 96.3 · Services 87.3 · Rents 60.8 Montgomery, AL
Goods 96.4 · Services 84.9 · Rents 64.3
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Jefferson City, MO's index of 88.0.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
MO-relative analysis
Services prices places Jefferson City, MO toward the bottom of MO's metros
Among the 8 MO metros PlainCost tracks with reported services prices data, Jefferson City, MO ranks #7 - the 13th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Jefferson City, MO only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#3 of 8
38th percentile in MO
Services prices
#7 of 8
13th percentile in MO
Rent prices
#5 of 8
38th percentile in MO
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MO only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Jefferson City, MO: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (88.0 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (62.1 here).
Other MO Metros
St. Louis, MO-IL 95.1 Kansas City, MO-KS 92.5 Columbia, MO 89.4 Springfield, MO 88.6 St. Joseph, MO-KS 86.4 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 86.1
View all MO metros → Cheapest in MO → Most expensive in MO →
Compare to Other Metros
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
What this means for Jefferson City
How to read Jefferson City's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $113,669 in Jefferson City. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 62.1, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Jefferson City head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Jefferson City, MO?
Jefferson City, MO has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 88.0, meaning it is 12.0% less expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 94.2, services at 85.5, and rents at 62.1. It ranks #337 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Jefferson City, MO to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $87,975 in Jefferson City, MO. Conversely, $100K earned in Jefferson City, MO has the purchasing power of $113,669 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Jefferson City, MO?
Rents in Jefferson City, MO are indexed at 62.1, which is 37.9% below the national average. This makes the area relatively affordable for renters.
Is Jefferson City, MO getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Jefferson City, MO's overall cost index changed by +6.6 points (from 81.4 to 88.0). The cost of living has been trending upward.
What costs the most in Jefferson City, MO?
The priciest category in Jefferson City, MO is goods at 94.2, 5.8% below the national average, still the highest of the three categories. The most affordable category is rents at 62.1, 37.9% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Jefferson City, MO?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include Rocky Mount, Auburn-Opelika, Sumter. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Jefferson City, MO's 88.0.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.