Springfield bests state in cost-of-living report

The Springfield metro area scored better than the state in the third quarter in a newly released cost-of-living report.

The score for the Queen City metro area was 84.5, compared with 88.3 for Missouri, according to a news release from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, which collected data from a survey by The Council for Community and Economic Research. A score of 100 represents the national average – the lower the score, the lower the costs on items such as groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and health care.

Springfield fared the best in housing, with a 70.8 score. Other individual metrics were 81.5 in utilities, 88.8 in transportation, 90 in miscellaneous, 94 in groceries and 95.3 in health care.

Missouri's score of 88.3 ranks the state the sixth lowest nationwide, according to the release.

The state’s other metro areas on the list are Joplin, at 84; St. Louis, at 88.7; Columbia, at 90.1; and Kansas City, at 94.4.