Ingram's August 2022

DESTINATION MISSOURI REASONS TO CHOOSE

WITH INFLATION WRACKING THE NATION, MISSOURI ENJOYS A COMPARATIVE BREAK, EVEN IF IT’S HARD TO DISCERN MANY POSITIVES THROUGH THE PAIN. Cost of Living

In almost any other year, the challenge of addressing cost-of-living factors in Missouri is to maintain a sense of humility and not appear boastful. Consider the Show-Me State humbled.

Long a redoubt against the soaring costs that have been standard-issue facts of life on the coasts, residents of Missouri are feeling the pain of the worst inflationary period in America in more than 40 years. With prices up more than 9 percent year-over-year as of July—and produce prices up even, more, topping 11 percent—there’s little solace in suggesting that “at least it’s not as bad here as it is in . . .” According to congressional esti mates, neighboring Illinois has costs up 14.47 percent since the start of 2021. Or Texas, where things are even worse, with a national high of 14.91 percent. Still, the 13.75 percent reading that ties Missouri for 20th nationwide is definitely taking a bite out of incomes

in the Show-Me State. Worse, in fact, than they’re feeling in California and Hawaii (both at 12.41 percent), New York (11.35 percent), or Connecticut (11.06 percent). However, some perspective is in order: In years past, all of those states with rates lower than Missouri’s in crease since 2021 have been off-the charts expensive by comparison. That remains the case in 2022—costs here may have surged more over the short term but from a sharply lower base. The bottom line: It remains more affordable here—by a considerable margin—than you’ll find in most any other state that boasts the types of cultural, educational, healthcare, and entertainment options you’ll find in Missouri. Yes, it may be cheaper to

COST OF LIVING INDEX BY STATE, 2022

$

STATE NAME Hawaii

AFFORDABILITY

RANK

SCORE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

192.9 151.7 139.1 134.2 131.6 129.9 129.7 127.7 125.1 119.4 117.5 114.5 110.7 109.7 108.5 108.1 106.9 105.6 101.7 101.6 100.7 99.8 98.8 98.4 97.9 97.3 97.0 95.9 94.9 94.5 93.9 92.3 91.5 91.1 90.9 90.8 90.8 90.1 90.0 89.3 89.3 89.2 89.0 88.9 88.7 87.5 87.1 87.0 86.9 86.1

California New York

Oregon

Massachusetts

Alaska

Maryland Connecticut New Jersey Rhode Island

Maine

Vermont

Washington

New Hampshire

Nevada Delaware Montana Colorado

47th out of 50

Pennsylvania Minnesota South Dakota North Dakota Virginia

Utah

Missouri ranks among the most affordable states to live in the United States in 2022 22nd in overall inflation costs 13.75% cumulative inflation rates, January 2021 through June 2022

Florida

Wisconsin

Arizona

South Carolina North Carolina

Illinois

Louisiana

Idaho Texas

West Virginia

Kentucky

Ohio

Nebraska

Iowa

Indiana Wyoming Alabama Georgia Kansas Michigan Tennessee New Mexico Missouri Oklahoma Arkansas Mississippi

Source: Xxx

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