Moving to Missouri from West Virginia
What to Expect
A comprehensive look at what changes when you move from West Virginia to Missouri — from daily expenses to quality of life.
If you moved from West Virginia to Missouri, you would find that Missouri is 12.8% more expensive than West Virginia. A $75,000 salary in West Virginia would need to be roughly $81,165 in Missouri to maintain the same lifestyle.
How Far Will Your Money Go?
How your spending power changes when you relocate from West Virginia to Missouri.
What does your salary buy?
$75,000 → $81,165
To maintain the same standard of living in Missouri
Calculate with your salary →The biggest cost differences at a glance
Restaurants
pay 0.1% more
Groceries
pay 17.1% more
Transportation
pay 16.4% more
Housing
pay 1.8% more
Childcare
pay 47.2% more
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.2% more
Data: MyLifeElsewhere's crowdsourced cost of living database, with prices submitted and updated by users worldwide. Exchange rates are refreshed regularly from public sources.
Key Indicator Comparison
How West Virginia and Missouri stack up on safety, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure.
Is it safe?
incidents per 100,000 people per year
incidents per 100,000 people per year
West Virginia performs better than Missouri across all safety metrics.
How's the healthcare?
share of people without health insurance
share of adults with obesity
share of adults with diabetes
share of adults who smoke
Missouri generally does better on health & wellbeing, though West Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What about housing?
typical price of a home
typical monthly gross rent
share of homes that are owner-occupied
West Virginia performs better than Missouri across all what about housing? metrics.
Will I have good infrastructure?
share of households with internet
minutes each way to work
Missouri performs significantly better than West Virginia across all infrastructure metrics.
What are the job prospects?
percentage of the labour force without work
a broad measure of economic output per person
typical annual income of a household
share of people below the poverty line
Missouri performs significantly better than West Virginia across all employment & economy metrics.
Is it good for families?
average years of life at birth
share of adults with a 4-year college degree
Missouri performs significantly better than West Virginia across all family life metrics.
Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (PLACES), FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, OECD Regional Demography, US Census Bureau (American Community Survey)
What's the Climate Like?
Monthly averages — select a city to compare.
Avg. annual high / low
Avg. annual high / low
| Months | Charleston | Columbia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan–Mar | 61°/47°F (16°/8°C) | 47°/28°F (8°/-2°C) |
| Apr–Jun | 79°/67°F (26°/19°C) | 76°/55°F (24°/13°C) |
| Jul–Sep | 85°/75°F (30°/24°C) | 86°/65°F (30°/18°C) |
| Oct–Dec | 67°/54°F (20°/12°C) | 55°/36°F (13°/2°C) |
View all months
| Month | Charleston | Columbia |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57°/43°F (13.7°/6.0°C) | 40°/22°F (4.3°/-5.3°C) |
| Feb | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.5°C) | 45°/26°F (7.2°/-3.3°C) |
| Mar | 65°/52°F (18.3°/10.9°C) | 56°/35°F (13.3°/1.7°C) |
| Apr | 72°/59°F (22.2°/14.9°C) | 67°/46°F (19.3°/7.6°C) |
| May | 79°/67°F (25.9°/19.5°C) | 75°/55°F (24.0°/12.9°C) |
| Jun | 85°/74°F (29.2°/23.3°C) | 85°/65°F (29.2°/18.1°C) |
| Jul | 88°/77°F (30.9°/24.9°C) | 90°/69°F (32.0°/20.4°C) |
| Aug | 86°/76°F (30.2°/24.5°C) | 88°/67°F (31.3°/19.6°C) |
| Sep | 82°/72°F (27.8°/22.1°C) | 80°/58°F (26.6°/14.5°C) |
| Oct | 75°/62°F (23.7°/16.9°C) | 68°/47°F (20.0°/8.1°C) |
| Nov | 67°/54°F (19.6°/12.0°C) | 55°/37°F (12.7°/2.6°C) |
| Dec | 60°/46°F (15.3°/7.6°C) | 42°/25°F (5.6°/-3.8°C) |
Data:
National Weather Service
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it cheaper to live in Missouri than West Virginia?
Day-to-day costs in Missouri run about 8% higher than West Virginia on average; specific cities can swing further.
How much money do I need to move to Missouri?
A safe rule of thumb is 3 months of local expenses plus relocation costs. On a $75,000 comparable salary, that's around $20,291 in Missouri for everyday spending, before movers, a truck rental, and a rental deposit.
Is Missouri safe?
West Virginia performs better than Missouri across all safety metrics.
How is healthcare in Missouri compared to West Virginia?
Missouri generally does better on health & wellbeing, though West Virginia leads in uninsured rate.
What's the weather like in Missouri compared to West Virginia?
The average high temperature in Columbia is 66°F, compared to 73°F in Charleston. Columbia receives around 46.3 in of rainfall per year, while Charleston gets 44.4 in.
