What is the cost of living in Jefferson City?

Jefferson City has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 88.0, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 62.1, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,042/month.

What is the median salary in Jefferson City?

The median salary in Jefferson City is $59,255 annually (mean: $63,495). Top occupations include General and Operations Managers, Registered Nurses, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive.

How safe is Jefferson City?

The violent crime rate in the Jefferson City area is 463 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1972 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Jefferson City?

The state of MO has 2,321 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Jefferson City?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Jefferson City.

Is Jefferson City a good place to relocate?

Jefferson City has a Life Score of 49.4/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Jefferson City sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Jefferson City ranks #90 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Jefferson City, MO

BEA RPP 88.0 ranks #51 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

88.0
Cost index (US=100): $1,042
2BR rent / mo: $59,255
Median salary: 57.6
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Jefferson City ranks #90 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (57.6/100), with its strongest marks in housing and schools.

#90
of 387 US metros · Above median: 6,245,466
metro-area population: 463
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,321
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: safety (15/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Jefferson City ranks #90 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 88.0 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,042/mo, median salary $59,255; LiveAbility Score 57.6/100, strongest in housing and schools.

Signature: BEA RPP 88.0 ranks #51 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 88.0 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,042/mo.

LiveAbility 57.6/100 puts Jefferson City in the top third (#90 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Jefferson City area is 71,510.

Jefferson City vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

58 Top 23% higher than 77% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Jefferson City housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Jefferson City MSA; housing RPP 62.1 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,042/mo.

Studio

$789

/month

1 Bedroom

$794

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,042

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,249

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,472

/month

Jefferson City wages and employment

Jefferson City posts 71,510 total employment with median salary $59,255 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$59,255

Mean Salary

$63,495

Total Employment

71,510

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
General and Operations Managers	$76,170
Registered Nurses	$85,010
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	$40,980
Cashiers	$29,420
Office Clerks, General	$39,640

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Jefferson City area from NCES.

Schools

2,321

Enrollment

887,264

Student:Teacher

12.8:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Jefferson City's composite Life Score is 49.4/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

87/100

Elite

Wages

16/100

Bottom decile

Rent

89/100

Elite

Crime

15/100

Bottom decile

Schools

12/100

Bottom decile

Environment

70/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Jefferson City ranks #90 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 57.6/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Housing (89/100)

Housing

89
Schools

88
Cost of living

87
Air quality

72
Climate

58
Low hazard

19
Job market

16
Safety

15

What this shows Jefferson City's strongest dimensions are housing and schools; its weakest among scored dims is safety at 15/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Jefferson City to

Rapid City Reading Redding Reno Richmond Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario

Metros near Jefferson City on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Jefferson City on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Jefferson City cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Jefferson City wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Jefferson City?

Jefferson City runs a $59,255 median salary at a 88.0 cost index, ranking #90 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Jefferson City's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Jefferson City head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Jefferson City
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.