Moving from Alabama to Missouri
Everyone compares rent and groceries. Almost nobody compares the two numbers that actually decide whether a move works: state income tax and property tax. Here is Alabama and Missouri, side by side.
Moving to Missouri costs about
-$60/mo
less than Alabama each month, renting
Worth knowing
The move pays for itself in about 38 months
Moving costs somewhere around $2,221, and Missouri runs about $60 a month cheaper. After roughly 38 months you are ahead.
Alabama vs Missouri at a glance
| Alabama | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $209,900 | $230,300 |
| Median rent | $1,007/mo | $1,033/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 5.00% | Up to 4.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.38% | 0.85% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 96 |
| Utilities | 85 | 79 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
What changes each month
| Monthly | AL | MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $1,007 | $1,033 | +$26 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income taxBiggest factor | $311 | $235 | -$76 |
| Local income tax (state average) | $7 | $15 | +$8 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $58 | $60 | +$2 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,767 | $1,765 | -$2 |
| Utilities | $346 | $324 | -$21 |
| Total | -$60 | ||
What the move itself costs
$1,800 to $4,200
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $450 to $650, against roughly $200 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Birmingham is not Alabama-average and St. Louis is not Missouri-average, so a specific city can look nothing like its state. Compare metro areas instead to narrow it to 387 real places, including which side of a state line you would live on.
Run this with your own numbers
Estimates only, not advice. Housing and income figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2024); price levels from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2024); tax rates are for the 2026 tax year, compiled from state revenue departments and the Tax Foundation. Moving costs are modelled from published ranges rather than quoted. Every figure is a statewide median or average and will not match any particular household.