Moving from Kentucky to Missouri
Kentucky to Missouri is a move of about 496 miles. Median rent is $1,033 a month in Missouri and $967 in Kentucky, and the median home is $230,300 against $205,600. State income tax is up to 4.70% in Missouri and a flat 3.50% in Kentucky. Property tax runs 0.85% of home value in Missouri and 0.75% in Kentucky.
Moving to Missouri costs
About the same
Kentucky and Missouri work out within $50/mo of each other, renting on a $80,000 household income
Not your income? Run it on your own numbers
Worth knowing
Local income tax (state average) is what separates these two states
Of everything that changes when you move from Kentucky to Missouri, local income tax (state average) moves the most: about $74 a month less, which is most of the whole difference.
Kentucky vs Missouri at a glance
| Kentucky | Missouri | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $205,600 | $230,300 |
| Median rent | $967/mo | $1,033/mo |
| State income tax | Flat 3.50% | Up to 4.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.75% | 0.85% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 96 |
| Utilities | 75 | 79 |
Price levels are indexes where 100 is the national average. They cover everyday spending only; housing is the two rows above.
Monthly cost of living: Kentucky vs Missouri
| Monthly | KY | MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent) | $967 | $1,033 | +$66 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $224 | $235 | +$11 |
| Local income tax (state average) | $89 | $15 | -$74 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $86 | $60 | -$26 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,759 | $1,765 | +$6 |
| Utilities | $308 | $324 | +$16 |
| Total | -$1 | ||
Cost to move from Kentucky to Missouri
$1,700 to $3,900
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $500 to $800, against roughly $50 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 1-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. Louisville is not Kentucky-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
What jobs pay in Missouri, after the cost of living
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.