Moving from Missouri to Pennsylvania
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 Missouri and Pennsylvania, side by side.
Moving to Pennsylvania costs about
+$420/mo
more than Missouri each month, renting
Worth knowing
Utilities cost 38% more in Pennsylvania
Power, gas and water run about $122 a month more in Pennsylvania than in Missouri. It is the cost people forget to check, and over a year it is roughly $1,466.
Missouri vs Pennsylvania at a glance
| Missouri | Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $230,300 | $254,500 |
| Median rent | $1,033/mo | $1,209/mo |
| State income tax | Up to 4.70% | Flat 3.07% |
| Property tax rate | 0.85% | 1.30% |
| Groceries, gas & goods | 96 | 99 |
| Utilities | 79 | 109 |
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 | MO | PA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | |||
| Housing (median rent)Biggest factor | $1,033 | $1,209 | +$176 |
| Taxes | |||
| State income tax | $235 | $205 | -$31 |
| Local income tax (state average) | $15 | $82 | +$67 |
| Sales tax (on everyday spending) | $60 | $91 | +$31 |
| Everyday costs | |||
| Groceries, gas & goods | $1,765 | $1,822 | +$56 |
| Utilities | $324 | $446 | +$122 |
| Total | +$420 | ||
What the move itself costs
$2,200 to $5,000
From a container you load yourself up to full-service movers.
Shipping one car adds about $700 to $1,050, against roughly $250 in fuel and lodging to drive it the 2-day trip yourself.
These are statewide figures. St. Louis is not Missouri-average and Philadelphia is not Pennsylvania-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.