California vs Missouri

Household income

Currently in

Moving to

Your $100,000 in California is worth

$90,334

at national prices · RPP 110.7BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

The same income in Missouri is worth

$110,132

at national prices · RPP 90.8BEA RPP SARPPSource: BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 vintage · released February 2026 · Official API

Your income goes +$19,798 further in Missouri (+21.9% purchasing power).

Show the math

adjusted = income ÷ (RPP ÷ 100)

California: $100,000 ÷ (110.7 ÷ 100) = $90,334

Missouri: $100,000 ÷ (90.8 ÷ 100) = $110,132

difference: $110,132 − $90,334 = +$19,798

Where the difference comes from

Price level by component, 100 = US average. Higher means more expensive.

Regional price parity by component for the two states, with the percentage difference.
Component	California	Missouri	Difference
All items	110.7	90.8	−18.0%
Housing rents	154.3	69.9	−54.7%
Goods	106.1	96.3	−9.2%
Utilities	158.9	79.4	−50.0%
Other services	102.6	95.2	−7.2%

BEA Regional Price Parities · SARPP · 2024 · rel. February 2026 · Official API

Housing reality check

Typical rent and home price in each state — tangible context beyond the index.

CaliforniaMedian rent$2,036/moMedian home$734,700

MissouriMedian rent$1,033/moMedian home$230,300

US Census ACS 5-Year Estimates · ACS5 · 2024 · rel. December 2025 · Official API

Tax at a glance

Hand-curated, tax year 2026 · verified 2026-07-20

Income and sales tax for the two states.
Tax	California	Missouri
Income tax (top rate)	13.30%	4.70%
Sales tax (combined avg)	8.99%	8.44%

Tax Foundation (income & sales) · Tax · 2026 · rel. tax year 2026 · Manually maintained · verified 2026-07-20

Official API Manually maintained2 of 3 metrics sourced from official APIs, 1 manually maintained. How every number is calculated →

California vs Missouri: the read

The bottom line

Move a $100,000 income from California to Missouri and its purchasing power changes from $90,334 to $110,132 in national-average terms — a gain of $19,798. Missouri is the cheaper of the two, running at 90.8 on the price index versus 110.7.

Where the difference comes from

The widest gap is housing rents: California sits at 154.3 and Missouri at 69.9 (100 = national). Missouri has the edge there, and it's the main reason the two states diverge.

Housing

Median rent runs $2,036 in California against $1,033 in Missouri, and the typical home $734,700 versus $230,300. Missouri is the more affordable place to buy.

Taxes

On tax, California has 13.30% top income tax and a combined sales tax of 8.99%; Missouri has 4.70% top income tax and 8.44%. Weigh both against the purchasing-power figure above.

Full profiles: California ·Missouri. Every figure here is sourced on the pages linked above.

Comparing a different pair?Use the full tool →