Springfield, MO
Springfield, MO Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Springfield, MO Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Springfield ranks 196th for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 222nd for income. A household earns $67,219 a year while median rent runs $1,019/mo, making it expensive relative to what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 11% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is job market (23rd of 300), while household income is the soft spot (222nd). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 51st and home prices 100th among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Springfield, your take-home is worth about $66,269 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 222nd of 300↑42.9%$67,219
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 36th of 30089 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $75,881
- Per-capita income
- $37,496
- Full-time pay
- $40,266
Housing
- Median rent
- 51st of 300↑33.9%$1,019/mo
- Home value
- 100th of 300↑60.8%$260,000
- Property tax
- $1,623/yr · 0.6%
- Sales tax
- 8.41%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 23rd of 3002.8%
- Bachelor's+
- 158th of 30032.8%
- Avg commute
- 89th of 30022.5 min
People
- Population
- 500,004
- Population change
- +6.9%
- Median age
- 37.1 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 3.2%
- Broadband
- 87.5%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 141st of 30045
- Natural-hazard loss
- 109th of 300$11/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 182nd of 30019.5%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 8.7%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Cost of living
- + Rent
- + Home prices
- + Job market
- + Commute
Watch-outs
- – Household income
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — springfield wbo.
What jobs pay in Springfield
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Family medicine physicians
- $354,760
- IT managers
- $135,140
- Pharmacists
- $134,990
- Financial managers
- $130,290
- Lawyers
- $103,790
- Software developers
- $102,350
- Civil engineers
- $82,800
- Registered nurses
- $79,370
- General & operations managers
- $76,290
- Accountants & auditors
- $73,020
- Plumbers
- $61,410
- Secondary school teachers
- $60,060
- Police officers
- $58,460
- Electricians
- $56,590
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $56,070
- Carpenters
- $52,000
- Elementary school teachers
- $49,380
- Construction laborers
- $47,830
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $47,160
- Customer service reps
- $38,970
- Janitors
- $35,490
- Retail salespersons
- $31,760
- Cashiers
- $29,720
- Waiters & waitresses
- $29,350
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the Springfield metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in Missouri are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- California1,356
- Arkansas1,270
- Texas969
- Florida761
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Springfield
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Springfield metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Springfield metro?
- Median gross rent across the Springfield, MO Metro Area is $1,019 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Springfield.
- What is the median household income in the Springfield metro?
- A typical household in the Springfield, MO Metro Area earns $67,219 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Springfield expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Springfield, MO Metro Area runs about 11% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Springfield metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $75,881 (versus its face value of $67,219). CityLedger rates the Springfield, MO Metro Area expensive for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Springfield metro?
- The median home value across the Springfield, MO Metro Area is $260,000 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Springfield metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Springfield, MO Metro Area is 2.8% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).