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Alexandria vs Joplin

Metro-area medians — Alexandria, LA Metro Area vs Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Alexandria and Joplin are evenly matched, each taking 4 of the clearly-decided measures.

Alexandria and Joplin cost about the same to live in, but Joplin households earn about 12% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Joplin.

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.

Alexandria, LA
$59,439
take-home / yr · 21% to tax
$69,368
real value after local prices
Joplin, MO
$58,705
take-home / yr · 22% to tax
$68,486
real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Alexandria leaves you about $882/yr better off after tax and local prices.

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.

Measure
Alexandria
Joplin
Livability (CityLedger)
31/100
38/100
Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
85.7
85.7
Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
$65,249
$73,259
Median household income
$55,909
$62,796
Median rent
$899/mo
$1,001/mo
Median home value
$165,800
$184,500
Unemployment
4.5%
4.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher
24.1%
24.2%
Average commute
22.3 min
20.8 min
Air quality (median AQI)
39
41
Avg temperature
67°F
58°F

Choose Alexandria for

  • + Median rent
  • + Median home value
  • + Unemployment
  • + Air quality (median AQI)
Full Alexandria profile →

Choose Joplin for

  • + Livability (CityLedger)
  • + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
  • + Median household income
  • + Average commute
Full Joplin profile →

Alexandria vs Joplin — frequently asked

Is Alexandria cheaper than Joplin?
They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Alexandria and Joplin metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Alexandria or Joplin?
Joplin has the higher median household income — $62,796 versus $55,909 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 12% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Alexandria or Joplin?
A paycheck stretches further in Joplin. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $73,259 there versus $65,249 in Alexandria.
Which has cheaper rent, Alexandria or Joplin?
Alexandria has cheaper rent — a median of $899/mo versus $1,001/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).