Joplin composite
52.6 /100
Grade B · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Joplin vs Kansas City
Joplin, MO-KS and Kansas City, MO-KS side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 52.6
- Joplin Life Score
- B
- Joplin grade
- 46.9
- Kansas City Life Score
- C+
- Kansas City grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Joplin scores higher on 3 (cost of living, rent, safety) and Kansas City on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Joplin Kansas City ◗
cost of living
97
59
wages
13
67
rent
99
43
safety
15
15
schools
12
12
childcare
0
0
environment
71
71
Joplin and Kansas City differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Joplin has a cost-of-living index of 85.7 vs Kansas City's 92.5 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $57,697 in Joplin and $67,553 in Kansas City. A 2-bedroom averages $877/mo vs $1,358/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Joplin vs Kansas City Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Joplin and Kansas City works out to $5,772 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Joplin carries the same local purchasing power as $107,962 in Kansas City - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 463.3 per 100,000 residents in MO vs 463.3 in MO, with property-crime rates of 1971.6 and 1971.6 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MO lists 2,321 public schools at a 12.2:1 student-teacher ratio, while MO lists 2,321 schools at 12.2:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Joplin and Kansas City are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Kansas City composite
46.9 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
0 pts
Kansas City cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
0 pts
Joplin safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Joplin
Joplin composite (Grade B)
Kansas City
Kansas City composite (Grade C+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Joplin | Kansas City |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 85.7 | 92.5 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 94.1 |
| Services | 85.9 | 89.0 |
| Rents | 54.0 | 86.6 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Kansas City gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Joplin?
$
Equivalent in Kansas City:
$107,962
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Joplin: 85.7, Kansas City: 92.5, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Joplin | Kansas City |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $664/mo | $1,095/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $668/mo | $1,197/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $877/mo | $1,358/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,157/mo | $1,769/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,161/mo | $2,103/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Joplin | Kansas City |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $57,697 | $67,553 |
| Total Employment | 77,720 | 1,079,180 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Joplin (MO) | Kansas City (MO) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 463.3 | 463.3 |
| Property Crime | 1971.6 | 1971.6 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MO | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,321 | 2,321 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 12.2:1 | 12.2:1 |
| Charter Schools | 3.5% | 3.5% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MO | MO |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 621 | 621 |
| Water Systems | 1,688 | 1,688 |
| Superfund Sites | 39 | 39 |
| Water Violations | 6,737 | 6,737 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Joplin | Kansas City |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 38.0 | 51.0 |
| Good Air Days | 83.6% | 49.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 2 days | 10 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MO | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 6/100 |
| Total Violations | 201,695 | 201,695 |
| Health-Based Violations | 54,821 | 54,821 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.4% | 95.4% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MO | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 56/100 | 56/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 43.8% | 43.8% |
| HPSA Designations | 925 | 925 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MO | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 62/100 | 62/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 50.6 | 50.6 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 50.8 | 50.8 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Joplin more expensive than Kansas City? ▼
Joplin has a cost of living index of 85.7 compared to Kansas City's 92.5 (national average = 100). Kansas City is 6.8 points above Joplin on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Joplin and Kansas City? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $877/mo in Joplin vs $1,358/mo in Kansas City, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $664/mo to $1,095/mo.
How do salaries compare between Joplin and Kansas City? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $57,697 in Joplin and $67,553 in Kansas City, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Joplin has the same purchasing power as $107,962 in Kansas City.
Is Joplin or Kansas City safer? ▼
At the state level, MO has a violent crime rate of 463.3 per 100,000 residents compared to MO's 463.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1971.6 vs 1971.6 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Joplin and Kansas City? ▼
MO has 2,321 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.2:1, while MO has 2,321 schools at 12.2:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of MO schools vs 3.5% in MO. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare