Are Missouri wages rising with cost of living? Compare earnings on this interactive graph
How much money do you earn in a week? If you live in Kansas City, your answer is probably lower than a resident of St. Louis, but higher than residents of other Missouri metro areas like Jefferson City, St. Joseph or Cape Girardeau.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that median weekly wages have fluctuated significantly over the past three years, but the majority of Missouri’s nine metro areas now have median weekly earnings within $50 of where they were three years ago.
The Kansas City metro area experienced little change in median weekly earnings between January 2019 and October 2021. The metro areas of St. Joseph, Springfield, Jefferson City, and Cape Girardeau also saw fluctuations that did not trend significantly upwards or downwards during that period.
The three metro areas that have seen lasting wage increases over the past three years are St. Louis, Columbia and Joplin. St. Louis is the highest-earning metro area in the state, while Columbia and Joplin are in the middle and bottom of the pack, respectively.
The Kansas City area at large— not just the metro area— is the only region with a downward trend in median weekly earnings. This suggests that Kansas City residents outside the metro area are earning less now than they did in years past, despite the rising cost of living in the city and surrounding counties.
How does your region compare? Hover over the lines on the graph below to see each metro area’s fluctuating median weekly earnings every month since January 2019.
Do you have more questions about the cost of living or wages in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com or fill out the form below.
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