Want to live and work in Missouri?

Living in Missouri is typically far cheaper than in cities like Los Angeles, New York, or Miami. A one-bedroom apartment in Kansas City or St. Louis rents for between $900 and $1,300 per month. In smaller cities like Springfield or Columbia, you can find places for under $800.

Groceries are more affordable than the national average. A meal at a popular restaurant runs $12 to $18. Gas tends to be among the cheapest in the U.S., which helps since almost everyone relies on a car outside the urban centers.

Salaries are lower than in coastal states, but the cost-to-income ratio is usually favorable. A family can live comfortably on $60,000 to $80,000 a year. Buying a home is also realistic: three-bedroom houses in good neighborhoods start at $200,000 in many cities.

Because of its central location on the map, Missouri is a hub for logistics and transportation. Companies like FedEx, UPS, and various freight carriers have strong operations in Kansas City and St. Louis. Anheuser-Busch, which makes Budweiser, is headquartered in St. Louis and employs thousands at its main brewery and offices.

Healthcare is a massive sector, with large hospitals like BJC HealthCare (St. Louis) and Saint Luke's (Kansas City). Higher education employs many people in Columbia (University of Missouri), St. Louis (Washington University), and Kansas City. There is also work in finance, with Edward Jones headquarters in St. Louis and the Federal Reserve in Kansas City.

In the interior, agriculture is strong: corn, soybeans, cattle, and hogs. Boeing has a large military aircraft factory in St. Louis. Branson, in the south, lives on tourism and musical shows. Salaries are lower than on the coasts, but the cost of living makes up for it for those seeking financial stability.

The U.S. does not have universal public healthcare, and Missouri follows the national model. Those with formal employment typically receive health insurance as a benefit. Family premiums can exceed $1,200, with the employer covering a good portion. Without a job, you need to purchase a plan through the federal Marketplace, with income-based subsidies.

Low-income families are eligible for MO HealthNet, Missouri's version of Medicaid. Children and pregnant women in vulnerable situations can get coverage even in documented immigrant families. Without documentation, access is limited to emergency care.

The state's major hospitals are top-tier: Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis, affiliated with Washington University), Saint Luke's and Children's Mercy (Kansas City), and University Hospital (Columbia). A simple doctor's visit without insurance costs $150 to $300. An emergency room visit without coverage can exceed $2,000.

In Missouri, a car is the primary mode of transportation. Outside of downtown St. Louis and Kansas City, buses are limited and regional rail essentially does not exist. Distances between cities are long, and roads like I-70 (which cuts across the state east to west, connecting Kansas City and St. Louis) are the main routes.

St. Louis has the MetroLink, a light rail system that connects the airport to downtown and some suburbs. Kansas City has the KC Streetcar, a free streetcar in the downtown area, but with limited coverage. Rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft work well in the big cities.

The main airports are STL (Lambert-St. Louis International), MCI (Kansas City International), and SGF (Springfield-Branson, a smaller airport focused on domestic flights). Direct international flights are few, typically requiring a connection in Chicago, Dallas, or Atlanta. For those arriving from abroad, the most common route is via Chicago O'Hare or Dallas-Fort Worth.

Kansas City is famous for its smoked barbecue (BBQ) and jazz. The city played a historic role in the development of the genre in the 1930s and still has active jazz bars. St. Louis has a tradition of blues and ragtime music, with pianist Scott Joplin as a world-renowned reference.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is one of the most recognizable monuments in the U.S., standing 192 meters tall with an elevator that goes all the way to the top. The city is also home to the global headquarters of Anheuser-Busch, where you can tour the brewery and sample a Budweiser.

Branson, in the south of the state, thrives on theaters and country music shows, drawing American families. The state celebrates local festivals with barbecue, sweet corn, and state fairs. Iconic local foods include ribs (smoked short ribs), burnt ends (crispy chunks of beef brisket), and toasted ravioli, an Italian-inspired specialty adapted in St. Louis.

Missouri is home to about 250,000 people born outside the United States, close to 4% of the population. St. Louis has the largest Bosnian community outside Bosnia, around 70,000 people, the legacy of mass arrivals in the 1990s after the Balkan war. Bevo Mill became the heart of that community, with restaurants, bakeries, and the Bevo Mill Mosque serving as anchors. Kansas City, in the west, has long-established Mexican communities, especially in the Westside and North Kansas City, growing now with Central Americans and East Africans. Vietnamese live in both St. Louis and Kansas City, with Buddhist temples and dedicated markets. Indians and Chinese cluster around Washington University and the Chesterfield area, and Afghan, Syrian, and Congolese refugees have been resettled in both cities.

The Consulate-General of Mexico in Kansas City serves Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. The International Institute of St. Louis is the largest resettlement and integration organization in the state, serving newcomers in more than 70 languages. The Bosnia & Herzegovina Community Center, in St. Louis, offers cultural, educational, and legal support. Della Lamb Community Services, in Kansas City, serves refugee families. Community clinics and public schools provide services in Bosnian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic in both major cities.