Other Data: Cost of Living
Consumer Price Index (Inflation)
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used to gage price inflation over time. The index tracks the change in price of a fixed basket of goods over time using the years 1982-1984 as a base. As the price of this basket of goods increases or decreases the CPI figure will change accordingly. The percent change between two time period's CPI is the rate of inflation.
The chart below shows the annual change in CPI, or the inflation rate, for the Kansas City area and the United States as a whole. Not surprisingly, the two inflation rates move together although Kansas City's prices do not tend to rise quite as rapidly as the nation's.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
ACCRA Cost of Living Index
While the CPI is used to track prices over time, the Cost of Living
Index is designed to compare a metro area's prices to the nation's
at one point in time. In this index the national average score is
100. An index score below 100 indicates prices are below the national
average, while scores over 100 are indicative of a metro area with
a higher than average cost of living. Traditionally Kansas City's
Cost of Living Index score has been below the national average, meaning
we have a low cost of living. The following table breaks down the
index by category. The percents in each category are used as weights
to determine the composite score.
| Cost of Living Index 2007, Q3 |
Composite (100%) |
Grocery (13%) | Housing (28%) | Utilities (10%) | Transportation (10%) | Health Care (4%) | Misc. (33%) |
| Kansas City, MSA | 96.5 | 88.2 | 89.2 | 104.2 | 103.4 | 97.6 | 101.2 |
Kansas City's total cost of living is 3.5% less than the national average. Much of the credit for this low score can be attributed to the housing sector. Housing costs are 10.8% lower than the national average.
More information on the CPI and the Cost of Living Index can be found at Metrodataline.
