Cost of living in Charleston, Missouri

Charleston, Missouri has about 4,482 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $123,700.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Mississippi County is $962 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Charleston. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

Missouri's prices sit at 90.8 when the U.S. average is 100. This place is not in a metro area with its own index, so this is the state number from BEA for 2024.

Missouri taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 8.4% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Charleston's exact store tax.

Some places in Missouri add a local wage tax. In 2023 the state average was about 0.18% of income. That is not a Charleston bill.

In July 2026, a typical Missouri home paid 16.09¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Charleston's bill.

EIA does not publish a Missouri gasoline price. For the week of October 12, 2026, the Midwest (PADD 2) all-grades price was $4.237 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,033.76 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Missouri shares this price.

Among 350 places we list in Missouri with a rent figure, 244 have higher typical rent than Charleston.