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Cost & Benefits

Cost of living in West Plains, Missouri

West Plains, Missouri has about 12,441 people. Typical rent is $810 a month, including utilities, and a typical household earns $44,002 a year. Both figures are Census 2020–2024 medians, not a listing or your pay. This site does not approve or deny benefits. A missing figure stays blank. We do not guess it.

Ranked #112 in Missouri on the 2026 Most Affordable Towns Index.

Simple answer

Typical rent is $810 a month.

West Plains is a city in Missouri. That rent number includes utilities. A typical household earns $44,002 a year.

Is West Plains affordable?See benefits in West Plains
People
12,441
Census average, 2020–2024
Typical rent
$810
Median gross rent, includes utilities
Typical pay
$44,002
Median household income, yearly
Typical home
$169,900
Median home value
2-bedroom fair rent
$962
Howell County, MO

West Plains, Missouri has about 12,441 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $169,900.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Howell County is $962 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in West Plains. 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 West Plains'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 West Plains bill.

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

EIA did not publish a 2025 all-grades gas price for Missouri in the table we use.

Among 350 places we list in Missouri with a rent figure, 218 have higher typical rent than West Plains.

Nearby places

EBT nearby

USDA has a live map of stores that take SNAP. We did not copy that store list here. The downloadable file is a history file for 2005 through 2025, so the live map is the one to use.

Find SNAP stores near West PlainsWhat EBT can buy in Missouri

Locator page updated 2026-09-11. Last checked 2026-10-16.

Food stamps (SNAP) tools in Missouri

Bigger places in Missouri

Census 2020-2024. HUD rents for October 2026–September 2027. BEA prices for 2024. Taxes as of January 1, 2026. Checked 2026-10-16. 15,000 places are in this guide.