Does Missouri have a state income tax?

Yes — a graduated tax with eight brackets, topping out at a 4.70% marginal rate on income over about $9,200. That top rate is comparatively low next to many states, though it isn't zero like the nine no-income-tax states.

Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Missouri?

Yes. Missouri requires household goods carriers to hold intrastate operating authority from MoDOT Motor Carrier Services (via Form MO-1), separate from the federal FMCSA authority that governs interstate moves. Confirm a mover's Missouri intrastate authority before booking an in-state move.

When is moving season busiest in Missouri?

Summer is the general peak statewide, as it is nationally. Mid-Missouri has an added, dated spike on top of that: the University of Missouri's fall move-in floods Columbia with traffic and moving activity in the third week of August each year.

How much does it cost to move within Missouri, e.g. from Kansas City to St. Louis or Springfield?

There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the [moving cost calculator](/moving-calculator) for a number based on your actual home size and distance.

Is Missouri gaining or losing residents to migration?

Gaining, on net, in the most recent ACS state-to-state data: about 140,700 people moved in from other states against 132,600 who left, for a net gain of roughly 8,100 — Missouri ranked 20th nationally for net domestic migration in that data. Kansas and Illinois are both the top source and top destination, which reflects heavy back-and-forth movement within the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas that straddle state lines, not a one-directional loss to either state.

What's rent like in the Kansas City area right now?

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Kansas City metro is $1,370/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in Missouri's larger of its two major metro areas.

Moving to Missouri: Costs, Routes & What to Know

Last reviewed 2026-08-25 · Next review due 2026-09-25

A typical 3-bedroom move in or out of Missouri runs $1,400-$2,450 locally or $4,200-$6,720 long-distance (national planning ranges). Missouri posted net domestic in-migration in 2024 — about 8,100 more people moved in from other states than left — with Kansas and Illinois as both its top source and top destination state.

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Missouri at a glance

Missouri is home to roughly 6.27 million residents, concentrated in two major metro areas that sit at opposite ends of the state: Kansas City (2.25 million, spanning the Missouri-Kansas line) and St. Louis (2.81 million, spanning the Missouri-Illinois line), with smaller but growing metros in Springfield and the state capital region around Columbia. Missouri has a graduated individual income tax topping out at 4.70% on income over roughly $9,200 — a comparatively low top rate versus many states, part of why cost-of-living and affordability are frequently cited as drivers of the state's net inbound migration from higher-cost neighbors. Unlike several bordering Midwest states, Missouri has recently posted net domestic in-migration rather than out-migration, with people arriving largely from Kansas, Illinois and Texas.

Population: 6,270,541; July 1, 2025
State income tax: Yes
Major metros: Kansas City MSA (2.25M, spans MO/KS), St. Louis MSA (2.81M, spans MO/IL), Springfield (497,000), Columbia (219,400) — 2024 USAFacts/Census Bureau metro-area estimates

graduated individual income tax with a top marginal rate of 4.70% on income over $9,191 (tax year 2025), across an eight-bracket structure starting at 2.00%. Missouri Department of Revenue — Individual Income Tax Year Changes; Tax Foundation — 2026 Missouri Tax Rates & Rankings

Who is moving in and out

Missouri is one of the more balanced Midwest states for migration — it posted net domestic in-migration in the most recent ACS state-to-state flow data, a contrast to neighbors like Illinois that lose tens of thousands of residents a year. About 140,700 people moved into Missouri from other states against 132,600 who left, a net gain of roughly 8,100, ranking Missouri 20th among states for net domestic migration. Kansas and Illinois — both bordering states, reflecting cross-metro moves within the Kansas City and St. Louis areas that straddle state lines — are simultaneously Missouri's top source of new residents and its top destination for leavers, which is typical of large, split metro areas rather than a sign of net loss to either state. Texas is the next-largest two-way flow in both directions. Separately, the newest Census Population Estimates vintage (July 2024-June 2025) shows Missouri's total population grew by about 27,000, driven mostly by international migration (about 12,600 net international arrivals) with only a small natural increase (+177, births minus deaths) — that vintage does not break out a comparably precise net domestic migration figure in the reporting reviewed here, so it is not stated as a number.

Inbound: 140,700
Outbound: 132,600
Net domestic: +8,100

Top origin states

Kansas (18,400)
Illinois (18,400)
Texas (12,700)

Top destination states

Kansas (21,700)
Texas (15,100)
Illinois (10,900)

Data year: 2024 ACS state-to-state migration flows (via USAFacts, updated May 14, 2026); Census Population Estimates Program Vintage 2025 (July 2024-June 2025) referenced separately for total population growth and its international/natural-increase components

the Vintage 2025 Census Population Estimates release (total growth ~27,000; international +12,600; natural increase +177) implies a net domestic migration figure in the low five figures by subtraction, but that derived number is not independently stated by the source and is not presented here as a sourced fact — only the ACS state-to-state flow figure (+8,100 for 2024) is reported as a net-migration number, since it is the one the source states directly rather than one this page would have to calculate itself.

Typical moving costs

These figures are national moving-industry planning ranges scaled by home size, not Missouri-specific pricing — cost data at that level of granularity isn't reliably published for any single state. They use the same underlying benchmarks as MoverQuoteEngine's own moving cost calculator: an hourly local-move rate and a per-pound long-distance rate, scaled by the typical crew time and shipment weight for each home size. A genuinely Missouri-specific range would need to be derived from this state's own priced move corridors, once enough live route pages exist to support that — not attempted in this pass (see `upgrade_note` below).

National planning ranges by home size for local and long-distance moves
Home size	Local	Long-distance
Studio	$600-$1,050	$1,250-$2,000
1 Bedroom	$800-$1,400	$2,000-$3,200
2 Bedroom	$1,100-$1,925	$3,000-$4,800
3 Bedroom	$1,400-$2,450	$4,200-$6,720
4 Bedroom	$1,800-$3,150	$5,500-$8,800
5+ Bedroom	$2,200-$3,850	$7,000-$11,200

For a number tailored to your actual move, use the moving cost calculator.

Once this state has enough live `/moving-from-{city}-us-to-{city}-us` route pages, replace this national-benchmark table with a state-specific range derived from those priced corridors — the same approach movingcostadvisor.com uses. Not done here because the route inventory wasn't available to this research pass.

New-resident deadlines

Topic	Requirement	Source
Vehicle title & registration	New Missouri residents have 30 days from establishing residency to title and register their vehicle in Missouri, including a VIN/odometer inspection at an authorized station, proof of insurance, and personal-property-tax compliance.	Missouri Department of Revenue — Title and Registration Requirements for a New Missouri Resident (PDF)
Driver's license	Missouri's own DOR pages describe transferring a license "as soon as you establish residency" without stating a specific day count for standard licenses (CDL holders do have an explicit 30-day transfer deadline per DOR's own FAQ). A secondary source citing DOR states the commonly-applied practical deadline is 30 days.	Missouri Department of Revenue — Driver License FAQ (no explicit day count in the fetched text); 30-day figure via LifeMapT — Moving to Missouri Guide, which cites DOR
Voter registration	Registration must be submitted (or postmarked, if by mail) by the fourth Wednesday before an election — in practice, 28 days before Election Day.	Missouri Secretary of State — Voter Registration FAQs

Housing, season and licensing

Housing snapshot

HUD's Small Area Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom unit in the Kansas City, MO metro is $1,370/month for FY2026. HUD Fair Market Rents dataset; figure via fmr.fyi — Kansas City, MO FY2026 Fair Market Rent, a third-party aggregator of HUD's published FMR data (not independently re-derived from HUD's raw file in this pass).

Peak moving season

Beyond the generic national summer peak, mid-Missouri sees a distinct, dated spike tied to the University of Missouri's fall move-in: local coverage documents a heavy surge of move-in traffic and activity around Columbia in the third week of August each year as thousands of Mizzou students and families arrive, on top of the broader June-August rush. ABC17News — Thousands arrive for University of Missouri move-in as traffic picks up around campus (Aug. 19, 2026)

Mover licensing

Yes — Missouri requires its own intrastate operating authority. Per MoDOT's Motor Carrier Services, "household goods carriers must obtain operating authority from MoDOT Motor Carrier Services before operating in or between Missouri municipalities and/or in commercial zones," via Form MO-1 (Application to Operate Intrastate), separate from the federal FMCSA (USDOT/MC number) authority required for interstate moves. MoDOT — Household Goods Transport; cross-checked against MoDOT — Motor Carrier Services overview, which lists "special licensing to haul houses, household goods" among its intrastate-only credential categories.

Common in-state corridors

Kansas City → St. Louis — Missouri's two largest metros, ~248 miles via I-70
Kansas City → Springfield — ~166 miles via US-71/MO-13
St. Louis → Columbia — mid-Missouri college-town corridor along I-70, no precise mileage independently confirmed in this pass

Popular routes

Live city-pair route pages touching Missouri will appear here as they publish.

Main inbound partners

from Kansas
from Illinois
from Texas

Main outbound partners

Partner-state lists come from Census migration flows. Linked corridors above are live published route pages, not guessed slugs.

Missouri city guides

No live Missouri city guide is published yet — more cities coming soon.

Coming soon: Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia.

Frequently asked questions

Does Missouri have a state income tax?: Yes — a graduated tax with eight brackets, topping out at a 4.70% marginal rate on income over about $9,200. That top rate is comparatively low next to many states, though it isn't zero like the nine no-income-tax states.
Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Missouri?: Yes. Missouri requires household goods carriers to hold intrastate operating authority from MoDOT Motor Carrier Services (via Form MO-1), separate from the federal FMCSA authority that governs interstate moves. Confirm a mover's Missouri intrastate authority before booking an in-state move.
When is moving season busiest in Missouri?: Summer is the general peak statewide, as it is nationally. Mid-Missouri has an added, dated spike on top of that: the University of Missouri's fall move-in floods Columbia with traffic and moving activity in the third week of August each year.
How much does it cost to move within Missouri, e.g. from Kansas City to St. Louis or Springfield?: There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the moving cost calculator for a number based on your actual home size and distance.
Is Missouri gaining or losing residents to migration?: Gaining, on net, in the most recent ACS state-to-state data: about 140,700 people moved in from other states against 132,600 who left, for a net gain of roughly 8,100 — Missouri ranked 20th nationally for net domestic migration in that data. Kansas and Illinois are both the top source and top destination, which reflects heavy back-and-forth movement within the Kansas City and St. Louis metro areas that straddle state lines, not a one-directional loss to either state.
What's rent like in the Kansas City area right now?: HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Kansas City metro is $1,370/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in Missouri's larger of its two major metro areas.