Quality of Life

PUBLISHED AUGUST 2023

The online edition of Britannica defines “quality of life” thusly: “The degree to which an individual is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in or enjoy life events.”

Wouldn’t it have been easier to just put a map of Missouri in that space? 

After all, when it comes to quality of life, the Show-Me state has a strong case to make for having it all: Low cost of living, clean air, abundant recreation, sophisticated arts, and entertainment—all are features that are offered here in a rare combination of strengths. 

But what’s it like as a place? There are so many ways to gauge this. Let’s start with the weather. As the Gateway to the Great Plains, Missouri has four distinct seasons. True, there will be summer and winter extremes, but on the whole, the state’s climate is quite temperate. Spring and fall can be spectacular, with near-perfect days of temperatures in the 70s and seasonal changes that draw thousands of tourists for fall color and spring blooms.

As to the more tangible aspects of life here, can you think of greater priorities than one’s health or education? Again, these are strong points, as you will see with features elsewhere in the publication exploring each factor in greater detail. The bottom line, though: There is no shortage of high-quality, nationally ranked education and health-care programs.

Family friendliness is another strength. Local schools generally receive high marks, and crime is low in most neighborhoods and small towns. Missouri’s balance and Midwestern values are difficult to match, offering a prime environment to live and raise children. 

That doesn’t mean the area lacks for excitement or nightlife. St. Louis and Kansas City, especially, have numerous cultural attractions befitting of major urban areas, such as museums and performing arts venues, professional sports, and plenty of green spaces. Forest Park in St. Louis is a prime example of how a city leverages a physical asset into a quality-of-life bragging right; Kansas City has some of the same attributes going for it in Swope and Loose Parks.

Once you get away from the cities, you’ll find a national treasure in the Missouri Ozarks, a rolling and sometimes rugged range of low mountains. The state is also home to a number of large man-made lakes that have become outdoor resort havens. 

Chief among them is the Lake of the Ozarks, near the middle of the state. It’s one of the oldest and largest in the state’s lake system, with an extensive range of lodging from quaint resorts to lakeside convention centers. Virtually every corner of Missouri is less than an hour from one of these large reservoirs. 

Good highways and a lack of congestion make for easy commuting and travel around the state. And with housing prices among the lowest in the country, residents can find a community that suits them no matter what part of Missouri they work in. Even in the two large metro areas, drivers can reach work with an easy 30-minute commute that begins in the country and ends in the middle of town. Or workers can choose to live in the heart of a thriving city with entertainment and cultural options at their doorstep. The result is a quality of life that is rare in much of the nation.

Public safety, always a concern in any state or community, is an area where Missouri stands out. Certain sections of St. Louis and Kansas City have their issues with violent crime, but even by that metric, Missouri saw a 29 percent decrease in numbers statewide between 1991 and 2020. During that same time period, FBI statistics show, property crimes in the state fell by an impressive 49 percent between 1991 and 2020.