Cost of Living & Housing in Carthage
Carthage's cost of living centers on a genuinely affordable historic-district housing market and a below-median disclosed effective property tax rate.
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Learn moreA genuinely affordable housing market
Carthage's 2024 mean housing value ran approximately $194,619 across all housing units, with detached houses specifically running $184,687 -- genuinely affordable relative to the national median, consistent with much of Southwest Missouri's broader housing-cost profile (base record).
A property tax rate below the Missouri statewide median
Carthage's own median effective property tax rate ran a real, disclosed 0.95% per Ownwell, with a median annual tax bill of approximately $733 -- below the Missouri statewide median (approximately 1.20%-1.25% depending on source). Jasper County's broader average ran 0.88% per this project's Joplin research (base record).
Missouri's flat 4.0% state income tax
Missouri's state income tax became a real, flat 4.0% rate as of January 1, 2026, applying statewide including in Carthage -- Missouri voters separately rejected a full income-tax-elimination ballot measure by a wide margin in August 2026, a real, dated political fact worth disclosing honestly (base record).
Key takeaways
- Carthage's 2024 mean housing value ran approximately $194,619 -- genuinely affordable relative to the national median.
- Carthage's own 0.95% effective property tax rate beats the Missouri statewide median (~1.20%-1.25%).
- Missouri's flat 4.0% state income tax applies statewide, including in Carthage.
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