Who Should NOT Move to Missouri?
Missouri is probably not the right fit for movers assuming the state is heading toward zero income tax, anyone underweighting its real multi-hazard risk profile, movers assuming the low headline sales tax rate is the whole picture, or anyone especially safety-conscious who hasn't researched their specific target neighborhood.
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Learn moreMovers assuming Missouri is on a path to eliminating its income tax
Anyone specifically counting on Missouri moving toward zero state income tax should reconsider: on August 4, 2026, Missouri voters REJECTED Amendment 5 -- a measure that would have given the legislature five years to phase out the income tax entirely -- by a real, overwhelming 83%-to-16% margin. The real, current, in-effect fact is a flat 4.0% rate with a conditional phase-down mechanism toward 3.7%, not elimination, and voters just rejected the more aggressive path decisively.
Movers underweighting Missouri's real, multi-part hazard profile
Anyone assuming Missouri carries no meaningful severe-weather or geologic risk should reconsider, given the state's real, elevated tornado risk (120 tornadoes in 2025, 3rd-most nationally), serious Mississippi/Missouri River flood risk, and the geographically distinct New Madrid Seismic Zone earthquake risk concentrated in the Bootheel -- and the real, sourced homeowners-insurance increases tied directly to this profile.
Movers assuming the low 4.225% state sales tax rate is the whole story
Anyone budgeting against Missouri's low headline state sales tax rate alone should reconsider: a real, substantial local add-on layer across 762 jurisdictions pushes the average combined rate to 8.44% statewide and as high as 12.238% in parts of St. Louis -- confirm your specific target municipality's current combined rate directly.
Anyone particularly safety-conscious without researching a specific target neighborhood
Anyone especially safety-conscious about statewide crime statistics should reconsider moving to Missouri without first narrowing to a specific target neighborhood, given the state's real, disclosed violent crime rate (28.7% above the national average, 8th-highest among states, 2024 FBI data) -- driven substantially, though not exclusively, by St. Louis's and Kansas City's urban cores rather than spread evenly statewide.
Key takeaways
- Probably not the right fit for movers expecting Missouri's income tax to be eliminated -- voters rejected that exact measure 83%-to-16% in August 2026.
- Probably not the right fit for anyone underweighting Missouri's real tornado, river-flood, and New Madrid earthquake risk.
- Probably not the right fit for anyone assuming the low 4.225% state sales tax rate is the whole story -- local add-ons reach 12.238% in parts of St. Louis.
- Probably not the right fit for the safety-conscious without first researching their specific target neighborhood's crime data directly.
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