A Quick Snapshot Before We Dive
• Rough headcount: Just under 2,000 full-time residents
• Average household income: A hair below Missouri’s statewide median
• Nearest big-box store: 13 minutes down Route 124
• Mood of the town: Friendly, slower, heavy on community cookouts
That sets the scene. Now let’s pull the cost curtain back.
Home Hunt 101: What You’ll Hand Over for Four Walls
First question movers blurt out: “What are houses going for?”
Not one-size-fits-all. Here’s the current spread:
- Newish three-bedroom on a quarter-acre lot: $265 k to $305 k
- Mid-1970s ranch that needs fresh flooring: $190 k to $225 k
- Two-bed duplex rental on the south edge: $950 to $1,150 a month
The eye-opener is lot size. Even starter homes often sit on half an acre. That means property taxes run a touch higher than you’d pay for a condo in Columbia, even if the sale price feels similar.
Property tax rate right now hovers near 0.98 percent of assessed value. Translate that: a $250 k place ends up roughly $2,450 a year in property tax bills. Pay attention if you’re coming from St. Louis County, where 1.3 percent is common. You’ll feel the drop.
Hidden line item a rookie misses: septic maintenance. Roughly 40 percent of addresses sit outside the city sewer grid, and septic pump-outs run $290 every three to four years. No biggie until it sneaks up on you at Christmas.
Utility rundown:
- Electric: Boone Electric Cooperative bills average $137 a month for a three-bed. Winter skews lower thanks to gas furnaces.
- Natural gas: Ameren’s average is $61 monthly, spiking past $100 in January if you crank the thermostat.
- Water and trash together: $42 to $54 per month. The city bundles them.
- Fiber internet: $70 for 1 Gbps through Socket. Rural but blazing fast, a pleasant surprise.
Locals whisper that summer rates dip if you join Boone Electric’s load-control program. It knocks 6 percent off July and August bills in exchange for letting the co-op throttle your A/C a few minutes each hour. Barely noticeable.
Groceries, Griddles, and Friday Night Treats
You will not find a Whole Foods within ten miles. What you will find:
- C&R Market on Highway 124
- The Tuesday growers’ exchange behind the fire station
- A once-a-month meat share from Sappington Farm if you sign early
Average haul for a family of four:
- Milk × 2, bread × 3, eggs × 2: $16
- Produce basket heavy on sweet corn mid-summer: $12
- Ground beef, chicken thighs, bacon: $24
- Odds and ends: $18
Total: $70 give or take. Slide the same list through a scanner in Kansas City and you’re flirting with $85.
Entertainment money?
Hallsville doesn’t bleed your wallet each weekend unless you let it. Sample prices:
- Large pizza at D. Roe’s: $15
- Two tickets to Hallsville Bobcats football under the new LEDs: $8 total
- Craft beer flight at Logboat Brewing in Columbia, 15 minutes south: $12
The bigger expense creeps in during spring. Travel baseball or cheer squads that practice at the old middle-school gym cost $280 to $410 a season. Budget it early.
Commute Math: Gas, Tires, Time
Most residents drive to Columbia for work. Door-to-door: 19 minutes if you leave at 7:10 am, closer to 30 if you gamble on 8:00 am.
Gas price this morning at the FastLane pump: $3.37 a gallon. Fill a 15-gallon tank weekly and you’re handing the attendant about $202 a month. Blend in one work-from-home day and it falls to $162.
Public transport? Not happening. There’s a once-daily commuter vanpool that charges $70 per seat monthly, but the waiting list is 11 names deep.
Pro tip residents swear by: Rotate tires every 6,000 miles. The chip-seal surface on Route OO chews tread faster than you’d expect.
Taxes Nobody Likes Talking About but Everybody Pays
Missouri’s state income tax slides from 2 percent to 4.95 percent. Most Hallsville professionals land at the top bracket. Factor a $75 k salary, subtract standard deduction, you’ll cut a check around $2,600 to Jefferson City.
Sales tax inside city limits: 7.725 percent. It drops to 6.6 percent if you make the short hop to an unincorporated stretch. Some folks plan big appliance purchases around that boundary.
Break that down on a $32,000 pickup:
- Buy inside Hallsville: $2,472 sales tax
- Buy five miles east at a county-only dealership lot: $2,112
Saving $360 feels nice during tailgate season.
Retirees nod to one nifty perk: Up to $6,000 of public pension income escapes state tax. Keeps golf-cart drivers cheerful at the Lake of the Woods course.
Kid-Centered Costs (That Adults Shell Out Anyway)
Hallsville R-IV School District charges a one-time technology fee of $30 per student for Chromebook upkeep. Not outrageous, yet worth noting if you have three energetic middle-schoolers.
Lunch prices for 2025:
- Elementary: $2.75
- Secondary: $3.00
Multiply by 175 school days. Two kids on paid lunch reach $1,017 a year. Many families prepay quarterly to dodge monthly statements.
Extracurriculars:
- Marching band uniform deposit: $75, returned if nothing rips
- FFA national convention trip: $460 plus meals
- JV basketball participation fee: $55
Add driver-education tuition of $300 over the summer. That line item blindsides first-time parents every June.
Health Care Cliff Notes
Nearest full-service hospital is Boone Health in Columbia. Hallsville itself hosts a single family clinic on Highway 124. Co-pay averages:
- Primary care visit: $25
- Urgent care in Columbia: $40
- Physical therapy session for that nagging knee: $60 after insurance
The local pharmacy’s generic list undercuts chain stores by about 8 percent. Inhaler that rings at $67 in Columbia shows up at $61 in Hallsville. Over a year, small wins stack up.
How Locals Sneak In Savings
Residents love to boast about “secret” economies. Here are the big four:
- Firewood share. Sign up on the city site every September. You get half a cord free if you’ll haul it yourself from the storm-prep pile behind City Hall.
- Tool library. A retiree named Mark maintains a shed of power tools. Drop a $20 refundable deposit and borrow an auger or tile cutter for a weekend.
- Bulk propane coop. Eight households combine orders twice a year, shaving 30 cents a gallon.
- Solar buy-back. Boone Electric credits 7.5 cents per kilowatt you send back to the grid. That makes a 12-panel setup hit payoff in nine years instead of eleven.
These tricks aren’t on glossy relocation guides. Ask around at the breakfast counter, though, and someone will spill the details.
What Will Surprise You (Besides the Turkey Parade)
- Insurance premiums. Because Hallsville sits outside the floodplain and has lower claim volume than metro ZIP codes, homeowners’ policies run roughly $1.12 per $100 of coverage. Translation: $1,344 a year on that $240 k house.
- Trash smell. Mondays only, 6 am to noon, when the wind shifts and the regional landfill wafts toward town. Not a cost but worth knowing.
- Phone dead zones just north of the water tower. Verizon drops to one bar. AT&T stays fine. If your job needs flawless reception, note it.
- Livestock auction side hustle. Several remote workers offset groceries by buying two feeder pigs each March, fattening them, and selling at the Centralia sale barn in August. Net gain last season: $360 after feed.
Bottom-Line Calculator
Let’s pull everything together for a hypothetical couple with one child:
- Mortgage on a $260 k home at 6.1 percent: $1,580
- Property tax: $204
- Homeowners insurance: $112
- Electric + gas + water + internet: $318
- Groceries: $650
- Commuting fuel: $202
- Health insurance share: $440
- School fees averaged monthly: $60
- Dining and entertainment: $230
- Buffer for the unexpected: $200
Monthly subtotal: about $3,996
Slide each category up or down as life changes, but that’s your ballpark. Compare to Columbia, where the same setup cruises past $4,400 once higher rent and parking fees appear.
Ready to Kick the Tires?
Hallsville rewards people who like elbow room, half-acre lawns, and neighbors who remember your dog’s name. The flip side is the silent cost of more driving, the small-town premium on specialty items, and the need to plan ahead for big purchases.
Think it over. Do the math. Maybe run your own spreadsheet tonight. If the numbers put a grin on your face, you know who to call when you want keys.
Quick-Hit FAQ
Q: Average utility bill for a 1,400-square-foot ranch?
A: Right around $210 in winter, $260 in summer if you baby the thermostat.
Q: How do property taxes stack up against the rest of Missouri?
A: Slightly below state median, comfortably below metro counties.
Q: Entertainment on a shoestring?
A: Friday fish fry at the Lions Club, yard-game tournaments at Tribble Park, and sunset walks along Calvin Drive. Bring five bucks and you’re set.
Q: Any public transport at all?
A: Only the vanpool, and seats vanish fast. Everyone else drives.
Q: Biggest financial upside of Hallsville life?
A: Land for the money. More green square footage per dollar than you’ll nab closer to I-70, plus enough tax breaks and co-op perks to keep total monthly outflow in check.
Now you’ve got the unfiltered scoop on the Cost of Living in Hallsville. Your move.
