Jane Hood, associate director of the Center for Resource Planning and Management at Missouri State University, was awarded a $1,000 contract with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce to continue the “Cost of Living Index Price Report” project.

Students involved in the project collect economic data, which is then compiled by the Council for Community and Economic Research to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure to compare the cost of living differences among urban areas.

“We have had a contract with the Springfield Chamber for the students in our center to gather this information since 2009,” said Hood. “This is good experience for our students and lets them see how this type of information can be used by businesses and families living in our area, or looking to relocate to our area.”

Items on which the index is based have been carefully chosen to reflect the different categories of consumer expenditures, and are all priced in each location at a specified time and according to standardized specifications. The weights assigned to relative costs are based on government survey data on expenditure patterns for mid-management households.

For more information, contact Hood at (417) 836-6273.