This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.
2026 cost estimates for divorce in Missouri, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses.
As of June 29, 2026, a divorce in Missouri costs on average $8,100, typically $4,500-$13,500 for a moderate-complexity case, based on sourced attorney-fee and court-cost data. Typical attorney rates run $175 to $355 per hour. A moderate-complexity case typically takes 3-6 months to resolve. Common related costs include court filing fee ($100-$400) and service of process ($50-$100).
Data verified: June 29, 2026
| Complexity | Low | Median | High | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $1,250 | $2,550 | $4,200 | 1-3 months |
| Moderate | $4,500 | $8,100 | $13,500 | 3-6 months |
| Complex | $14,150 | $20,750 | $33,000 | 6-18 months |
Last verified: June 2026
$175 – $355/ hour
Median: $265/hr
3-6 months
For moderate complexity cases
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</script>Divorce costs form around two variables that compound each other: how much the spouses disagree on, and how many separate issues (property division, child custody, child support, alimony) are in dispute. An uncontested divorce with no minor children and no real estate can resolve with a single court filing fee and a document-preparation charge. Once custody or asset division is contested, cost accumulates from discovery (formal document exchange), mediation sessions billed hourly, and — in the most complex cases — expert witnesses such as forensic accountants (business or investment valuation) and custody evaluators.
Attorney billing in divorce is typically hourly rather than flat-fee, because the number of court appearances and negotiation rounds is not knowable in advance. A retainer is paid upfront and drawn down as the attorney bills time; complex cases often require replenishing the retainer more than once. Court filing fees and mediation fees are set by the state or county and apply regardless of which attorney is hired.
Take a moderate-complexity divorce matter in Missouri. The recorded median total is $8,100, with reported quotes clustering between $4,500 and $13,500. Each statutory line below is sized against that median.
Added together the itemised lines come to $700–$2,600, which leaves roughly $5,500–$7,400 of the Missouri median as professional time — the part that differs between quotes. One further recorded fee is not itemised above and is not in that total.
At $8,100, the median divorce cost in Missouri runs 8% below the $8,798 national average across all 50 states and DC.
Missouri carries 3 rows — simple, $1,250–$4,200 at $135–$265/hr over 1-3 months; moderate, $4,500–$13,500 at $175–$355/hr over 3-6 months; complex, $14,150–$33,000 at $245–$445/hr over 6-18 months — on 4 shared citations. They put it below the midpoint of the table without reaching the bottom quarter.
$8,100 is a median, not the middle of the band — $3,600 above the $4,500 floor, $5,400 under the $13,500 ceiling. Every rank below is out of 51.
Missouri occupies the 30th row of 51 for a divorce. Its $8,100 median trails the $8,550 table midpoint by $450, which is 5% — close enough that a single firm's quote can straddle both figures.
Wyoming ($8,250) and Florida ($8,000) bracket Missouri inside a $250 window — narrow enough that 30th is close to arbitrary.
6 tracked states — Wisconsin, Wyoming, Florida, Ohio among them — record a median within three percent of Missouri's $8,100. The figure sits in the densest part of the divorce distribution, where a rank change of several rows costs only a few hundred dollars.
On hourly rate alone Missouri is 35th of 51 at $265 an hour, 5 places behind its 30th position on total cost.
| Rank | State | Median | Against Missouri |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Texas | $8,900 | +$800 |
| 25 | Oregon | $8,850 | +$750 |
| 26 | Arizona | $8,550 | +$450 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $8,400 | +$300 |
| 28 | Wisconsin | $8,300 | +$200 |
| 29 | Wyoming | $8,250 | +$150 |
| 30 | Missouri | $8,100 | — |
| 31 | Florida | $8,000 | −$100 |
| 32 | Ohio | $8,000 | −$100 |
| 33 | Iowa | $7,950 | −$150 |
| 34 | Mississippi | $7,950 | −$150 |
| 35 | Nebraska | $7,750 | −$350 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $7,750 | −$350 |
The rows within ten percent are lopsided: 13 below Missouri against 6 above. $150 up or $100 down moves Missouri a row, so a downward revision would cost the state far more places than an equivalent upward one would gain — the 30th position is propped up by a thin divorce field above it and a crowded one beneath.
Climbing five places would mean passing Oregon, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Wyoming and adding $750 to the $8,100 recorded here.
Five places down means passing under Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska: $350.
$4,800 short of Hawaii ($12,900), $2,050 clear of Alabama ($6,050).
The $8,100 median divided by the $265 median rate implies roughly 31 billable hours. The peer median is 30 hours, so 1 more hours of work sit behind the Missouri figure than behind the typical state's.
The 8.1x step from the simple to the complex tier breaks down as 4.8x the hours against 1.65x the rate — 13 hours at $200 becomes 63 hours at $330. Hours dominate, but the rate contribution is large enough to notice.
From $4,500 to $13,500 the moderate band is $9,000 wide, close to the $9,550 peer median. End to end that is 34 hours at $265.
Per month of elapsed time the two tiers are close: about $1,800 a month across the 3-6 months recorded for a moderate matter, and $1,729 a month across the 6-18 months recorded for a complex one.
A third ordering: by implied hours Missouri is 19th of 51 at 31 hours, 11 places above its cost rank of 30th on cost — more work behind the same divorce money.
45% up the $4,500–$13,500 band sits the $8,550 table midpoint, buying 32 hours at $265 against the 31 the local divorce median implies — 1 hour apart.
| Measure | Missouri | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate median | $8,100 | 30th |
| Hourly median | $265 | 35th |
| Implied hours | 31 | 19th |
| Simple median | $2,550 | 38th |
| Complex median | $20,750 | 30th |
$265 an hour puts Missouri between Iowa ($265) and Montana ($265) — not the divorce cost pairing.
5 other states record exactly $265 — Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Montana among them — so rate is a coarse instrument in this divorce table.
$8,100 buys 41 hours at $200, 31 at $265, 25 at $330.
| Rank | State | Median rate |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Indiana | $265 |
| 34 | Iowa | $265 |
| 35 | Missouri | $265 |
| 36 | Montana | $265 |
| 37 | Tennessee | $265 |
Missouri moves up the table as complexity rises: 38th at the simple tier, 30th at moderate, 30th at complex, a 8-place climb. The state's position on the headline moderate figure understates where it sits once a matter is contested.
$2,550 is 38th of 51 on a straightforward divorce, under North Dakota ($2,600) and over Kansas ($2,500), $350 under the $2,900 tier midpoint.
$20,750 is 30th of 51 once contested, between Idaho ($20,900) and Montana ($20,350), $1,050 off the $21,800 tier midpoint.
Neither pair of adjacent bands touches: $300 of clear space between the simple and moderate tiers, and $650 between the moderate and complex tiers. Every recorded divorce figure in Missouri maps to exactly one tier, which makes the tier label unusually informative here.
| Tier | Missouri | Rank | Tier midpoint | Implied hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simple | $2,550 | 38th | $2,900 | 13 |
| moderate | $8,100 | 30th | $8,550 | 31 |
| complex | $20,750 | 30th | $21,800 | 63 |
$2,550 drops Missouri to 38th of 51 on straightforward matters, 8 below its moderate position and $350 (12%) under the $2,900 tier midpoint.
13 implied hours at $200: 42% of the moderate tier's 31, over 1-3 months.
North Dakota ($2,600) and Kansas ($2,500) bracket it — a $100 window.
6 states sit within three percent of the $2,550 here, against 6 at the moderate row.
$20,750 keeps Missouri at 30th on contested matters, the same place it holds on the headline figure, $1,050 (5%) under the $21,800 tier midpoint.
63 implied hours at $330: 203% of the moderate tier's 31, over 6-18 months.
Idaho ($20,900) and Montana ($20,350) bracket it — a $550 window.
2 states sit within three percent of the $20,750 here, against 6 at the moderate row.
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 36 | New Mexico | $2,650 |
| 37 | North Dakota | $2,600 |
| 38 | Missouri | $2,550 |
| 39 | Kansas | $2,500 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $2,500 |
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Wisconsin | $21,600 |
| 29 | Idaho | $20,900 |
| 30 | Missouri | $20,750 |
| 31 | Montana | $20,350 |
| 32 | Iowa | $20,100 |
$8,100 ranks a divorce 2nd of 8 in Missouri, under Criminal Defense, over DUI / DWI. At 91% of Criminal Defense ($8,950).
Across practice areas Missouri ranges from 29th of 51 for Bankruptcy to 37th for DUI / DWI — a 8-place spread, with its 30th on divorce inside it.
Missouri is not equally priced in every practice area. Measured against each matter's own midpoint, Divorce runs 5% below its own midpoint while Estate Planning / Probate runs 18% below its own midpoint — a 13-point spread between the extremes.
The largest tracked median in Missouri is 5.3x the smallest, effectively the 5.1x that the typical state records: the internal spread is ordinary even where the levels are not.
0 of 5 matter types rank Missouri in the upper third, 1 in the lower, 4 between; divorce is 30th.
In percentile terms it sits at the 42th percentile of the 51 tracked states.
| Matter | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Hours | Rank | vs mid | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defense | $3,250 | $8,950 | $26,350 | 34 | 34th | −12% | West Virginia |
| Divorce | $2,550 | $8,100 | $20,750 | 31 | 30th | −5% | Wyoming |
| DUI / DWI | $3,050 | $6,350 | $13,600 | 26 | 37th | −15% | North Carolina |
| Personal Injury | $1,300 | $4,700 | $14,050 | — | — | −10% | — |
| Immigration | $1,800 | $4,400 | $9,350 | 18 | 30th | −7% | Georgia |
| Bankruptcy | $1,300 | $3,300 | $4,500 | 15 | 29th | −8% | Utah |
| Real Estate Closing | $800 | $1,900 | $4,050 | 9 | — | −15% | — |
| Estate Planning / Probate | $500 | $1,700 | $5,250 | 7 | — | −18% | — |
Simple tier. $2,550 ÷ $200 = about 13 hours, spread over 1-3 months at roughly $1,275 a month. The $5,550 step to the moderate tier is 18 more hours at that rate.
Work against price. $8,100 to $20,750 is a $12,650 step, mostly work: 32 more hours at $265 is $8,480, while moving to $330 across 63 hours adds $4,095. Work carries 67%.
Borrowing the wrong row. Budgeting from Florida ($8,000) lands $100 under Missouri; from Wyoming ($8,250), $150 over; from the $8,550 table midpoint, $450 out.
Both ends, in time. $4,500 is 17 hours at $265; $13,500 is 51. Over the 3-6 months recorded for a moderate divorce, that is 4 to 11 hours a month — the difference between an occasional file review and continuous work.
Contested against simple. At Missouri's own recorded figures, $20,750 buys 8.1 matters at the $2,550 simple median — or, counted in time, 63 implied hours against 13, a factor of 4.8 — the two ratios differing because the rate rises with the tier.
Verified June 2026. Filing fees change on the Missouricourt's own schedule; billing models are covered in the legal fees guide.
This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.