Missouri Housing Market: Home Prices, Rent and Affordability
The typical Missouri home is worth $267,879, up 3.5% over the past year and up 26.2% over five years, 27.3% below the national $368,697 (latest release). That ranks #38 of 50 on price. A 20%-down mortgage runs $1,378 a month and takes about $73,656 of income; the median Missouri household earns $71,589, $2,067 short.
In St. Louis, the state's largest metro, typical rent is $1,443 a month against a $1,418 principal-and-interest payment on the typical home, so buying is $25 a month cheaper before taxes, insurance and maintenance. The market is warm: 26.4% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 40 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 3.8% from a year ago.
All housing figures are the latest published numbers for August; median household income is from the Census Bureau.
Missouri Housing by the Numbers
How much does a house cost in Missouri? The typical home is worth $267,879, the median sale price is $283,585 and the median list price $289,300. The six figures below describe the market this month, each with the national comparison.
- Typical home
- $267,879
- #38 priciest · national $369K
- Mortgage payment
- $1,378/mo
- P&I, 20% down · national $1,897
- Income needed
- $74K
- median earns $72K (+3%)
- Rent, St. Louis
- $1,443/mo
- +3.9% in 1 yr · national $1,948
- Price cuts
- 26.4%
- of listings · national 26.4%
- Days to pending
- 40
- national 53 · 26,703 for sale (+3.8%)
How Have Missouri Home Prices Changed?
The typical Missouri home value every month since 2000, with the national typical home as a dashed line. Values rose 3.5% over the past year, are up 26.2% over five years, up 85.0% over ten, and up 171% since January 2000.
- Peak
- $267,879
- This month (all-time high)
- 10-year change
- +85.0%
- national +77.9%
- Median sale price
- $283,585
- list price $289,300
- Payment, 1-yr change
- +4.4%
- Rates and prices combined
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy in Missouri?
Two direct answers from the data. Rent versus buy sets typical asking rent in St. Louis, the state's largest metro, against the mortgage payment on the typical home there, since rent indexes are published by metro rather than by state. The affordability gap is the income needed to buy the typical Missouri home minus what the median household actually earns.
Rent vs. buy · St. Louis, MO
Buying is $25/month cheaper
The payment excludes property tax (0.91% of value in Missouri), insurance and maintenance, all of which push the cost of owning higher; renting builds no equity. If values kept rising at the past five years' pace (26.2%), equity would narrow that gap over a long stay.
Affordability gap · #13 of 50
The median household is $2,067 short of the income needed
A $1,378 monthly payment takes 23.1% of the median Missouri household's income before property tax and insurance; lenders generally cap total housing costs near 28–31%.
Full budget for your household →Is Missouri a Buyer's or a Seller's Market?
Market temperature is our label from three market signals compared with the national market: the share of listings with a price cut, days from listing to pending (days on market), and whether homes for sale are up from a year ago. Missouri is warm: it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market.
Median sale price $283,585 against a median list price of $289,300, so the typical home closes 2.0% below asking.
Where the Missouri market is heading
Compared with a year ago, all three signals point looser, in buyers' favor: the share of listings with a price cut is up 0.5 points from a year ago to 26.4%, homes take 3 days longer to go pending than a year ago (40 now), and the number of homes for sale is up 3.8%. The typical home value rose 3.5% over the same period and is at an all-time high. We publish no forecasts: these are the current-month readings, not a prediction of where Missouri home prices go next.
Home Values and Rents in Missouri Cities
A city-level home value or rent is available for 14 of the Missouri cities we track. The most expensive is Wildwood ($583,404) and the cheapest Florissant ($194,823). Click a city for its full profile.
| City | Population | Home value | 1 yr | 5 yr | Rent | Rent 1 yr | Value ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 510,612 | $253,549 | +1.7% | ||||
| Springfield | 169,954 | $245,882 | +2.9% | ||||
| Columbia | 128,548 | $324,526 | +2.7% | ||||
| Independence | 121,740 | $212,613 | +3.6% | ||||
| Blue Springs | 59,965 | $311,297 | +2.1% | ||||
| Joplin | 52,593 | $207,169 | +2.0% | ||||
| Florissant | 51,773 | $194,823 | +1.8% | ||||
| Chesterfield | 49,574 | $576,404 | +3.7% | ||||
| Wentzville | 47,061 | $401,353 | +1.4% | ||||
| Jefferson City | 42,488 | $280,966 | +7.7% | ||||
| Cape Girardeau | 40,344 | $221,854 | +4.3% | ||||
| Oakville | 35,333 | $364,225 | +3.4% | ||||
| Wildwood | 35,133 | $583,404 | +3.2% | ||||
| University City | 34,685 | $269,331 | +3.6% |
Home value and rent are city-level indexes; population and median household income are Census ACS. Cities without a published index are omitted.
All Missouri cities ranked →How Missouri Compares With Nearby States
The Midwest states closest to Missouri on price. Each card links to that state's housing page; the compare link puts the two states side by side on every category.
More on Missouri
Missouri dashboard
Overall rank and grade, every category score, taxes, utilities, safety, schools and all tracked cities.
What you'd keep in Missouri
Take-home after housing, taxes, childcare, utilities and groceries for your household and income.
Who is moving to Missouri
IRS migration data: where new residents come from, where leavers go, and what both groups earn.
Missouri Housing Market FAQ
What is the average house price in Missouri?
$267,879 is the typical Missouri home value according to the latest release of the home value index, which tracks homes in the middle third of the market. The median sale price was $283,585 and the median list price $289,300. That makes Missouri the #38 most expensive state; the national typical home is worth $368,697.
Are home prices dropping in Missouri?
No. The typical Missouri home value rose 3.5% over the past year and is at an all-time high. Over five years it is up 26.2% and over ten years up 85.0%. Nationally, values rose 1.2% over the year.
How have Missouri home prices changed over the past 1, 5 and 10 years?
+3.5% over one year, +26.2% over five years and +85.0% over ten years for the typical Missouri home value, per the latest release; the national figures are +1.2%, +20.3% and +77.9%. Since January 2000 the typical Missouri home is up 171%. The monthly chart above shows the full series against the national line.
Will the Missouri housing market crash?
We publish no forecasts, so this page cannot answer that; it can show the current readings and the historical worst case. Right now the typical Missouri home value is at an all-time high after it rose 3.5% over the past year; 26.4% of listings have cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 40 days (national 53), and inventory is up 3.8% from a year ago, per Zillow Research. The largest decline in the monthly value series for Missouri was 15.8% from May 2007 to February 2012, and values took 55 months to regain that peak.
Is it a good time to buy a house in Missouri?
The Missouri market is warm right now, which means it slightly favors sellers: one of the three market signals points cooler than the national market. 26.4% of listings cut their price (national 26.4%), homes go pending in 40 days (national 53), and for-sale inventory is up 3.8% from a year ago. Affordability is the constraint: buying the typical home takes $73,656 of income, $2,067 more than the median household earns. Whether the timing is right also depends on mortgage rates and how long you plan to stay.
Is Missouri a buyer's or seller's market?
Missouri leans toward sellers. Fewer listings are cutting prices than the national average (26.4% vs. 26.4%), homes take 40 days to go pending (national 53), and the number of homes for sale is up 3.8% from a year ago at 27K listings. One of those three signals points toward buyers.
What is the average rent in Missouri?
In St. Louis, Missouri's largest metro, the typical asking rent is $1,443 a month, up 3.9% over the past year and up 30.2% over five years, per the rent index. The national typical rent is $1,948. Among Missouri cities we track, rents range from $1,017 to $1,812 a month.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Missouri?
Buying is cheaper month to month in St. Louis, Missouri's largest metro. Typical rent is $1,443 and the principal-and-interest payment on the typical home with 20% down is $1,418, a difference of $25 a month in favor of buying. The payment excludes property tax (0.91% of value in Missouri), insurance and maintenance, and renting builds no equity, so the full answer depends on how long you stay.
How much income do you need to buy a house in Missouri?
About $73,656 a year, using the standard assumptions of 20% down at current mortgage rates and a payment of no more than 30% of income. The median Missouri household earns $71,589, so the typical household is $2,067 short. That is the #13 smallest affordability gap of the 50 states. The monthly payment of $1,378 equals 23.1% of the median household's income.
Where are homes cheapest and most expensive in Missouri?
Among the Missouri cities we track with a published home value, the most expensive typical home is in Wildwood ($583,404) and the cheapest in Florissant ($194,823). Also at the top: Chesterfield ($576,404), Wentzville ($401,353), and Oakville ($364,225). The city table above lists every tracked Missouri city with its value, one-year change and rent.
How does Missouri compare with nearby states?
In the Midwest, the closest comparisons on price are Michigan ($266,292, up 4.0% in a year), Indiana ($260,095, up 3.0% in a year), and Nebraska ($280,673, up 3.1% in a year). Missouri's typical home is $267,879, up 3.5%. On affordability, Missouri ranks #13 of 50 versus Michigan at #12, Indiana at #6, and Nebraska at #16.
How current is the Missouri housing data?
Every figure on this page comes from Zillow Research, which publishes state, metro and city data free each month for the prior month; the latest month shown is August. Median household income is from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. We rebuild the page from the newest Zillow files as they are released.
Home values, rents, mortgage payments, income needed, inventory, price cuts, days to pending and sale and list prices are published by Zillow Research and shown as released, with attribution. Median household income and city populations are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Home prices and housing markets in all 50 states →