Pros, cons, key stats, and the strongest Missouri cities to consider. Based on our analysis of 178 tracked Missouri city markets.
Yes, for many movers. The better answer is city-specific: Missouri contains both stronger and weaker markets, and the right fit depends on your budget, job needs, climate tolerance, and tax situation.
Pros
- Lower median tracked home value ($253,985)
- Healthy housing-market momentum in tracked cities (70/100 median)
- Deep city choice: 178 WWIM-tracked cities
- Herculaneum is one of the strongest current city signals in Missouri
Cons
- Social Security may be taxed by the state, depending on income
- State averages hide major city-by-city differences
What this means in practice
Across 178 tracked Missouri city markets, the median home costs $253,985 with a 1-year change of +3.1% and a median momentum score of 70 out of 100.
On taxes, Income tax up to 4.7%. Low base sales (local push to 8%+). Partial SS exclusion (AGI-based). That matters because the cheapest state on paper can still be expensive if property tax, insurance, or local housing costs overwhelm the headline rate.
State-level averages mask city-level variation — within any state, individual cities can have radically different cost, climate, and trajectory. Use the strongest-momentum cities below as a starting point.
Top 5 Missouri cities by momentum
- Herculaneum — momentum 81, median $302,920
- Troy — momentum 80, median $313,348
- West Plains — momentum 79, median $224,796
- Mexico — momentum 79, median $182,717
- Wright City — momentum 79, median $309,458