Kansas City, MO — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Missouri·Kansas City

Jackson County · Kansas City · population 516,032

First-time buyersBig-city amenities
Kansas City, MO
Image: Wikipedia · Kansas City, Missouri
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
67
Rising
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Kansas City stands

At or near all-time high.

Median home $253,319
1-year +0.9%
5-yr CAGR +5.1%
vs 5-yr peak -0.0%
Population +0.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2026-03$253k$113k$163k$213k$264k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
40/100
Car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
42/100
Some transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
75/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,442/mo$1,017$1,273$1,528202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent128133100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 14.6
Buy

At a 14.6 price-to-rent ratio, buying generally beats renting in Kansas City on a long-enough horizon. The headline math is that one year of mortgage payments approximates 14.6 years of rent — well below the 15+ threshold where ownership starts to dominate.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
55 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
65 · w22%
Distance from peak
90 · w18%
Population growth
53 · w16%
Rent YoY
67 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
79 · w10%
Long thesis

Kansas City is a major US metro showing +5.1% annualized appreciation with 516,032 residents — scale plus growth. The kind of city that doesn't need a thesis; the data has been making its own case for years.

Short thesis

Kansas City's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Kansas City

Kansas City is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, with an estimated population of 516,032. The median home value in Kansas City is $253,319 as of 2026-04, up 0.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.1% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Kansas City average $1,442 per month, up 3.3% year-over-year. The composite momentum score is 67 of 100 (Rising). The market is healthy with prices supported by underlying demand.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +5.1% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
●Held the highs: currently -0.0% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
○Scale = optionality: 516,032 population gives you airports, hospitals, a deep job market, and a real cultural scene.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Kansas City (Wikipedia)

Kansas City, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by both population and area. It is located on the Missouri River at its confluence with the Kansas River, within Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties. It is the 38th-most populous city in the United States and sixth-most populous city in the Midwest, with a population of 508,090 at the 2020 census. The Kansas City metropolitan area, which straddles the Missouri–Kansas state line, is the 31st-most populous metropolitan area in the nation, at 2.25 million residents.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorQuinton Lucas
Area318.80 sq mi
Elevation910 population_as_of = 2020 ft
Density1614.38/sq mi
Named forKansas River government_footnotes =

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Kansas City(Civil Engineering Landmark)

  • American Society of Civil Engineers
  • National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark
  • George Kessler

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

Playbook

Buyer

You're not in a frenzy but you're not getting bargains either. Make a competitive offer with normal inspection terms. Don't lowball — the listing will move with or without you.

Seller

Price at fair market value; expect movement in 30-45 days. Don't get clever with terms (rent-back, contingencies) — buyers in a Rising market have options.

Investor

Appreciation tailwind exists but cash flow requires discipline on price. Run the numbers conservatively and confirm rent comps before committing.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Jackson County right now.

NWS active alerts (MO)Missouri Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Jackson County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Kansas City

210 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Sunset Hill West$2,331,690+9.1%
2Ward Estates$1,719,541+5.4%
3Sunset Hill$1,176,111+4.2%
4Stanford Gardens$1,103,233+3.5%
5Romanelli West$687,333+6.4%
6Armour Fields$686,907+6.2%
7Countryside$648,456+6.9%
8Briarcliff West$569,565+1.8%
9Greenway Fields$566,344+5.4%
10Roanoke$542,228-0.7%
11Central Hyde Park$529,610+1.2%
12Wornall Homestead$528,435+6.8%
13Unity Ridge$505,337+1.0%
14Brookside Park$500,553+7.1%
15Longview$497,120+4.3%
16Verona Hills$490,507+4.8%
17Westwood$488,120+2.9%
18Foxcroft and Glen Arbor$481,498+4.5%
19Armour Hills$468,500+6.3%
20Morningside$467,446+5.6%
21Blue Hills Estates$465,981+4.4%
22Prairie Point$450,721+1.2%
23Outer Gashland$446,143+0.8%
24South Plaza$443,213+2.6%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Kansas City

St. Charles, MO67 · RisingBlue Springs, MO69 · RisingSpringfield, MO69 · RisingJoplin, MO71 · Rising

Run the numbers for Kansas City

ToolCan I afford Kansas City?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Kansas City rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Kansas City to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolKansas City cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
39° / 22°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
88° / 67°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
211
~58% of year
Annual precip
42″ rain
16″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very high
Wildfire
Very low
Earthquake
High
Flood
High

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Kansas City area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Kansas City listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
70%
Humid climate
Median household income
$65,900
Missouri state median
Top industries (state-level)
HealthcareManufacturingFinance

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

Cities similar to Kansas City

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