Twenty-Four Rose, One Fell, and the Data Finally Covers the Bases
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
We pulled the metro file ourselves rather than quoting a summary, which is the only way to know what is actually in it and what is missing.
★ The metros
| Metro | Typical value | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| ★ Kansas City | $327,320 | +3.7%: dearest in the state |
| Columbia | $321,371 | +2.9% |
| ★★ Warrensburg | $284,975 | +4.4%: ★★ Whiteman AFB |
| Jefferson City | $279,076 | +7.3% |
| St. Louis | $275,704 | +3.4% |
| Springfield | $272,185 | +3.2% |
| ★ Branson | $246,364 | ★★ -0.2%: the only Missouri metro to fall |
| Lebanon | $242,925 | +5.3% |
| Rolla | $235,139 | +5.5% |
| ★★★ Fort Leonard Wood | $233,313 | +5.0%: ★★★ a metro named after the base |
| Joplin | $228,639 | +2.6% |
| Cape Girardeau | $228,626 | +4.1% |
| Maryville | $224,552 | +3.9% |
| West Plains | $224,493 | +7.4% |
| Hannibal | $217,391 | +4.8% |
| St. Joseph | $216,378 | +5.7%: Rosecrans ANGB |
| Sedalia | $201,027 | +2.3% |
| Farmington | $192,951 | +2.5% |
| Kirksville | $191,822 | +5.2% |
| ★ Mexico | $191,229 | +10.0% |
| Marshall | $184,079 | +6.0% |
| Moberly | $182,441 | +6.5% |
| ★ Poplar Bluff | $171,015 | ★★ +10.6%: fastest in the state |
| Sikeston | $162,458 | +0.6% |
| ★★ Kennett | ★★ $95,780 | +6.2%: cheapest, and under $100,000 |
Zillow Home Value Index, 33rd to 67th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted, month ending 31 August 2026, pulled 2026-10-10. These are volatile figures; treat them as a shape, not an appraisal.
★★★ The thing that makes Missouri unusual: the data covers the bases
When we built the Ohio companion to this site, the single most VA-relevant market in that state, the Dayton area, around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, had no row at all in this same national file. The only "Dayton" row in it is Dayton, Tennessee.
★★★ Missouri is the opposite, twice over:
- ★★★ Fort Leonard Wood, MO is a metro row named after the installation itself: $233,313, +5.0%. The market around the post
- ★★ Whiteman Air Force Base sits in the Warrensburg metro — $284,975, +4.4%, third-dearest in the state. The Whiteman market
★ Two more have a published figure as well: Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in the St. Joseph metro ($216,378, +5.7%) and Jefferson Barracks in the St. Louis metro ($275,704).
★★ Those are metro figures, not installation figures, and we attach no personnel count and no economic-impact figure to any base on this site, every military host is closed to crawlers and we read none at a primary source. The bases are named; the housing numbers come from the metro row.
★ Twenty-five, and all of them Missouri
Every row carrying a state name of Missouri is also Missouri-named. That is worth saying because it is not always true: Ohio's 44 rows include four West Virginia-named border metros whose statistical areas cross the river. Here the count is clean at 25.
★★ The one that fell, and why we are not making it a trend
Branson, -0.2% to $246,364. One metro in twenty-five going slightly the other way is not a market turning.
★ It is also a tourism economy, with a housing stock and a demand profile unlike the rest of the state, so it is the metro least likely to tell you anything about Missouri generally. Worth knowing if you are buying there; worth ignoring otherwise.
★★ The range is the real story
From $95,780 in Kennett to $327,320 in Kansas City, Missouri spans more than a factor of three. The fastest movers are at the cheap end, Poplar Bluff +10.6%, Mexico +10.0%, while Kansas City and St. Louis rose 3.7% and 3.4%.
★★ For a VA buyer with no deposit to protect, the implication cuts against the usual advice: the cheap end of Missouri is where competition is building fastest, so "buy somewhere cheaper and wait" is a plan against a moving target.
★ What none of this threatens
All 115 jurisdictions sit at $832,750. Kansas City at $327,320 is about 39% of that, and Kennett about 12%. Missouri VA buyers do not run into the loan limit. Why.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive housing market in Missouri?
Kansas City, with a typical home value of $327,320 as of August 2026, up 3.7 percent year on year. Columbia follows at $321,371 and Warrensburg, the Whiteman Air Force Base metro, at $284,975.What is the cheapest housing market in Missouri?
Kennett, at a typical $95,780 as of August 2026, up 6.2 percent. It is the only Missouri metro in the series under $100,000, roughly 12 percent of the $832,750 VA loan limit.Did any Missouri housing market fall in 2026?
One. Branson fell 0.2 percent to $246,364 as of August 2026. The other twenty-four Missouri metros rose. Branson is a tourism economy with a demand profile unlike the rest of the state.What are home values near Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base?
The Fort Leonard Wood metro had a typical home value of $233,313 as of August 2026, up 5.0 percent, and Whiteman Air Force Base sits in the Warrensburg metro at $284,975, up 4.4 percent. Both are metro figures rather than installation figures.Which Missouri housing market is growing fastest?
Poplar Bluff, up 10.6 percent to $171,015 as of August 2026, followed by Mexico at 10.0 percent. The fastest-growing Missouri metros are at the cheaper end, while Kansas City and St. Louis rose 3.7 and 3.4 percent.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Missouri's property tax exemption for former prisoners of war is established by article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution, and the Missouri Property Tax Credit is governed by sections 135.010 to 135.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue, not by Cornerstone. Proposed constitutional amendments described on this site are proposals and are not law. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.