Among 38 Missouri cities with 20,000 or more people, Old Jamestown CDP has the highest median gross rent ($1,835 a month) and Rolla the lowest ($789), per the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates.
Source: Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020-2024, read October 30, 2026. Survey estimates carry margins of error, which we did not print; small cities carry larger ones. Rows are cities, towns and census-designated places of 20,000 or more people within their own limits; they are not metro areas. Gross rent is contract rent plus the utilities and fuels a renter pays. It is a survey median across all renter homes, not an asking rent.
Cities Ranked by Median Gross Rent
| Rank | City | Median gross rent per month | Renter homes under $1,000 (derived) | Renter homes at $1,500 or more (derived) | Rent as share of median income (derived) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Jamestown CDP | $1,835 | 5.7% | 72.5% | 22.1% |
| 2 | Wildwood | $1,661 | 5.6% | 57.8% | 12.4% |
| 3 | Webster Groves | $1,650 | 11.8% | 51.7% | 17.2% |
| 4 | Chesterfield | $1,644 | 4.7% | 57.1% | 14.8% |
| 5 | O’Fallon | $1,443 | 14.9% | 42.1% | 15.7% |
| 6 | Lee’s Summit | $1,422 | 14.9% | 42.2% | 16.6% |
| 7 | Ballwin | $1,418 | 9.6% | 36.5% | 13.7% |
| 8 | Kirkwood | $1,348 | 18.3% | 36.3% | 13.3% |
| 9 | Wentzville | $1,345 | 29.3% | 33.8% | 14.4% |
| 10 | St. Peters | $1,321 | 29.5% | 35.3% | 17.3% |
| 11 | University City | $1,319 | 19.6% | 33.6% | 19.6% |
| 12 | Maryland Heights | $1,312 | 8.7% | 30.1% | 18.2% |
| 13 | Raymore | $1,303 | 14.4% | 38.0% | 15.0% |
| 14 | Belton | $1,290 | 24.6% | 32.5% | 22.4% |
| 15 | Florissant | $1,288 | 19.7% | 34.8% | 23.7% |
| 16 | Blue Springs | $1,277 | 19.5% | 30.0% | 17.2% |
| 17 | St. Charles | $1,251 | 21.9% | 27.0% | 17.5% |
| 18 | Kansas City | $1,238 | 28.1% | 28.9% | 21.5% |
| 19 | Raytown | $1,218 | 29.5% | 26.4% | 21.2% |
| 20 | Liberty | $1,160 | 34.7% | 26.5% | 15.7% |
| 21 | Arnold | $1,112 | 31.3% | 11.7% | 17.0% |
| 22 | Independence | $1,109 | 37.4% | 18.7% | 22.1% |
| 23 | Columbia | $1,097 | 38.4% | 18.1% | 19.8% |
| 24 | Ozark | $1,097 | 40.9% | 15.5% | 17.7% |
| 25 | Oakville CDP | $1,091 | 35.4% | 17.6% | 12.3% |
| 26 | Gladstone | $1,088 | 41.1% | 19.9% | 16.5% |
| 27 | Nixa | $1,083 | 36.9% | 12.0% | 15.6% |
| 28 | Mehlville CDP | $1,066 | 38.0% | 14.0% | 19.1% |
| 29 | Grandview | $1,035 | 44.2% | 13.2% | 23.2% |
| 30 | St. Louis | $997 | 49.0% | 16.3% | 21.3% |
| 31 | Hazelwood | $996 | 49.4% | 12.5% | 21.4% |
| 32 | Springfield | $964 | 52.9% | 9.7% | 23.5% |
| 33 | Joplin | $962 | 53.4% | 9.1% | 22.2% |
| 34 | St. Joseph | $898 | 62.4% | 4.2% | 18.6% |
| 35 | Sedalia | $877 | 63.7% | 6.7% | 20.6% |
| 36 | Cape Girardeau | $876 | 58.1% | 13.1% | 18.9% |
| 37 | Jefferson City | $802 | 70.5% | 6.2% | 14.5% |
| 38 | Rolla | $789 | 74.1% | 5.6% | 20.5% |
Where the Statewide Figure Falls
The statewide median gross rent is $1,033 a month. 29 of the 38 cities listed are above it and 9 are at or below it.
Notes
- Rent as a share of median income divides twelve months of median gross rent by median household income (derived); it compares places but is not any one household’s burden.
- Shares under $1,000 and at $1,500 or more add the Census rent bands (table B25063) and divide by renter homes paying cash rent (derived).
- The same rows are in the open dataset, with a schema.
What We Could Not Verify
- Current asking rents or listings: not collected.
- Rent by bedroom count and building type: not collected.
- Margins of error for each estimate.
More Missouri Guides
Questions People Ask
Which Missouri city has the highest rent?
Old Jamestown CDP, at a median gross rent of $1,835 a month in the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 estimates, among Missouri cities with 20,000 or more people.
Which Missouri city has the cheapest rent?
Rolla, at $789 a month, among the same group of cities.
Sources
Checked October 30, 2026 by It’s Missouri. Cite this page: It’s Missouri (https://itsmissouri.com/living/rent-by-city/), checked October 30, 2026. Free to quote with a link.