Our Missouri DSCR loan page covers the statewide basics: deposits, notices, closing and short term rental rules in the two big cities. This post answers a narrower question investors keep asking me: if you are going to own one rental in Missouri, which city gives the rent the most room to work?

I pulled every number on November 12, 2026 from HUD User, the Census Bureau, the Missouri Revisor of Statutes and Freddie Mac.

The Ranking in One Table

Kansas City wins on dollars left over, St. Joseph wins on ratio, and Columbia barely breaks even before tax.

The setup is simple on purpose. Each city's Census median value of owner occupied homes is the price. Down payment is 25%. The loan is a 30 year amortization at Freddie Mac's 30 year fixed average of 7.11% for the week of November 12, 2026, which I use only as a yardstick; it is a conventional survey average, not a DSCR rate and not our pricing. The rent is HUD's FY2027 three bedroom figure for the metro the city sits in.

"Room left" is not profit. It is the monthly pool that has to pay the property tax and the landlord insurance before the DSCR reaches 1.00. A bigger pool means a bigger cushion for a high tax bill, a pricey policy or a rent comp that comes in short.

Why Kansas City and St. Louis Lead

The two big metros got two of the biggest HUD rent increases of the eight areas I checked, while their median prices stayed in the low to mid $200,000s.

Kansas City's three bedroom figure rose from $1,769 to $2,020, and St. Louis rose from $1,568 to $1,731. Both are regional numbers. HUD's Kansas City area covers Jackson, Clay, Platte, Cass and four more Missouri counties plus five in Kansas, and the St. Louis area runs from the city and St. Louis County out to St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln and Warren, plus six Illinois counties. So the same benchmark applies to a brick bungalow on the east side and a newer split level in the suburbs, and the suburbs cost more.

Both cities also have deep renter pools. Census puts the owner occupied rate at 55.4% in Kansas City and 45.3% in St. Louis, so a large share of households rent. Our Kansas City rental property DSCR guide runs the full payment with the actual 2025 levy lines and the city's rental permit fee.

The Smaller Metros That Work

Joplin, Springfield and St. Joseph all keep more than $600 a month of room on prices under $180,000.

• Joplin: a $168,300 median and a three bedroom benchmark of $1,501 for the Jasper and Newton County area. A 53.4% owner occupied rate and 53,930 residents make it the smallest market on the list, so comps can be thin.
• Springfield: $177,700 median, $1,539 three bedroom for Greene, Christian and Webster counties. It has the lowest owner rate of the eight at 43.9%, which tells you how many households rent there.
• St. Joseph: the cheapest median at $154,200 and the best ratio, 1.81, on a $1,406 benchmark. It is also the most owner heavy city here at 62.8%, so your tenant pool is smaller than the ratio suggests.

Cape Girardeau sits in the middle with about $411 of room. That is workable if the tax and insurance on the specific house are modest.

Run the DSCR on your deal

Where the Math Gets Tight

Jefferson City and Columbia need below median prices or a lower payment structure to clear 1.00 once tax is added.

Jefferson City's benchmark is $1,332 against a $218,700 median, which leaves about $229 a month. That covers insurance on most houses but leaves little for a tax bill. Columbia is the bigger surprise. It has the highest median on the list at $284,600 and a middling rent benchmark, so principal and interest alone eat almost the whole $1,459. Rent there has to come from the specific property, often a newer house or one near campus that leases above the HUD figure, not from the metro average.

Flip the math and you get a price ceiling. On these assumptions, the three bedroom benchmark covers principal and interest up to about $400,000 in Kansas City, $343,000 in St. Louis, $305,000 in Springfield, $298,000 in Joplin, $289,000 in Columbia and $264,000 in Jefferson City. Your real ceiling is lower once tax and insurance join the payment.

This Year's Rent Moves

HUD's new figures took effect October 1, 2026, and they moved Missouri metros in very different directions.

The Joplin area three bedroom figure jumped from $1,237 to $1,501, the largest move of the eight areas here by percentage. Columbia's three bedroom figure fell from $1,573 to $1,459, and its two bedroom fell too, from $1,160 to $1,076. A benchmark is not a lease, and a one year swing that big usually reflects new survey data more than a sudden change on any one street. Still, if you bought in Columbia expecting rents to climb with the HUD number, this year is a reminder to underwrite on signed leases.

How Missouri Turns Value Into a Tax Bill

Missouri taxes a house on 19% of its market value, then applies the local levy per $100 of that assessed value.

The statute, RSMo 137.115, sets residential property in subclass (1) at nineteen percent of true value. That conversion makes Missouri levies look bigger than they are. Each $1.00 of combined levy per $100 of assessed value costs 0.19% of market value a year. So a $200,000 rental in an area with a total levy of $8.00 per $100 carries an assessed value of $38,000 and a yearly bill near $3,040, or about $253 a month. That is an example levy to show the arithmetic; your parcel's real levy comes from the county collector and changes by school district, city and fire district.

Two more Missouri details belong in your underwriting. Values are set as of January 1 of each odd numbered year, so 2027 is a reassessment year. And the statute requires a physical inspection before an assessor raises a residential value more than 15%, which is worth knowing if your purchase price is far above the last assessment.

Loan Terms That Fit Missouri Prices

Most Missouri rentals fall well under $1 million, which keeps the reserve rule simple.

• Reserves: none required when the loan is under $1 million and the LTV is under 75%, and there is no asset sourcing, large deposit sourcing or asset seasoning.
• Ratio floor: the ratio can go as low as 0.50, and loans run up to $5 million.
• Interest only: ten years interest only on a 40 year term, or a 30 year term with interest only, up to 70% LTV on a purchase and 65% on a cash out. Our 1% rule and DSCR post shows how a lower payment changes the rent you need.
• Gifts: a 100% gift can cover the down payment, closing costs and reserves.
• Cash out reaches 80% LTV with no ownership seasoning.
• New investors qualify without owning a home or showing a VOR.

Our HUD Fair Market Rents 2027 post compares this year's rent changes across more metros, and the loan programs page lists every option we offer.

What This Ranking Leaves Out

It leaves out the tax bill, the insurance quote and the actual lease, which are the three things that decide your real DSCR.

How I Would Use This List

1. Pick two cities from the top five and pull three bedroom rent comps for the neighborhoods you like.
2. Look up the levy for the exact parcel, multiply the price by 0.19, then by the levy per $100.
3. Get a landlord insurance quote before you write the offer.
4. Check the city rules for rental permits and short term rentals, starting with the links on our Missouri page.
5. Send us the address. We run the DSCR the way the lender will and tell you what the rent has to be.

Sources

All sources checked November 12, 2026. Data changes, so confirm before you rely on it.

1. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Kansas City MO KS HUD Metro FMR Area (Jackson County, MO). 2 bed $1,546, 3 bed $2,020 (FY2026 $1,358, $1,769)
2. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, St. Louis MO IL HUD Metro FMR Area (St. Louis city, MO). 2 bed $1,349, 3 bed $1,731 (FY2026 $1,218, $1,568)
3. HUD User, FY2027 Fair Market Rents, Springfield, Joplin, St. Joseph, Cape Girardeau, Jefferson City and Columbia areas (Greene, Jasper, Buchanan, Cape Girardeau, Cole and Boone counties, MO). 3 bed FY2027 (FY2026): Springfield $1,539 ($1,498), Joplin $1,501 ($1,237), St. Joseph $1,406 ($1,363), Cape Girardeau $1,401 ($1,380), Jefferson City $1,332 ($1,266), Columbia $1,459 ($1,573); Columbia 2 bed $1,076 ($1,160)
4. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, Joplin and St. Joseph, Missouri. Median value of owner occupied housing units and owner occupied rate, ACS 2020 to 2024; population estimates July 1, 2025 (V2025)
5. U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Cape Girardeau and Jefferson City, Missouri. Median value of owner occupied housing units ($196,300 and $218,700), ACS 2020 to 2024
6. Missouri Revisor of Statutes, RSMo 137.115. Residential real property (subclass 1) assessed at 19% of true value; odd year valuation; physical inspection before a residential increase over 15%
7. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. 30 year fixed average 7.11% as of November 12, 2026 (reference only)

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