Editor’s Note: This is not investment advice, and we are not financial advisers.
Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Missouri with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Missouri that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Missouri at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Wright City.
4.3% population growth · 0.2% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.0% population growth · 1.8% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
0.3% population growth · -0.0% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
-0.2% population growth · 1.5% home price growth
Savannah is a city and county seat of Andrew County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,057 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
0.6% population growth · 3.4% home price growth
Odessa is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,300 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
0.4% population growth · 1.1% home price growth
Waynesville is a city in Pulaski County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,830 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pulaski County and is located in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. It was one of the communities served by historic Route 66.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.5% population growth · 1.7% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
0.2% population growth · 2.3% home price growth
Located in
Macon County, Missouri
Macon is a city in Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,500 at the 2012 census. It is the county seat of Macon County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.3% population growth · 4.2% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
-1.8% population growth · -7.7% home price growth
Located in
Pemiscot County, Missouri
Caruthersville is a city in and the county seat of Pemiscot County, Missouri, United States, located along the Mississippi River in the Bootheel region of the state’s far southeast. The population was 6,168, according to the 2010 Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Missouri’s statewide median.
Missouri statewide median: $263,040
On the map
Where Missouri’s best buys are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Missouri for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for over a decade. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent place to buy a home.
So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we’d approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Missouri. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Missouri with undervalued homes relative to pent-up demand using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. Specifically, we used the following criteria:
- Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
- Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
- Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It’s still kinda cheap)
We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still “cheap” for Missouri, with these caveats: home prices had to be within 20% of the state average, home prices increased in the last year, and the city had above 5,000 people.
So of the 1019 cities and towns in Missouri, only 131 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 131 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Wright City is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Show Me State.
The full plate
Best Places To Buy A Home In Missouri
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wright City | 5,240 | $307,152 | 4.3% | 0.2% |
| 2 | Herculaneum | 5,071 | $299,331 | 3.0% | 1.8% |
| 3 | Ste. Genevieve | 5,010 | $196,909 | 0.3% | -0.0% |
| 4 | Savannah | 5,053 | $266,126 | -0.2% | 1.5% |
| 5 | Odessa | 5,620 | $256,903 | 0.6% | 3.4% |
| 6 | Waynesville | 5,442 | $242,455 | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| 7 | Peculiar | 5,958 | $357,230 | 2.5% | 1.7% |
| 8 | Macon | 5,466 | $175,280 | 0.2% | 2.3% |
| 9 | Cottleville | 5,937 | $491,929 | 3.3% | 4.2% |
| 10 | Caruthersville | 5,326 | $77,792 | -1.8% | -7.7% |
| 11 | Weldon Spring | 5,310 | $629,191 | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| 12 | Willard | 6,488 | $272,134 | 1.1% | 1.7% |
| 13 | Richmond | 5,959 | $233,566 | -0.3% | 0.9% |
| 14 | Trenton | 5,536 | $110,674 | -0.1% | 0.1% |
| 15 | Glendale | 6,114 | $565,844 | 0.0% | 3.7% |
| 16 | Pevely | 6,055 | $273,663 | 0.3% | 1.1% |
| 17 | Greenwood | 6,013 | $355,951 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| 18 | Shrewsbury | 6,316 | $285,844 | -0.2% | 1.6% |
| 19 | St. Robert | 5,356 | $231,890 | 0.5% | -0.7% |
| 20 | De Soto | 6,470 | $245,845 | 0.3% | 3.2% |
| 21 | St. John | 6,527 | $137,116 | -0.5% | 4.3% |
| 22 | Battlefield | 6,165 | $303,753 | 1.1% | 2.7% |
| 23 | Sullivan | 6,310 | $203,783 | -0.7% | 4.7% |
| 24 | Pacific | 7,475 | $245,537 | 2.4% | 1.9% |
| 25 | Valley Park | 6,795 | $295,375 | -0.3% | 2.1% |
| 26 | Black Jack | 6,589 | $217,916 | -0.3% | 2.3% |
| 27 | Bonne Terre | 6,683 | $201,861 | -1.3% | 1.7% |
| 28 | Parkville | 8,366 | $578,744 | 4.3% | 1.4% |
| 29 | Marshfield | 7,696 | $253,421 | 1.3% | 2.9% |
| 30 | Aurora | 7,397 | $176,041 | 0.9% | 1.9% |
| 31 | Olivette | 8,645 | $488,323 | 1.2% | 0.9% |
| 32 | Dexter | 7,891 | $160,390 | -0.2% | -1.9% |
| 33 | Brentwood | 8,144 | $265,327 | -0.1% | 0.4% |
| 34 | Maplewood | 8,156 | $267,091 | 0.0% | 3.7% |
| 35 | Nevada | 7,925 | $160,101 | -0.9% | 1.5% |
| 36 | Carl Junction | 8,339 | $250,863 | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| 37 | Oak Grove | 8,538 | $291,503 | 0.7% | 1.3% |
| 38 | Boonville | 7,689 | $192,609 | 0.1% | 0.8% |
| 39 | Warrenton | 9,066 | $299,573 | 2.2% | 1.1% |
| 40 | Sunset Hills | 9,112 | $610,688 | -0.0% | 3.7% |
| 41 | Perryville | 8,536 | $222,682 | 0.1% | 2.1% |
| 42 | Park Hills | 8,678 | $153,552 | 0.1% | 1.7% |
| 43 | Richmond Heights | 9,153 | $390,830 | -0.3% | 4.1% |
| 44 | Pleasant Hill | 8,847 | $364,998 | -0.1% | 2.5% |
| 45 | Ladue | 8,940 | $1,331,344 | -0.1% | 3.9% |
| 46 | Des Peres | 9,170 | $693,377 | 0.3% | 4.1% |
| 47 | Clinton | 9,065 | $170,926 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| 48 | Berkeley | 8,123 | $97,156 | -0.3% | 6.6% |
| 49 | Cameron | 8,519 | $243,891 | -2.3% | 3.4% |
| 50 | Monett | 9,873 | $180,956 | 1.4% | 0.4% |
| 51 | Chillicothe | 8,923 | $185,819 | -2.3% | 0.8% |
| 52 | Ellisville | 10,002 | $403,570 | 0.9% | 3.0% |
| 53 | Kennett | 10,196 | $111,347 | -0.4% | 3.5% |
| 54 | Harrisonville | 9,970 | $294,225 | -0.3% | 3.0% |
| 55 | Eureka | 13,081 | $403,523 | 5.7% | 0.2% |
| 56 | Smithville | 10,705 | $371,403 | 1.4% | -0.3% |
| 57 | Bellefontaine Neighbors | 10,498 | $102,415 | -0.6% | 1.8% |
| 58 | Kearney | 10,885 | $390,530 | 1.8% | 0.3% |
| 59 | Bolivar | 11,170 | $252,896 | 1.6% | 0.1% |
| 60 | Town and Country | 11,607 | $1,146,742 | 0.0% | 4.0% |
| 61 | Branson | 12,817 | $248,361 | 0.4% | 0.9% |
| 62 | Mexico | 11,477 | $180,700 | -0.1% | 4.0% |
| 63 | Bridgeton | 11,369 | $273,069 | -0.0% | 1.5% |
| 64 | Maryville | 10,428 | $222,767 | -1.2% | -1.2% |
| 65 | Excelsior Springs | 10,484 | $223,588 | -0.2% | 0.3% |
| 66 | Crestwood | 12,295 | $339,629 | -0.0% | 2.4% |
| 67 | Webb City | 13,221 | $222,929 | 0.6% | -0.0% |
| 68 | Union | 12,781 | $257,223 | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| 69 | Neosho | 13,224 | $227,220 | 2.9% | 2.8% |
| 70 | Festus | 13,201 | $299,935 | 1.8% | 0.7% |
| 71 | West Plains | 12,441 | $221,521 | 0.8% | -1.3% |
| 72 | Troy | 13,947 | $311,433 | 3.6% | 1.6% |
| 73 | St. Ann | 12,811 | $157,310 | -0.4% | 2.9% |
| 74 | Fulton | 12,617 | $245,451 | 0.0% | 3.9% |
| 75 | Marshall | 13,739 | $181,309 | 0.3% | -1.0% |
| 76 | Dardenne Prairie | 13,503 | $469,903 | 2.8% | 0.7% |
| 77 | Moberly | 13,526 | $158,147 | -0.8% | 3.0% |
| 78 | Washington | 15,130 | $306,588 | 1.2% | 0.9% |
| 79 | Grain Valley | 16,271 | $326,296 | 1.9% | 0.7% |
| 80 | Jennings | 12,918 | $73,369 | 0.1% | 7.8% |
| 81 | Carthage | 15,574 | $234,176 | 0.4% | -0.0% |
| 82 | Lebanon | 15,270 | $228,788 | 0.7% | 3.0% |
| 83 | Jackson | 15,659 | $271,918 | 0.8% | 1.0% |
| 84 | Overland | 15,695 | $150,450 | -0.4% | 3.3% |
| 85 | Lake St. Louis | 18,066 | $431,422 | 3.0% | 1.0% |
| 86 | Republic | 19,829 | $268,263 | 3.1% | 1.8% |
| 87 | Sikeston | 16,320 | $158,611 | 0.5% | 6.4% |
| 88 | Clayton | 17,380 | $871,223 | 0.6% | 4.2% |
| 89 | Poplar Bluff | 16,254 | $170,054 | 0.1% | 5.1% |
| 90 | Hannibal | 16,771 | $172,131 | -0.3% | 0.9% |
| 91 | Kirksville | 17,563 | $150,865 | 0.4% | 0.9% |
| 92 | Manchester | 18,160 | $374,848 | -0.2% | 2.5% |
| 93 | Creve Coeur | 18,643 | $614,771 | 0.0% | 4.1% |
| 94 | Farmington | 18,282 | $254,729 | 1.6% | 0.7% |
| 95 | Ozark | 22,417 | $316,347 | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| 96 | Rolla | 20,287 | $237,605 | 0.7% | 2.2% |
| 97 | Warrensburg | 19,582 | $266,468 | 0.7% | 2.3% |
| 98 | Ferguson | 18,213 | $116,377 | -0.7% | 0.9% |
| 99 | Arnold | 20,956 | $273,572 | 0.3% | 1.8% |
| 100 | Sedalia | 22,003 | $182,165 | 0.6% | 1.6% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 131 Missouri cities cleared the filters.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Missouri for 2026
There’s our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Missouri. And, to be clear, we aren’t necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.
In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 1019 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Missouri are Wright City, Herculaneum, Ste. Genevieve, Savannah, Odessa, Waynesville, Peculiar, Macon, Cottleville, and Caruthersville.
So if we could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy.
