Counties / Missouri / Macon County

Macon County, MO

FIPS 29121 · population 15,163 · outside every metro area

$187k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$187k
▲ 6.3% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$672
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$936
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+53.8%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+6.3%FHFA HPI2025+5.8%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$149k
Surveyed gross rent$672
Rent burden 30%+44.5%
Median year built1972
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
18.2%vacant
7,419estimated housing units
Occupied tenure23.2% renter
owner 76.8%renter 23.2%
Structure mix80.6% single-family
Single-family 80.6%20+ units 0.9%Mobile home 8.5%Other 10.0%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs4,822▼ 0.2% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments442annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$876▲ 3.7% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilities26.9% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−0.2%WEEKLY WAGE+3.7%Trade, transportation, and utilities26.9%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Macon County presents a price-versus-underwriting tension: the Zillow county series for 2026-06 places the median home value at $187,471, up 6.27% year over year, while income and transaction evidence do not establish property cash flow. FHFA’s 2025 repeat-transaction HPI rose 5.75% annually, which supports the direction of Zillow’s result but is neither a home value nor the same vintage or method. These series should not be averaged. Buyers requiring demonstrable income coverage should investigate rather than rely on appreciation evidence.

02Housing economics

Market rent is not published; therefore gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $936 per month is a payment standard, not an estimate of asking rent, and cannot fill the gap. The supplied effective property-tax rate is 0.69%, a carrying-cost input rather than proof of a given parcel’s tax or affordability. Deal underwriting still needs lease comparables, utilities, repairs, insurance, and financing terms.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s MLS listing market in 2026-06 had 53 active listings, up 101.92% year over year, while 12.73% carried price reductions. That is visible asking-market supply and seller-concession evidence, not closed-sale pricing or standalone proof of buyer demand. Net migration was 3 tax-return households, and inbound movers’ average AGI exceeded outbound movers’ by $4,435, a thin but higher-income inflow signal. Investor purchases represented 6.25% of 96 total purchases, limiting evidence of broad non-owner competition.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and modeled annual climate loss equals 0.14% of building value. That model is not a parcel-specific flood determination or an insurance quote, but it warrants property-level elevation, flood-zone, claims, and coverage review before assigning expenses. County evidence does not show actual market rent, executed leases, closed sales, parcel taxes, or insurance costs: absent rent blocks gross-yield analysis; absent parcel hazard and insurance evidence blocks a defensible carrying-cost and insurability conclusion; absent closed-sale evidence limits pricing-liquidity validation.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Macon County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Macon city5.5KLa Plata city1.4KBevier city657Atlanta city499Callao city263New Cambria city137Ethel town65Excello CDP58
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

10 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Macon cityIncorporated place
    5,466
  2. 02
    La Plata cityIncorporated place
    1,351
  3. 03
    Bevier cityIncorporated place
    657
  4. 04
    Atlanta cityIncorporated place
    499
  5. 05
    Callao cityIncorporated place
    263
  6. 06
    New Cambria cityIncorporated place
    137
  7. 07
    Ethel townIncorporated place
    65
  8. 08
    Excello CDPCensus-designated place
    58
  9. 09
    Elmer cityIncorporated place
    24
  10. 10
    South Gifford villageIncorporated place
    15

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.138% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.69%

$1,035 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+3

363 in · 360 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$4,435

$49,063 arriving · $44,628 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors6.3%

6 of 96 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings53▲ 101.9% year over year
Median days on market47▲ 1.1% year over year
Listings price-reduced12.7%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 26.1% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Unpublished market rents may be insufficient to cover deal-level operating, tax, and financing costs.
  2. Parcel flood exposure and insurance terms may differ materially from the county-level modeled loss measure.
  3. Visible MLS inventory may not represent the closed-sale market or available properties in a target submarket.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can the record establish a gross yield?

No. Market rent is unpublished, and HUD FMR is a payment standard that cannot substitute for market asking rent.

How much investor participation is recorded?

Investor purchases represented 6.25% of 96 total purchases.

What hazard requires a parcel-level review?

Inland flood is the dominant hazard; the supplied modeled annual climate loss is 0.14% of building value.