Kansas rental market data

Kansas recent-lease rent increased from $1,147 to $1,166, a 1.7% gain. The national measure declined 1.1%, leaving the state's growth rate 2.7 percentage points higher. This is direct state evidence of rent movement, not a metro or county median.

The separate Vacancy Index edged from 5.38% to 5.44%, an increase of 0.06 percentage points, while remaining 1.7 percentage points below the national rate. Time on market moved in the less favorable direction, rising from 22.7 to 26.3 days. Rent growth, vacancy and marketing time therefore do not describe uniformly tightening conditions, and none establishes a particular property's occupancy or achievable rent.

IRS data show net migration of negative 3,096 across 103 measured counties, equal to negative 1.05 per 1,000 residents. Metro employment was positive at the median but muted: 0.4% across 12 metros, with the measured distribution running from negative 0.9% at the 10th percentile to positive 1.3% at the 90th.

There are genuine local counter-signals. Job growth was 1.5% in Salina, 1.3% in Topeka and 1.0% in St. Joseph. Those readings identify places for deeper demand review, but they do not show how many new workers rent, what units they seek or whether their employment gains offset household movement within each property catchment.

Separately from Apartment List's recent-lease series, Zillow asking rents increased by a median 5.3% across 11 measured metros, versus 4.0% median home-value growth across 12. The supplied median gap is 1.3 percentage points. Asking-rent growth ranged from 3.5% to 5.8% between the 10th and 90th percentiles, while value growth ranged from 1.7% to 6.8%.

Momentum does not rank gross yield by itself. Emporia recorded 7.7% asking-rent growth and 5.4% value growth, but a 5.0% gross yield. Lawrence's gross yield was 4.5%, compared with 6.9% in Joplin. These mechanical yields exclude vacancy, concessions, maintenance, taxes, insurance and financing.

Across 12 measured metros, the median resale market had 2.1 months of supply and an 18-day median marketing time. The 90th-percentile readings were 4.5 months and 34.9 days. Price drops affected a median 31.4% of listings, while the median sale-to-list ratio was 98.5% across the 10 metros with that measure.

Wichita combined 4,380 permitted units, or 6.71 per 1,000 residents, with 1.8 months of resale supply and 17 days on market. Manhattan reported 476 permitted units, 3.55 per 1,000, 1.6 months of supply and 16 days on market. Pittsburg was slower at 36 days and had a 94.9% sale-to-list ratio. Permits are authorized units rather than completions, and the packet does not identify how many are rentals, so they cannot establish future rental competition.

FHFA's latest annual measure covered 62 counties and had a median gain of 4.4%, but the distribution extended from negative 2.3% at the 10th percentile to positive 14.8% at the 90th. Longer-run strength did not guarantee a similar current result: Anderson County had 79.4% five-year appreciation but only 1.5% in the latest year, while Rice County had 70.9% over five years and 19.9% in the latest year.

Realtor.com marketing-time data cover 48 counties, with a median of 60.5 days and a 90th-percentile reading of 110.5 days. Wichita County's 217-day result came with only one active listing and a 200% pending ratio; Haskell County had 133 days on 11 listings, and Ness County had 121 days on 12. Thin samples can make individual county readings unstable. Zillow price data cover all 105 counties, but rents cover only 18 and year-over-year rents only 14, preventing a complete county yield comparison.

Across 105 counties, the median county housing vacancy rate was 14.9%, with a 7.8% to 24.8% range between the 10th and 90th percentiles. The median county renter share was 23.8%, while single-family homes represented 84.3% of stock and large multifamily properties only 1.5%. The median of county median-year-built estimates was 1962.

Elk County had 33.0% housing vacancy and a 21.2% renter share; Woodson County and Chautauqua County had vacancy rates of 32.0% and 31.3%. Tenant pressure also varies independently: the share of renters paying at least 30% of income was 59.2% in Thomas County, 56.6% in Smith County and 54.8% in Ellis County, where housing vacancy was 7.8%. These ACS vacancy figures cover all housing, not the Apartment List rental vacancy series or a count of market-ready rental units.