WHAT THE STATE DISTRIBUTION SAYSWithin Missouri’s 14 current published direct-evidence ZIP reports, Zillow’s June 2026 ZORI observed asking-rent index ranges from $1,043 to $1,697 per month, with a $1,352 median and a $654 spread. Warrensburg ZIP 64093 and Kansas City ZIP 64108 mark those endpoints. The range shows a meaningful within-distribution difference, but not a statewide price for every rental. The practical question is therefore not simply which reported ZIP is lowest or highest: it is whether the current index in a selected ZIP fits a household’s income and budget, and how that reading changes under the historical series and benchmark measures below. It is a comparative screen, not a substitute for active listing review.
Affordability and renter burden answer different questions. Annualized current ZORI relative to ACS median household income ranges from 19.7% to 38.7%, versus a 25.3% median; ZIP 65203 is at the low end and ZIP 65201 at the high end. That difference is an affordability screen tied to the reported current index and area median income; it does not report how many existing renter households experience high housing costs. Separately, ACS 2024 five-year ZCTA estimates put the share of renter households paying 30% or more of income toward gross rent between 37.4% and 61.5%, with a 44.4% median; ZIP 64055 is the upper endpoint. These ACS values are survey estimates for statistical ZCTAs, which are not identical to USPS delivery ZIPs.
Momentum should likewise be read separately from variation. In the direct monthly Zillow series, one-year compound rent growth runs from 1.0% to 5.4%, with a 3.3% median across published reports. Those are trailing growth readings, not forecasts. Annualized volatility spans 2.15% to 3.83%, and the median is 2.98%, so similar levels or growth rates can still have different month-to-month paths. For example, the high-variability history in ZIP 64108 combines 3.83% volatility with a maximum observed drawdown of 4.0%. Compare both measures with the history category: cooling, mixed, stable-growth, and high-variability labels summarize observed patterns rather than predict future rents.
HUD supplies a different screen: its two-bedroom FMR/SAFMR amount is an administrative bedroom standard, not an observed asking rent. The current ZORI-to-HUD comparison ranges from 91.2% to 148.6%, with a 113.6% median, indicating where the asking-rent index sits relative to that standard rather than whether a particular two-bedroom is available at either figure. Use it for program or benchmark context, not a unit-price substitution. Finally, neither this comparison nor a ZIP-level index establishes a specific property’s rent, bedroom count, lease terms, utilities, condition, or availability. The distribution itself covers current published direct-evidence ZIP reports only—not every ZIP, neighborhood, or rental property in Missouri.
