Missouri · 31st largest metro area

Buying a home in Kansas City, Missouri

In Kansas City, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $242,900, Jackson County's effective property tax rate is 1.12%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $3,979 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,238 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Kansas City home costs, fact by fact

About Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri, has a city population of 516,032 and belongs to the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area, ranked 31st among US metro areas. Owners occupy 55.4% of homes.

Reading the Kansas City figures

Kansas City looks moderate at $242,900 against the Missouri figure of $271,400, but the ten sectors tell a more uneven story. Shoal Creek Valley is priced highest at $390,000, with 83.9% owners and only 3.1% of homes built before 1980. Country Club/Waldo follows at $355,000, and Midtown/Plaza reaches $327,000. At the bottom, Heart of the City is $88,000 and Truman Plaza $100,000, where 83.1% and 90.1% of homes predate 1980.

Rent runs from $960 in Truman Plaza up to $1,650 in Shoal Creek Valley. Jackson County's 1.12% rate means $2,575 a year in tax, while HUD's benchmark of $1,546 sits above the city rent of $1,238.

Calculate for Missouri

If you buy

Missouri state transfer tax

Missouri has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$271,400
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Missouri median value of owner-occupied homes, $271,400 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No tax is calculated on the price. Recording fees depend on page count. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign; the statute says only that the recorder is allowed the fees, and the sales contract decides who pays them. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Missouri transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Missouri state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Sectors of Kansas City

Kansas City is divided into the ten most populous of 17 area plans, one open spot per trade in each.

Source: City of Kansas City, Missouri GIS, Area Plan Boundaries. Population per area is a Payotte estimate: the sum of Census ACS 2020-2024 populations (table B01003) of the 2020 census tracts whose internal point lies inside each official boundary.

Questions about buying a home in Kansas City

How much is property tax in Kansas City?

Homeowners in Jackson County pay a median $2,575 a year in property tax, 1.12% of the county median home value of $230,500 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Kansas City?

Home-purchase mortgages in Jackson County carried median total loan costs of $3,979 in 2025; half of the 7,554 loans fell between $3,010 and $7,103 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Kansas City?

Missouri does not tax the transfer of a home in any statute or fee schedule reviewed, and its Constitution (Article X, Section 25) bars any new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate since December 2, 2010. In St. Louis a standard deed costs $25 to record for the first page and $5 per extra page.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Kansas City?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Kansas City ($242,900) equals 16.4 years of the median gross rent ($1,238 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Missouri rules that apply in Kansas City

Other large cities in Missouri

Who licenses each trade in Missouri · All covered cities

Sources

Missouri · All states · Federal guides