Boston - MA vs St. Louis - MO: 2026 Housing Comparison

What this means for buyers

Boston - MA is roughly 166% more expensive than St. Louis - MO in typical home value. St. Louis - MO sees more listings with price cuts (29.2% vs 23.7%), a sign of softening seller expectations.

Boston vs St. Louis: what the numbers say

At today's 7.24% average 30-year rate with 20% down, the typical home would cost about $3,956 a month in principal and interest in Boston and $1,489 in St. Louis, a gap of $2,467 a month.

Typical rent runs $2,987 in Boston and $1,427 in St. Louis, so the mortgage payment alone is 1.3 times rent in Boston and 1.0 times rent in St. Louis, before taxes and insurance.

Home prices are 20.2 years of rent in Boston and 16.0 in St. Louis; the lower ratio in St. Louis means buying there is cheaper relative to renting.

Over the last 23 months typical values moved +3.0% in Boston and +5.4% in St. Louis; over just the last three months the change was +0.6% in Boston and +0.9% in St. Louis.

Homes sell for 101.3% of list price in Boston and 100.1% in St. Louis, after 14 and 11 days on the market, with price cuts on 24% and 29% of listings. The signs are mixed: Boston has longer time on the market, while St. Louis has more price cuts and sales further below list.

The number of homes for sale is up 14% on a year ago in Boston and up 9% on a year ago in St. Louis.

Payments assume a 30-year fixed loan at the Freddie Mac weekly average rate (2026-10-29), 20% down, principal and interest only. Home values, rents and market figures are Zillow Research metro data.