Denver - CO vs St. Louis - MO: 2026 Housing Comparison

What this means for buyers

Denver - CO is roughly 103% more expensive than St. Louis - MO in typical home value. Homes sit on market longer in Denver - CO (30 days vs 11), suggesting more buyer leverage there. Denver - CO sees more listings with price cuts (36.7% vs 29.2%), a sign of softening seller expectations.

Denver vs St. Louis: what the numbers say

At today's 7.40% average 30-year rate with 20% down, the typical home would cost about $3,077 a month in principal and interest in Denver and $1,513 in St. Louis, a gap of $1,564 a month.

Typical rent runs $1,900 in Denver and $1,427 in St. Louis, so the mortgage payment alone is 1.6 times rent in Denver and 1.1 times rent in St. Louis, before taxes and insurance.

Home prices are 24.4 years of rent in Denver 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 -4.8% in Denver and +5.4% in St. Louis; over just the last three months the change was +0.3% in Denver and +0.9% in St. Louis.

Homes sell for 98.9% of list price in Denver and 100.1% in St. Louis, after 30 and 11 days on the market, with price cuts on 37% and 29% of listings. All three signs point the same way: buyers have more room to negotiate in Denver.

The number of homes for sale is down 1% on a year ago in Denver and up 9% on a year ago in St. Louis.

Payments assume a 30-year fixed loan at the Freddie Mac weekly average rate (2026-10-15), 20% down, principal and interest only. Home values, rents and market figures are Zillow Research metro data.