St. Louis - MO vs Cincinnati - OH: 2026 Housing Comparison

What this means for buyers

Cincinnati - OH is roughly 12% more expensive than St. Louis - MO in typical home value. Cincinnati - OH sees more listings with price cuts (32.7% vs 29.2%), a sign of softening seller expectations.

St. Louis vs Cincinnati: what the numbers say

At today's 7.32% average 30-year rate with 20% down, the typical home would cost about $1,501 a month in principal and interest in St. Louis and $1,681 in Cincinnati, a gap of $180 a month.

Typical rent runs $1,427 in St. Louis and $1,522 in Cincinnati, so the mortgage payment alone is 1.1 times rent in St. Louis and 1.1 times rent in Cincinnati, before taxes and insurance.

Home prices are 16.0 years of rent in St. Louis and 16.8 in Cincinnati; the lower ratio in St. Louis means buying there is cheaper relative to renting.

Over the last 23 months typical values moved +5.4% in St. Louis and +5.0% in Cincinnati; over just the last three months the change was +0.9% in St. Louis and +0.3% in Cincinnati.

Homes sell for 100.1% of list price in St. Louis and 99.1% in Cincinnati, after 11 and 11 days on the market, with price cuts on 29% and 33% of listings. All three signs point the same way: buyers have more room to negotiate in Cincinnati.

The number of homes for sale is up 9% on a year ago in St. Louis and up 8% on a year ago in Cincinnati.

Payments assume a 30-year fixed loan at the Freddie Mac weekly average rate (2026-10-22), 20% down, principal and interest only. Home values, rents and market figures are Zillow Research metro data.