Rent vs buy in Florissant, MO

For Florissant, Missouri, typical rent is $1,656 /mo and a typical home is $195,065.

Buy

Buying comes out ahead by $37k over 7 years

Using Florissant's typical rent and home value; 20% down; today's mortgage rate. Break-even point: year 3.

A clearly labeled opinion, with the math shown. These are estimates, not quotes. The stamp updates whenever a number changes.

Owning is ahead by: $37k
Break-even point: year 3
Full cost of ownership: $1,838 /mo

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The stamp relies on Florissant's typical rent and home value. Different rent, price and time periods can change the result.

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Is renting or buying cheaper in Florissant?

After counting the money returned when you sell, buying costs $37,303 less over 7 years. In year 3, owning's net cost falls below renting's and remains lower.

Renting costs. Owning costs. Total net cost to date, for each year.

Florissant average rent compared with mortgage payment

Rent and mortgage payments don't tell the whole story. These are all the monthly expenses for year 1 at Florissant's typical price.

Each month, year 1	Amount	What it is
Rent	$1,656	All of it, every month
Mortgage payment	$1,063	$937 of it is interest in year 1
Property tax	$228	1.4% of the value a year
Insurance	$112	Census median for the city
Upkeep	$163	1% of the value a year
Owning, cash out	$1,566	$126 of it builds equity
Lost return on the down payment	$317	Annual return the cash would earn at 8.3%
Buying costs, spread out	$81	3.5% of the price over 7 years
True cost of owning	$1,838	Plus the two lines above, cash out without the equity part.

The figures behind Florissant's result

Typical home valueZillow ZHVI, September 2026: $195,065
Typical rentZillow ZORI, September 2026: $1,656 /mo
Down payment20% avoids private mortgage insurance, which the engine does not model: 20%
Mortgage rateFreddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US): 7.24%
Home price growthFHFA house price index, Missouri, 1995 to 2025: 4% a year
Rent growthCPI rent of primary residence, yearly growth 2006 to 2026: 3.5% a year
Return on savings60% S&P 500 with dividends and 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced yearly, 1928 to 2025: 8.3% a year
Property taxCensus ACS 2020-2024, Florissant: 1.4% of value
Home insuranceCensus ACS 2020-2024, Florissant: $112 /mo
MaintenanceFannie Mae, low end of 1% to 4%: 1% of value a year
Buying costsFreddie Mac, middle of 2% to 5%: 3.5% of price
Selling costsAgent commission plus closing costs: 6% of price

In Florissant, what would flip the verdict?

Each line marks the threshold that changes Florissant's 7-year verdict, while everything else remains unchanged.

Renting comes out ahead when

Home prices grow less than 1.3% each year; 4%, Missouri's long-run rate, is the rate we use.
The mortgage rate remains above 10.60%.
For a comparable home, monthly rent is below $1,260; the local typical amount is $1,656.
Before year 3, you move.

Buying wins under these conditions

Home prices rise by more than 1.3% a year.
Today's rate is 7.24%; a locked rate below 10.60% fits this condition.
The monthly rent for that same home would exceed $1,260.
A stay of 3 years or longer.

Florissant and 812 other cities compared

Measure	Florissant	Median city
Typical home value	$195,065	$422,451
Typical rent	$1,656 /mo	$1,837 /mo
Price-to-rent ratio	9.8 (#791 of 813)	18.5
Home prices, last 10 years	7.1% a year	6.2% a year
Rents, last 5 years	5.2% a year	4% a year
Property tax	1.40%	0.87%
Households that rent	33%	42%

Sources: Zillow ZHVI and ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.

Missouri cities besides Florissant

Buy. For Independence, MO, buying wins by $9k.

Missouri rent vs buy: the state's numbers