Home buyers who want to live in the Kansas City area's most expensive ZIP code should be prepared to pony up three-quarters of a million dollars to afford a median-value home.
And to own a home in Johnson County — Kansas CIty's wealthiest suburb — homeowners need to earn more than twice the national median household income.
That's according to an analysis of data from Zillow Group Inc. and Bankrate LLC by The Business Journals.
Nationally, median home values inched up by an average of 0.67% between 2022 and 2023 — emblematic of a housing market that has retreated from the lofty gains seen during and immediately after the pandemic.
Based on current median home values, interest rates and an assumed 10% down payment, it takes household income of at least $100,000 to afford a median-value home in 28% of the more than 23,921 ZIP codes analyzed. For comparison, the national median income was $74,580 in 2022.
The local scene
Johnson County led the way in the Kansas City area, accounting for 14 of the top 20 most expensive local ZIP codes. The study defined the metro area as ZIP codes within Jackson, Cass, Clay, Ray and Platte counties in Missouri, and Johnson, Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties in Kansas.
Overland Park's 66221 ZIP topped all others locally — and in the entire state of Kansas — with a median home value of $749,501 as of Aug. 31. Living in 66221 would require annual mortgage payments of $58,215, which would take a minimum annual income of $194,051 to pay under current interest rates. That ZIP code also ranked No. 1 on the Kansas City Business Journal's most recent Wealthiest ZIP Codes List.
The 66221 ZIP code covers southern Overland Park, including the area south of Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead and the Scheels Overland Park Soccer Complex. The area includes the Nottingham Forest South, Morse Village and Mills Farm neighborhoods.
A $706,950 house for sale in 66221 at 17344 Richards St. boasts five bedrooms and four bathrooms, according to Zillow. A new build to be finished in 2024, the house is 2,749 square feet and includes a three-car garage, vaulted ceilings and a fireplace with floor-to-ceiling stonework.
"One of the things that that's driving these Johnson County ZIP codes — when you go in to look at the top 10 especially — is almost all of them have some kind of new construction," said David Conderman, owner/broker of Keller Williams Kansas City Metro. "New construction has just gotten so expensive in general ... prices have doubled in the last 15 years."
Conderman attributed higher construction costs to a "perfect storm" of a labor shortage, more expensive materials and rising land prices.
Between 2022 and 2023, the price of a median-value home in 66221 increased 4%, according to Zillow.
ZIP code 66224 was next most expensive in the metro area. It includes Leawood and Overland Park and is bounded roughly by 135th and 159th streets on the north and south, between Nall Avenue and the state line. The ZIP code had a median home value of $732,612, requiring a minimum income of $189,678 to make the annual mortgage total of almost $57,000.
A 1989 Leawood home at 4644 W. 137th Terrace within the ZIP code is listed for $759,000 and spans 3,841 square feet. The six-bedroom, four-bathroom house sits on half an acre in the Leawood Meadows neighborhood.
ZIP codes 66206, 66220 and 66209 — all in Johnson County — followed, all with median values in the $600,000 range.
Conderman noted that ZIP codes in Prairie Village and Mission Hills did not appear among the top 10, even though some of the metro's most expensive homes are in those areas.
That's because the multimillion-dollar mansions and teardowns are mixed with starter homes, he said. Farther south in Overland Park and Lenexa, that's not the case.
"There's basically all expensive homes. There is no starter price range in those areas," Conderman said.
The most expensive ZIP code in Jackson County was 64113 in Kansas City, located between Loose Park and Gregory Boulevard, from the state line eastward to Oak Street. It ranked No. 9 in the metro area, with a $516,005 median value requiring an annual income of at least $133,597.
The most expensive ZIP code in Missouri was 63124 in St. Louis County, which includes Ladue and University City. There, the median home value was just over $1 million, requiring a minimum annual income of $263,284.
The national housing picture
Although muted gains or declines in home prices in many ZIP codes were enough to negate rising interest rates, there were plenty of exceptions where the income it takes to buy a home soared during the past year.
Tourism hotbeds and second-home markets like Moran, Wyoming's 83414, saw notable surges. In Moran, located near Grand Teton National Park, the income needed to afford a median-value home increased by 16% to $410,811. That was the largest increase of any ZIP code where the median home value topped $250,000.
East Coast tourist destinations such as Chincoteague, Virginia, and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, as well as suburbs surrounding New York City and Philadelphia also posted big gains.
Nationally, 14 ZIP codes require at least $1 million to afford a median-value home in 2023. That's down from 16 a year ago. Median home values dropped year over year in 10 of those 14 million-dollar markets for 2023.
Of the million-dollar ZIP codes, all but Aspen, Colorado's 81656 were found along the coasts. Many were associated with metros supported by the technology sector, including Seattle suburb Medina (98039), San Francisco enclaves Atherton (94027), Ross (94957) and Portola Valley (94028), as well as Palo Alto (94301) and San Jose/Los Altos (94024, 94022).
Conversely, the nation's least expensive ZIP codes were found in the South, the Rust Belt and Appalachia.
Three of the 10 least expensive ZIP codes were in Youngstown, Ohio. An industrial community that has economically waxed and waned along with the coal and steel industries, Youngstown recently has attached its fortunes to the electric-vehicle sector.
Median home value, 2021
Rank | Prior Rank | ZIP code |
---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 66221 |
2 | 2 | 66224 |
3 | 3 | 66206 |