Region · Census West North Central division · Midwest
West North Central rental markets
The Upper Midwest and Plains. 7 states and 491 ranked cities, summarized by the median Overall across those cities.
The honest read
West North Central ranks #5 of 9 U.S. regions for rental investing, with a median Overall of 47.6/100 across its ranked cities, above the national median. 7 states make up this division. Its strongest factor is affordability (price-to-income): 3.8×, 2nd of 9, backed by low unemployment (2nd).
The biggest drag is income growth: 4.5%, 9th of 9. A region grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 491 ranked cities in this region. The national rank compares all 9 regions on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | Region value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 5.9% | #6 of 9 |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.4% | #4 of 9 |
| Home value growth | Growth | 4.0% | #4 of 9 |
| Population growth | Growth | 0.6% | #5 of 9 |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.5% | #5 of 9 |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 3.8× | #2 of 9 |
| Unemployment | Stability | 3.6% | #2 of 9 |
| Rental demand | Stability | 37% renters · 5.7% vacancy | two-part measure |
| Income growth | Growth | 4.5% | #9 of 9 |
States in the West North Central division
Ordered by median Overall across each state's ranked cities. A public rank appears only for states that clear the 20-city and 10-county coverage threshold.
| Div rank | State | Overall score | Grade | Gross yield | Home-value growth | Price-to-income | Ranked cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #11 | Nebraska | 52.4 | B | 5.8% | 4.3% | 3.9× | 32 |
| #17 | Missouri | 50.6 | B | 6.5% | 4.6% | 3.8× | 129 |
| #19 | Minnesota | 47.8 | C | 5.5% | 3.3% | 3.9× | 150 |
| Insufficient coverage for headline state rank | South Dakota | 47.1 | C | 4.8% | 4.0% | 4.5× | 18 |
| #21 | Kansas | 46.9 | C | 6.2% | 4.8% | 3.6× | 64 |
| #23 | Iowa | 45.4 | C | 6.1% | 3.6% | 3.3× | 85 |
| Insufficient coverage for headline state rank | North Dakota | 41.2 | D | 4.4% | 3.4% | 4.5× | 13 |
Top 25 cities in the West North Central division
The 25 highest-ranked of its 491 ranked cities, in national order. Every city links to its full shown-math breakdown; all 491 are in the market explorer.
| Div rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nixa MO | 76 | B | A | B | $324,067 | 6.3% | #32 |
| 2 med | Perry IA | 74 | A | A | C | $172,729 | 9.2% ACS | #60 |
| 3 | Ozark MO | 73 | C | B | A | $320,956 | 5.3% | #70 |
| 4 | North Liberty IA | 72 | B | B | B | $311,296 | 6.6% | #101 |
| 5 | Blaine MN | 71 | B | C | A | $381,495 | 6.5% | #110 |
| 6 med | O'Fallon MO | 71 | B | B | A | $326,200 ACS | 5.3% ACS | #118 |
| 7 | Rosemount MN | 70 | B | B | B | $430,516 | 5.8% | #141 |
| 8 | Albertville MN | 70 | A | A | D | $381,884 | 11.1% | #152 |
| 9 | Elk River MN | 69 | B | B | B | $399,244 | 6.2% | #164 |
| 10 med | Otsego MN | 69 | B | B | B | $427,788 | 5.3% ACS | #177 |
| 11 med | Webb City MO | 69 | A | B | C | $228,688 | 7.2% ACS | #182 |
| 12 med | Carthage MO | 68 | B | C | B | $238,842 | 8.0% ACS | #194 |
| 13 | Belton MO | 68 | B | B | C | $274,813 | 7.4% | #200 |
| 14 | Raymore MO | 68 | B | B | B | $360,958 | 6.0% | #202 |
| 15 | Andover MN | 68 | A | C | B | $442,081 | 7.7% | #207 |
| 16 | Victoria MN | 68 | B | B | B | $618,938 | 4.8% | #224 |
| 17 | Wentzville MO | 68 | B | B | B | $401,353 | 5.4% | #225 |
| 18 med | Herculaneum MO | 68 | A | B | C | $302,862 | 8.7% ACS | #233 |
| 19 | Ramsey MN | 67 | B | C | B | $388,691 | 6.1% | #245 |
| 20 med | Schuyler NE | 67 | A | C | B | $234,871 | 8.6% ACS | #250 |
| 21 | Monticello MN | 67 | B | B | B | $331,545 | 6.0% | #266 |
| 22 | Arnold MO | 67 | A | C | B | $276,004 | 8.2% | #286 |
| 23 med | Elko New Market MN | 66 | B | B | C | $476,560 | 6.1% ACS | #318 |
| 24 | Gardner KS | 65 | B | B | C | $352,266 | 5.4% | #330 |
| 25 | Willard MO | 65 | A | B | C | $273,518 | 6.7% | #344 |
Figures marked ACS come from the Census American Community Survey (5-year, 2020–2024), because Zillow publishes no index for that city: an ACS home value is the owner-reported median, and an ACS yield is the median gross rent over that median. 8 of the 25 cities shown carry one.
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2020–2024 · Census PEP July 2025 · BLS LAUS county 2025 annual (11-month average). Generated 2026-10-06. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.