Cost of Living in Warrensburg Missouri & Whiteman AFB

You are moving to Warrensburg. Maybe you are PCS-ing here or maybe you are moving here for a job. You need to know how much it costs to live here?!  Let's find out! We are going to go through:

• How much do utilities cost here?
• What's the cost of rent?
• What's the cost of living on base?

We are going to talk about the three overarching things that you need to know about the cost of living in Warrensburg, Missouri. But first, let us consider the national average cost of living in Warrensburg compared to everywhere else in the United States. 

National Average Cost of Living

The national average is based on a score of what it costs to live in the United States, which is just set at 100. Warrensburg comes in at 81. Thankfully, for any folks who are PCS-ing here or moving here, it is definitely less expensive to live in Warrensburg (than say the East or West Coast) which is awesome!

Per the national average, the cost of living in Warrensburg or the cost of renting or buying a house in Warrensburg is 22 percent below the national average. Utilities, on the other hand, are about the same. It's only half a percent below. If you are PCS-ing or moving from the West Coast or the East Coast there's a really good chance that living in Warrensburg is going to be less expensive for you. 

#1 Utilities

Number one on the list, when we are talking about the cost of living, is utilities. Utilities aren’t going to change necessarily if you are renting or buying.

I’m just going to start off talking about my utilities since I know all about them. I live in about a 2,500-square-foot house built in the 1970s. The age of the house is important because the older the house, the less insulation you'll have and the more money you are going to spend on things like heating and cooling bills.

I live in a 2,500-square-foot house with a family of six and my electric bill is around $250. I also really like my house to be kept at 68 degrees. I’m a little bit of a prima donna; 68 degrees in the winter and 68 degrees in the summer. I like it to be 68 degrees.

So, if your house is older or newer you can probably chop off or add about 20 percent of that depending upon what type of house you have.

Next, I spend about $50 on gas, $55 on water, $55 on sewer, $40 on the trash, and $75 on the internet monthly. That makes up about $540 total per month on utilities. Is this bad? Not terribly. It's not the worst nor the best but it's pretty much an average over the United States.

For a typical starter home built in the 1990s, 1500 square feet, three bedrooms; the utilities for that are typically going to run about $350 a month. It just depends on what type of house you are living in or what type of apartment and how many people are living there and if you are insistent upon a certain temperature like me.

#2 Rent Costs

Now let's talk about the number two thing on my list which is rent costs.

Rents in Warrensburg - it's kind of like the perfect storm. On one hand, the University of Central Missouri has lots of students trying to rent, and on the other hand, there are Whiteman troops that are getting out of the dorms that want to rent in town.

Rents are high here and they are just high all the time. There's just not enough housing and lots of people wanting to rent. The rent for a one-bedroom or studio apartment is going to be between $600 and $950. The rent for a two-bedroom apartment is going to be between $950 and $1250 and then the rent for a three-bedroom apartment or a house is going to be between $1200 and $2000 a month.

That's just to rent, you are not building any equity. You are just paying to live there. On top of that high rent cost, you are also paying your utilities which are between $300 and $350 per month depending on the size of your home. Renting is going to be 25 to 50 percent higher than a mortgage payment (which is a bit crazy!) but that's just how the market  is in Warrensburg, Missouri. Lots of renters not a lot of rentals.

#3 Buying Costs

Now we are going to talk about buying a house because as I said before, renting in Warrensburg can be difficult because the prices are high and there are not a lot of rentals -  but buying can be really fun!

For a single-family home that's about 1500 square feet (we are talking a starter home, 2-3 bedrooms, one or two baths), you are looking at about $175,000 - which breaks down to about $1000 a month for your mortgage. This is already cheaper than renting.

However, if you are looking at a slightly larger home (say 3–4-bedroom larger square footage, maybe with a garage or three bathrooms) you are looking at about $200,000 - $250,000 which breaks down to about $1300 per month. Still cheaper.

If you move on to my personal favorite, which is thinking a little bit outside the box, a duplex. If you purchase a duplex, you are looking at a purchase price of around $300,000, which is going to have a mortgage payment of about $1500 per month. BUT, you can live on one side and then you rent out the other side and you have permanent cash flow! You can rent out that other side for about $1200 per month which almost completely pays for your mortgage. A very smart thing to think about for a family PCS-ing in or a single Airman moving off base. You have that amazing investment property as well that you can easily rent out or sell when you leave.

There are quite a few duplexes here in Warrensburg, mainly because we are a town that has a military base and so many college students. So, if you find a good duplex jump on it.

The last category we are talking about is a new construction home. Something a little larger probably - a four-bedroom three-bathroom house with a two-car garage in a top-tier subdivision. You know, the place where all the kids want to go trick-or-treating because they have full-size candy bars. You are looking at about $400,000 to purchase a home like that, which breaks down to about $2000 a month for your mortgage. 

Conclusion

There you go! There are so many options when you want to buy a home in Warrensburg! There are so many different options available. So, let's start looking!

Our contact information is on our website! Feel free to give us a call, send us an email, or shoot us a text anytime if you have any questions. :)