Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 2.5Even on the area’s higher pay, St. Cloud costs more to live in than 87% of U.S. towns
It ranks #371 of 637 in Florida for affordability. Down 3.2% in a year, close to the Florida typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL metro area ($79K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. St. Cloud’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($79K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 27% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 62% of renters.
In dollars
- $390Ktypical home, 4% above the Florida typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,910a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 101prices across the Orlando metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 123)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.5 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$79K, Orlando-area income
- 26%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 62%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Florida: 60%Census 2020–24
- 27%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What St. Cloud’s housing numbers say
Prices are 8% below their 2022 peak
The typical St. Cloud home peaked at $424K in September 2022 and is worth about $390K now. Florida as a whole is 7% off its own peak. Over five years, St. Cloud is still up 15%. Price trend ↓
Building at more than twice the Florida pace
Builders were permitted 1,430 new homes in 2025: 22 per 1,000 residents, against 8.3 across Florida. That’s 11,442 in the past 10 years. New homes ↓
Mostly newer homes
Half of St. Cloud’s homes were built after 2003, against 1988 for Florida as a whole. Property taxes ↓
New building is almost all single-family houses
Of the 11,442 homes permitted in St. Cloud’s past 10 years, 97% were single-family houses. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind St. Cloud’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, St. Cloud is more affordable than 13% of U.S. towns, #371 of 637 in Florida. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Florida: up 14.7% in five years, against 18.6% statewide (Zillow).
Down 3.2% in a year
Slower than Florida (-0.9%).
Show as a table
| January | St. Cloud | Florida |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $227,000 | $209,000 |
| 2018 | $245,000 | $226,000 |
| 2019 | $263,000 | $241,000 |
| 2020 | $274,000 | $252,000 |
| 2021 | $297,000 | $276,000 |
| 2022 | $365,000 | $339,000 |
| 2023 | $417,000 | $392,000 |
| 2024 | $419,000 | $402,000 |
| 2025 | $416,000 | $396,000 |
| 2026 | $399,000 | $377,000 |
| September 2026 | $390,000 | $375,000 |
A typical St. Cloud home worth $222K in October 2016 is worth about $390K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A balanced market
About 4.1 months of supply: neither buyers nor sellers have a clear edge.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A year’s rent takes 26% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to St. Cloud’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $77K short of a typical St. Cloud home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,910 a month here, $390 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, St. Cloud’s typical property tax (0.78% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,910
Renters already here pay a median of $1,683, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1,430 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1,430 new homes in St. Cloud in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $696.8 million to build. That's 22 per 1,000 residents, faster than across Florida (8.3). Over the past 10 years, St. Cloud has permitted 11,442 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, St. Cloud gained 23,781 residents while 6,311 new homes were permitted: about 3.8 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Florida: 2.8 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 731 | 731 | 0 | $379.7 million |
| 2025 | 1,430 | 1,430 | 0 | $696.8 million |
| 2024 | 1,861 | 1,543 | 318 | $732.4 million |
| 2023 | 1,131 | 1,131 | 0 | $467.3 million |
| 2022 | 883 | 883 | 0 | $363.2 million |
| 2021 | 1,209 | 1,209 | 0 | $442.3 million |
| 2020 | 1,097 | 1,097 | 0 | $365.3 million |
| 2019 | 1,246 | 1,246 | 0 | $413.7 million |
| 2018 | 960 | 960 | 0 | $292.6 million |
| 2017 | 739 | 739 | 0 | $213.1 million |
| 2016 | 886 | 886 | 0 | $209.3 million |
| 2015 | 740 | 740 | 0 | $206.9 million |
| 2014 | 554 | 554 | 0 | $82.9 million |
| 2013 | 506 | 506 | 0 | $70.3 million |
| 2012 | 248 | 248 | 0 | $48.8 million |
| 2011 | 208 | 208 | 0 | $45.2 million |
| 2010 | 224 | 224 | 0 | $40.5 million |
| 2009 | 203 | 203 | 0 | $34.5 million |
| 2008 | 202 | 202 | 0 | $52 million |
| 2007 | 550 | 550 | 0 | $106.9 million |
| 2006 | 1,310 | 1,310 | 0 | $235 million |
| 2005 | 781 | 775 | 6 | $161.2 million |
| 2004 | 533 | 524 | 9 | $72.6 million |
| 2003 | 296 | 296 | 0 | $34.9 million |
| 2002 | 337 | 289 | 48 | $38.3 million |
| 2001 | 315 | 315 | 0 | $35 million |
| 2000 | 238 | 238 | 0 | $21.3 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Florida norm
The median bill is $2,770 (Florida: $2,730), 0.78% of a home’s value a year, against 0.76% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near St. Cloud
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL metro area, or Florida. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 101 | FL 103 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 96 | FL 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 87 | FL 90 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 99 | FL 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
St. Cloud and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Cloud | D | $390K | $356K | 0.78% | $1,910 |
Questions about the cost of living in St. Cloud
Is St. Cloud expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, St. Cloud costs more than 87% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #371 of 637 in Florida. The typical home costs 4.5 years of the median household income of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL metro area ($79K).
How much does a house cost in St. Cloud?
About $390K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 3.2% in a year. The Florida typical home is $375K.
What salary do you need to live in St. Cloud?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $98,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,300 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $76,000.
How much is rent in St. Cloud?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,910 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,683 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in St. Cloud?
The median bill is $2,770 a year, 0.78% of the median home value (Florida: $2,730, 0.76%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in St. Cloud going up?
No: down 3.2% in the past year and 14.7% in five years, against 18.6% across Florida (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What St. Cloud buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.