Atlanta, GA vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Atlanta to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($382,938 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Atlanta vs Kansas City at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Atlanta, GA, you'd need about $92,757 in Kansas City, MO (−$7,243).
Livability — Atlanta, GA: 66 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,677 sqft in Atlanta vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($187 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Atlanta, GA | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,080 | $18,576 | −$3,504 |
| Groceries | $4,926 | $4,828 | −$99 |
| Transportation | $3,515 | $3,390 | −$125 |
| Utilities | $1,656 | $1,512 | −$144 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $2,400 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $10,533 | $10,526 | −$7 |
| Total | $44,810 | $41,232 | −$3,579 |
Side by side
| Metric | Atlanta, GA | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 100.5 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.04% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 6.9% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.72 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $382,938 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.6× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.1% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $187 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,840 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.9% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.38% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.39% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.85% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 32 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 15.4 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.15 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $74 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $123 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 370 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 34 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 50.4 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 2.2 | 18.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |