Baltimore, MD vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Baltimore to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($405,877 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Baltimore vs Wichita 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 Baltimore, MD, you'd need about $86,662 in Wichita, KS (−$13,338).
Livability — Baltimore, MD: 57 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,341 sqft in Baltimore vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($214 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Baltimore, MD | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $23,028 | $14,412 | −$8,616 |
| Groceries | $5,075 | $4,824 | −$251 |
| Transportation | $3,685 | $3,275 | −$410 |
| Utilities | $2,388 | $1,704 | −$684 |
| Insurance | $1,400 | $3,300 | +$1,900 |
| Taxes | $11,584 | $11,043 | −$541 |
| Total | $47,160 | $38,558 | −$8,602 |
Side by side
| Metric | Baltimore, MD | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 103.2 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.86% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 1.7% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.87 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $405,877 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.3× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.8% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $214 | $119 |
| Median rent | $1,919 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 11.3% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 6.00% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 5.75% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 1.04% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,200 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $1,400 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,900 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 22.1 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $88 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $106 | $92 |
| Home internet / mo | $82 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 450 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 27 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 45.0 | 30.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 19.3 | 13.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 65% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 4 | 2 |