Chattanooga, TN vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Chattanooga to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($326,370 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga, TN, you'd need about $100,924 in Kansas City, MO (+$924).
Livability — Chattanooga, TN: 67 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,064 sqft in Chattanooga vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($163 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Chattanooga, TN | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,360 | $18,576 | +$216 |
| Groceries | $4,704 | $4,828 | +$124 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,390 | +$260 |
| Utilities | $1,608 | $1,512 | −$96 |
| Insurance | $2,200 | $2,400 | +$200 |
| Taxes | $4,907 | $10,526 | +$5,620 |
| Total | $34,908 | $41,232 | +$6,323 |
Side by side
| Metric | Chattanooga, TN | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 92.3 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.49% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 2.9% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 52 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.25 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $326,370 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.0× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 0.2% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $163 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,530 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 7.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.55% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 0.71% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,300 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 24 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,200 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,600 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $700 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $350 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.9 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 2.95 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 600 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 30 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |