Dallas, TX vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Dallas to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($366,823 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Dallas 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 Dallas, TX, you'd need about $87,249 in Wichita, KS (−$12,751).
Livability — Dallas, TX: 67 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,862 sqft in Dallas vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($175 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Dallas, TX | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $20,136 | $14,412 | −$5,724 |
| Groceries | $5,182 | $4,824 | −$358 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,275 | −$400 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,704 | −$132 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $3,300 | −$300 |
| Taxes | $8,136 | $11,043 | +$2,907 |
| Total | $42,565 | $38,558 | −$4,007 |
Side by side
| Metric | Dallas, TX | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 102.5 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.62% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.0% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 59 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.83 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $366,823 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.4× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -3.3% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $175 | $119 |
| Median rent | $1,678 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 1.76% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |