Denver, CO vs Wichita, KS
Moving from Denver to Wichita? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $225,557 median home) and taxes.
Denver 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 Denver, CO, you'd need about $84,544 in Wichita, KS (−$15,456).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Wichita, KS: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 4,212 sqft in Wichita ($302 vs $119 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Wichita, KS | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $14,412 | −$8,508 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,824 | −$255 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,275 | −$775 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,704 | −$84 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $3,300 | +$500 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $11,043 | +$1,216 |
| Total | $46,464 | $38,558 | −$7,906 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Wichita, KS |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 89.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.05% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 0.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.09 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $225,557 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 3.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | 3.7% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $119 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,201 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 8.70% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 5.70% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 1.33% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $12,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 1.93% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $3,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 410 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |