Fargo, ND vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Fargo to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($327,854 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Fargo 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 Fargo, ND, you'd need about $104,564 in Kansas City, MO (+$4,564).
Livability — Fargo, ND: 68 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,592 sqft in Fargo vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($193 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Fargo, ND | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $13,872 | $18,576 | +$4,704 |
| Groceries | $4,850 | $4,828 | −$22 |
| Transportation | $3,130 | $3,390 | +$260 |
| Utilities | $1,332 | $1,512 | +$180 |
| Insurance | $2,100 | $2,400 | +$300 |
| Taxes | $8,083 | $10,526 | +$2,443 |
| Total | $33,367 | $41,232 | +$7,865 |
Side by side
| Metric | Fargo, ND | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 89.1 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.11% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 8.2% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.07 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $327,854 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.5× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.2% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $193 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,156 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.8% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.04% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 2.50% | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.20% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $7,000 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 18 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,100 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,400 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $650 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 12.3 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.20 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $62 | $72 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $70 | $184 |
| Home internet / mo | $88 | $86 |
| Violent crime /100k | 290 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 84 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | -2 | 22 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 22.6 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 50.0 | 18.2 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 57% | 60% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |