Houston, TX vs Kansas City, MO
Moving from Houston to Kansas City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($308,306 → $329,641 median home) and taxes.
Houston 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 Houston, TX, you'd need about $93,452 in Kansas City, MO (−$6,548).
Livability — Houston, TX: 75 · Kansas City, MO: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 3,406 sqft in Houston vs 2,654 sqft in Kansas City ($147 vs $188 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Houston, TX | Kansas City, MO | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $19,668 | $18,576 | −$1,092 |
| Groceries | $5,085 | $4,828 | −$257 |
| Transportation | $3,675 | $3,390 | −$285 |
| Utilities | $1,836 | $1,512 | −$324 |
| Insurance | $3,600 | $2,400 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $7,399 | $10,526 | +$3,127 |
| Total | $41,263 | $41,232 | −$31 |
Side by side
| Metric | Houston, TX | Kansas City, MO |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 99.7 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 5.96% | 4.18% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 7.6% | 4.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 63 | 53 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.67 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $308,306 | $329,641 |
| Home price ÷ income | 3.9× | 4.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.0% | 3.5% |
| Price per square foot | $147 | $188 |
| Median rent | $1,639 | $1,548 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 8.6% | 9.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.20% | 8.38% |
| Capital gains tax | None | 4.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.79% | 1.14% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $9,500 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | None | 2.55% |
| Avg commute (min) | 30 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $3,600 | $2,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,100 | $1,800 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $900 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 17.0 | 14.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Violent crime /100k | 430 | 490 |
| Avg summer high °F | 96 | 89 |
| Avg winter low °F | 38 | 22 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |