Kansas City, MO vs Baltimore, MD
Moving from Kansas City to Baltimore? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $405,877 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Baltimore 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 Kansas City, MO, you'd need about $110,709 in Baltimore, MD (+$10,709).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Baltimore, MD: 57 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 2,341 sqft in Baltimore ($188 vs $214 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Baltimore, MD | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $23,028 | +$4,452 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $5,075 | +$248 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,685 | +$295 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $2,388 | +$876 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,400 | −$1,000 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $11,584 | +$1,058 |
| Total | $41,232 | $47,160 | +$5,929 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Baltimore, MD |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 103.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 4.86% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 1.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.87 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $405,877 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 0.8% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $214 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,919 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 11.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 5.75% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.04% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,400 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $750 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 22.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 450 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 27 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |