Kansas City, MO vs Cedar Rapids, IA
Moving from Kansas City to Cedar Rapids? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $244,344 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Cedar Rapids 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 $96,548 in Cedar Rapids, IA (−$3,452).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Cedar Rapids, IA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 3,376 sqft in Cedar Rapids ($188 vs $148 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Cedar Rapids, IA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $14,808 | −$3,768 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,831 | +$4 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,150 | −$240 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,500 | −$12 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,700 | −$700 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $9,296 | −$1,230 |
| Total | $41,232 | $35,285 | −$5,946 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Cedar Rapids, IA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 90.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 3.63% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 3.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.12 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $244,344 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 3.6% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $148 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,234 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 11.2% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 6.94% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 3.80% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.64% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 1.00% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 20 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,700 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 13.9 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $73 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $82 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $93 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 300 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 85 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 12 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 35.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 35.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |