Kansas City, MO vs Charleston, WV
Moving from Kansas City to Charleston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $148,817 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Charleston 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 $95,553 in Charleston, WV (−$4,447).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Charleston, WV: 77 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 5,714 sqft in Charleston ($188 vs $88 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Charleston, WV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $15,180 | −$3,396 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,767 | −$61 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,410 | +$20 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,740 | +$228 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,300 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $8,230 | −$2,296 |
| Total | $41,232 | $34,627 | −$6,605 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Charleston, WV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 89.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.76% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 17.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.07 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $148,817 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 2.7× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 0.0% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $88 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,265 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 6.55% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 5.12% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.65% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $7,200 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 1.66% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,700 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 16.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.30 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $68 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $253 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $73 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 280 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 84 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 45.5 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 12.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 55% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |