Kansas City, MO vs Columbia, SC
Moving from Kansas City to Columbia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $256,154 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Columbia 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 $100,021 in Columbia, SC (+$21).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Columbia, SC: 69 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 3,903 sqft in Columbia ($188 vs $128 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Columbia, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $18,444 | −$132 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,797 | −$30 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,465 | +$75 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,848 | +$336 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,000 | −$400 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $10,215 | −$311 |
| Total | $41,232 | $40,769 | −$462 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Columbia, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 93.2 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.71% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 2.9% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 47 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.30 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $256,154 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $128 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,537 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.63% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.05 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 36 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |