Kansas City, MO vs Houston, TX
Moving from Kansas City to Houston? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $308,306 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Houston 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 $107,007 in Houston, TX (+$7,007).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Houston, TX: 75 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 3,406 sqft in Houston ($188 vs $147 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Houston, TX | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $19,668 | +$1,092 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $5,085 | +$257 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,675 | +$285 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,836 | +$324 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,600 | +$1,200 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $7,399 | −$3,127 |
| Total | $41,232 | $41,263 | +$31 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Houston, TX |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 99.7 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.96% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 7.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.67 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $308,306 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.9× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -2.0% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $147 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,639 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 8.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.20% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 1.79% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,800 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 30 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,600 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,100 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 17.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $52 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $134 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 430 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 96 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 38 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 55.6 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 0.1 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 59% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |