Kansas City, MO vs Lafayette, LA
Moving from Kansas City to Lafayette? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $202,312 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Lafayette 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 $93,938 in Lafayette, LA (−$6,062).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Lafayette, LA: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 4,941 sqft in Lafayette ($188 vs $101 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Lafayette, LA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $16,452 | −$2,124 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,650 | −$177 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $4,475 | +$1,085 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,560 | +$48 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $3,500 | +$1,100 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $8,509 | −$2,017 |
| Total | $41,232 | $39,146 | −$2,085 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Lafayette, LA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 87.6 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.97% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | -1.6% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 51 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $4.98 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $202,312 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 3.5× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 2.1% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $101 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,371 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.56% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 4.25% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.49% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 0.10% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 26 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $3,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $1,000 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $100 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 2.95 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 630 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 43 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |