Kansas City, MO vs Las Vegas, NV
Moving from Kansas City to Las Vegas? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $430,650 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Las Vegas 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 $105,454 in Las Vegas, NV (+$5,454).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Las Vegas, NV: 65 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 2,206 sqft in Las Vegas ($188 vs $227 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Las Vegas, NV | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $20,844 | +$2,268 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,841 | +$14 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $4,740 | +$1,350 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,548 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,300 | −$1,100 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $4,779 | −$5,747 |
| Total | $41,232 | $38,052 | −$3,180 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Las Vegas, NV |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 98.3 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 7.66% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 7.3% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 64 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.59 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $430,650 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.2× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $227 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,737 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 8.23% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | None |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.51% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,400 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $11,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 2.12% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,300 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,400 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $400 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 14.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.20 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 460 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 95 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 30 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 3 |