Kansas City, MO vs Lexington, KY
Moving from Kansas City to Lexington? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $327,671 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Lexington 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 $99,247 in Lexington, KY (−$753).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Lexington, KY: 72 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 2,899 sqft in Lexington ($188 vs $173 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Lexington, KY | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $18,336 | −$240 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,721 | −$107 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,870 | +$480 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,620 | +$108 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $2,200 | −$200 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $8,073 | −$2,453 |
| Total | $41,232 | $38,820 | −$2,412 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Lexington, KY |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 92.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 4.70% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 3.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.26 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $327,671 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 4.8× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 2.7% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $173 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,528 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 9.6% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 6.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 4.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.83% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,300 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $9,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 1.44% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 22 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $2,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $2,200 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $250 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 15.0 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $70 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $81 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 88 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 26 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 48.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 13.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 56% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |