Kansas City, MO vs Myrtle Beach, SC
Moving from Kansas City to Myrtle Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $340,239 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Myrtle Beach 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 $100,613 in Myrtle Beach, SC (+$613).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Myrtle Beach, SC: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 2,939 sqft in Myrtle Beach ($188 vs $170 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Myrtle Beach, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $20,712 | +$2,136 |
| 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 | $10,008 | −$518 |
| Total | $41,232 | $42,830 | +$1,599 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Myrtle Beach, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 93.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 14.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.34 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $340,239 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | -0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $170 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,726 |
| 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% | 0.41% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 23 |
| 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 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $56 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $97 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $78 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 36 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 51.0 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 1.0 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 64% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |