Kansas City, MO vs Olympia, WA
Moving from Kansas City to Olympia? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $533,918 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Olympia 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 $114,116 in Olympia, WA (+$14,116).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Olympia, WA: 52 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 1,686 sqft in Olympia ($188 vs $297 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Olympia, WA | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $24,492 | +$5,916 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $5,246 | +$418 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $4,075 | +$685 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,548 | +$36 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,500 | −$900 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $7,085 | −$3,441 |
| Total | $41,232 | $43,946 | +$2,714 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Olympia, WA |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 106.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.49% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 9.0% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $6.05 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $533,918 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.0× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 0.3% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $297 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $2,041 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 10.7% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 9.38% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 7.00% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.92% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 27 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,600 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $700 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $700 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 14.4 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.55 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $167 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $83 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 375 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 76 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 37 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 39.3 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 6.3 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 33% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 5 |