Kansas City, MO vs Salem, OR
Moving from Kansas City to Salem? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $454,689 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Salem 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 $109,931 in Salem, OR (+$9,931).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Salem, OR: 59 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 1,869 sqft in Salem ($188 vs $268 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Salem, OR | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $19,536 | +$960 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $5,239 | +$411 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,680 | +$290 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,704 | +$192 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $900 | −$1,500 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $13,135 | +$2,609 |
| Total | $41,232 | $44,194 | +$2,962 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Salem, OR |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 102.5 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 5.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 42 | 42 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.83 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $454,689 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 0.4% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $268 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,628 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 10.8% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 0.00% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 9.90% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.90% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,600 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 25 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $900 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $650 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $600 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 15.8 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 4.10 |
| Natural gas / mo | $72 | $58 |
| Water & sewer / mo | $184 | $224 |
| Home internet / mo | $86 | $82 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 340 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 82 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 34 |
| Annual precipitation (in) | 39.3 | 43.7 |
| Annual snowfall (in) | 18.2 | 3.4 |
| Sunshine (% possible) | 60% | 48% |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 4 |