Kansas City, MO vs Salt Lake City, UT
Moving from Kansas City to Salt Lake City? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($329,641 → $568,656 median home) and taxes.
Kansas City vs Salt Lake City 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 $104,229 in Salt Lake City, UT (+$4,229).
Livability — Kansas City, MO: 67 · Salt Lake City, UT: 64 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 2,654 sqft in Kansas City vs 1,846 sqft in Salt Lake City ($188 vs $271 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Kansas City, MO | Salt Lake City, UT | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $18,576 | $19,692 | +$1,116 |
| Groceries | $4,828 | $4,736 | −$92 |
| Transportation | $3,390 | $3,450 | +$60 |
| Utilities | $1,512 | $1,440 | −$72 |
| Insurance | $2,400 | $1,200 | −$1,200 |
| Taxes | $10,526 | $9,729 | −$797 |
| Total | $41,232 | $40,246 | −$985 |
Side by side
| Metric | Kansas City, MO | Salt Lake City, UT |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 93.2 | 97.1 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.18% | 3.61% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 4.9% | 7.2% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 53 | 56 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $5.30 | $5.53 |
| Median home price | $329,641 | $568,656 |
| Home price ÷ income | 4.2× | 6.3× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | 3.5% | 1.3% |
| Price per square foot | $188 | $271 |
| Median rent | $1,548 | $1,641 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.3% | 12.1% |
| Combined sales tax | 8.38% | 7.19% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.80% | 4.65% |
| Property tax rate | 1.14% | 0.59% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,400 | $6,000 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Vehicle property tax | 2.55% | None |
| Avg commute (min) | 23 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,400 | $1,200 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $1,800 | $1,500 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $750 | $500 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $400 | $450 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 14.0 | 13.3 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.00 | 3.60 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 260 |
| Avg summer high °F | 89 | 92 |
| Avg winter low °F | 22 | 24 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 2 | 2 |